Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday called upon India to restore Article 370 in Kashmir. He said Kashmiris should be free to decide their own future.
Addressing a rally at Kotli to observe ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’, he said he would raise his voice for Kashmir’s aspirations. “Today, I say to you again. Come resolve this Kashmir dispute with us. And for that, the first thing you must do is to restore Article 370. And then speak to us and then as per the UN Resolution, give the Kashmiris their due right,” he said.
Mr. Khan’s comment was part of a set of official remarks from Pakistan’s top leaders who make similar comments every year on ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’.
“We are ready to speak to you again. But I say this again. Do not mistake our hand of friendship for weakness. Pakistan belongs to those who bow to no one but God,” said Mr. Khan, who was followed by President Dr Arif Alvi, who said resolution of the Kashmir issue was the “key to durable peace in South Asia”.
Mr. Alvi said, “We will continue to extend all-out support to the Kashmiris till the realisation of their unalienable right to self-determination”.
The comments came just days after Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa expressed the desire for a “dignified” resolution of the Kashmir issue.
The Ministry of External Affairs had said in response that the “onus” for creating “normal neighbourly relations” was on Pakistan.