TEHRAN - The Pakistani ambassador to Iran has said that Islamabad is committed to a just and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

 

Ambassador Khalid Aziz Babar made the remarks during a ceremony held at the Pakistani Embassy in Tehran on Monday on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day.

 

The function was attended by a cross-section of Iranian scholars, academicians, intellectuals, and media representatives and members of the Pakistani community in Tehran.

 

The Kashmir Solidarity Day messages of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani were read out to the audience after a recitation of the Holy Quran.  

 

In his speech, the Pakistani ambassador said, “Kashmir Solidarity Day is an occasion to pay tribute to the countless sacrifices of the valiant people of Kashmir who have remained resolute and steadfast in the face of… oppression spanning more than six decades.” 

 

He added, “On this day, every year we reiterate our unwavering political, moral, and diplomatic support for the just struggle of our Kashmiri brothers to safeguard their rights, including the right of self-determination, as enshrined in the UN Charter and relevant UN resolutions.” 

 

He went on to say that no one can deny the centrality of Kashmir in the dispute between India and Pakistan. 

 

Ambassador Babar also said that the Kashmir issue cannot be brushed aside under any circumstances, and India should come to terms with this reality and work with Pakistan to find a just and lasting settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute since there can be no military solution. 

 

The Pakistani ambassador added that Iran has always supported the aspirations of the Kashmiri people and supported efforts to reach a settlement of the dispute in accordance with the Kashmiri people’s aspirations. 

 

“We are confident that as a friend and neighbor, Iran will continue to support our efforts to resolve the Kashmir dispute for the establishment of permanent and durable peace in the region,” he said.

 

At the event, Iranian scholars Dr. Mohammad Baghai Makan, Dr. Qasim Safi, Mohammad Pirali, and Tehran Times journalist Hamid Golpira made speeches, in which they highlighted the plight of the Kashmiri people and the need to reach a resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people. And prominent Iranian journalist Nasir Yamin Mardokhi and Dr. Muhammad Hossein Tasbihi recited poems in support of the Kashmir cause and the just struggle of the Kashmiri people. 

 

President Zardari’s message

 

Following is the text of President Zardari’s message:

 

The government and the people of Pakistan observe the Kashmir Solidarity Day by renewing their unswerving support for the just struggle of the Kashmiri people for the realization of their fundamental and inalienable rights. 

 

For over six decades, the Kashmiri people have rendered countless sacrifices for upholding their dignity and freedom, pleading for equality and justice and the fulfillment of the promise for the effective exercise of their right to self-determination, as envisaged in the relevant UN resolutions. 

 

It is indeed imperative that the noble principles and values that underpin the just Kashmiri cause are upheld and supported by all justice and freedom-loving peoples across the world. It is also important that the fundamental human rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir are respected and promoted. 

 

In recent years, the peaceful struggle of the people of Jammu and Kashmir has gained in strength and intensity. A new generation of the Kashmiris, including men, women, and children, continue to wage a heroic struggle for the realization of their fundamental rights. 

 

While seeking a peaceful settlement of Jammu and Kashmir dispute, Pakistan will continue to express its complete solidarity with the Kashmiris and extend its fullest political, moral, and diplomatic support to their just cause. 

 

Prime Minister Gilani’s message 

 

Following is the text of Prime Minister Gilani’s message:

 

The government and the people of Pakistan join their Kashmiri brothers and sisters in solemnly observing the Kashmir Solidarity Day. On this occasion, we reaffirm our complete support to the just Kashmiri cause and renew our pledge of steadfast support for the heroic struggle of the Kashmiri people for the effective realization of their fundamental and inalienable rights. 

 

Generations after generations of the proud and patriotic people of Jammu and Kashmir have rendered innumerable sacrifices, braved adversity, and carried forward the torch of liberty, freedom, and justice. They have proven to the world that they will never compromise their dignity and honor nor forfeit their fundamental rights. 

 

The peaceful struggle of the Kashmiri men, women, and children in upholding basic human values and universally-recognized principles deserves respect, admiration, and support of the international community. Pakistan believes that the United Nations’ promise to the Kashmiris as contained in relevant resolutions must be fulfilled. A peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute that accords fully with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people is a sine qua non for peace and prosperity in this region.  

 

The government and the people of Pakistan will continue to extend their full moral, political, and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people for the realization of their fundamental rights and legitimate aspirations. 

