New York, As part of his ‘Mission Kashmir’ to draw global attention on the issue, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the Kashmir Study Group to highlight the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which he said “poses a grave threat to regional peace and security”.
Khan met with the founder of Kashmir Study Group, Farooq Kathwari, who called on him in New York and both discussed the prevailing situation in J&K.
During the meeting, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Special Assistant to the PM Naeem ul Haq, UN Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, Ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed Khan and other senior officials were also present.
Khan urged Kathwari to outline the issue of India’s revocation of special status of Jammu and Kashmir, which Pakistan has termed as “illegal annexation”, and the alleged human rights violations there, in order to “expose the real face of fascist Modi-led Hindu nationalist government in front of the world”.
Kathwari had earlier served as member of the US President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans.
Kathwari highlighted the Kashmir Study Group’s earlier engagement on the Jammu and Kashmir issue and efforts for conflict resolution.
Khan is here on a week-long visit to attend the UN General Assembly session and hold high-level meetings with world leaders.
According to Lodhi, upon his arrival here Khan has begun “mission Kashmir for Pakistan” with full zeal in order to draw the world’s attention towards the Kashmir issue.
“This is mission Kashmir for the prime minister and for Pakistan his message will be clear: the occupation must end, and a peaceful solution found for the Kashmir dispute. He will highlight the plight of the Kashmiri people who continue to suffer a suffocating lockdown and a brutal occupation,” said Lodhi said, adding the Prime Minister would meet world leaders and the UN secretary general.
This is the Prime Minister’s first General Assembly visit and “he will be the voice of the Kashmiri people at the UN,” she said.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Qureshi told reporters that Khan wanted to listen to Kashmiris from both parts of Kashmir ahead of his speech to the UN General Assembly on September 27
Qureshi said the main objective of Imran’s visit to US was to highlight alleged Indian atrocities in the valley.
Speaking to the media in New York, Qureshi said Imran will hold meetings with heads of different states and a Kashmiri delegation.
The Kashmir Study Group (kashmirstudygroup.org), consisting of 25 members with political, diplomatic and academic backgrounds, who extensively interact with the parties to the Kashmir issue. Established in 1996, KSG is headquartered in Larchmont, New York.
The Kashmir Study Group (KSG) works with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington on Kashmir.