 

True liberation is spiritual liberation 

 

Following are excerpts of the text of Mr. Golpira’s speech: 

 

I am really happy to be here to stand in solidarity with Kashmir and hope all of you will too and work hard to be in solidarity with the people of Kashmir and all the oppressed people of this Earth, of this planet. 

 

I would like to make a few points about the basic issues of Kashmir, a nation and a people who have been struggling for many years, over six decades, since 1947, to get their liberation. 

 

In 1947, there was a chance, and they should have had the opportunity to decide and determine their own self-determination, to determine their own destiny, but they were not given the chance, and now we have had six decades of struggle and six decades of oppression for the Kashmiri people. 

 

The key point to take into consideration is that there are UN resolutions that call for the Kashmiris to be given the right to self-determination and the right to have a referendum to determine their own future, so this is part of international law, and we must stress this point. There are many other places that also seem to want to have some kind of referendum. They want their independence, whether it be Palestine, whether it be Chechnya, and some other places in the world, like South Ossetia. But for all of them a referendum… is a proposal, whereas for Kashmir, it is part of international law because UN resolutions are part of international law. 

 

So we must stress this point that it is part of international law that Kashmir must have a referendum, and… preventing this is a violation of international law. 

 

When I was in Islamabad, I got to meet some people from the All Parties Hurriyat Conference. I was really happy to meet them, and they had a positive attitude, I thought. And actually they had a very Islamic attitude. They were not just political, they had a spiritual attitude. 

 

I asked one of them, “Are you hopeful of some kind of breakthrough in the future?” and then he answered me with a verse of the Quran. First he said, “We must be optimistic as Muslims,” and then said, “Do not despair of the mercy of Allah.” (the Holy Quran, part of verse 53 of Surah XXXIX, Zumar [The Companions]). 

 

I was happy to hear that because I thought, this is the direction I’m trying to move in. 
 

We must understand that the struggle is not just political. There are social issues, there are spiritual issues, there are religious issues, and all of this is connected. All of this is connected. 

 

In the Kashmiri language, the word for freedom is “azadi”, which is also the same word in Persian. The people’s chant for freedom is “Azadi, azadi, azadi.” 

 

Well, to be free we must also be free in our minds and our hearts. There is a tradition in Islam that says Prophet Yousef, he is known as Joseph in English, was the most free person in the world when he was in prison. People say, “How is that possible?” It is possible because in his heart he was free. 

 

So Prophet Joseph could be the most free person in the world while in prison. 

 

So this has something to do with the liberation struggle because if you want to be free outside, you must be free in your heart. And it is so important that we be free in our hearts. 

 

How can we work for the liberation struggle if we have no liberality in our hearts? 

 

So you must understand that all of this is interconnected. The liberation struggle outside is connected to the liberation struggle inside. And this is the true liberation of Kashmir. 

 

In the future, we will have a Kashmir which is liberated, a Kashmir that has self-determination and determines its own destiny. 

 

But in part of this territory, like in Ladakh there are many Buddhists, and South Jammu has many Hindus. Well, these people must not fear that there is going to be some retribution on the part of Muslims. One thing that they got right here in the Islamic Revolution is that here you have churches, you have Jewish synagogues, the Zoroastrians have temples.  There are various minority groups, and they do not fear that there is going to be some great retribution on the part of Muslims even though the Muslims are 99 percent of Iran, and the combined minorities of Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians are approximately 1 percent. But they feel relaxed, they feel OK. They feel that there is not going to be some great repression against them because they are non-Muslims.   

 

This is something we must also work for in Kashmir. This is the total liberation of Kashmir, when we are liberated in our minds, when we are liberated in our hearts, and we are liberated territorially and physically. Because like I said, your physical liberation will do nothing for you if you are not liberated spiritually in your heart and mentally in your mind. 

 

So we must work for all this. This is total liberation. And this is what I feel this azadi, azadi, azadi means. 

 

To support the struggle, we must have the spirit of liberation. I just want to say that we must work for this azadi in heart, in spirit, in mind, and physically, to be free and to be in solidarity with the people of Kashmir because if you do not realize this total azadi, there will be no azadi. 

 

So this is what I have to say, and hopefully we will struggle on in the future for the liberation of Kashmir and all of the oppressed people of this planet.