On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Islamabad’s desire to resolve all outstanding issues with India, including the Kashmir dispute, through dialogue. Speaking at a special session of the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) legislative assembly in Muzaffarabad on the occasion of “Kashmir Solidarity Day,” Sharif emphasized that India should honor the commitments it made to the United Nations and initiate a conversation on the issue.

“Kashmir Solidarity Day” is an annual event in Pakistan, aimed at showing support for the Kashmiri people.

Sharif stated, “We want all issues, including Kashmir, to be resolved through talks,” and urged India to move beyond the mindset of August 5, 2019, referring to the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and divided it into two Union Territories. He cited the Lahore Declaration of 1999, which was agreed upon during then-Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to Pakistan, as a framework for dialogue between the two nations.

India, on the other hand, has repeatedly expressed its intention to maintain normal neighborly relations with Pakistan, provided there is an atmosphere free of terrorism, hostility, and violence. New Delhi has made it clear that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India, a stance it maintains firmly.

Sharif also criticized India for its military buildup, suggesting that the accumulation of weapons would not bring peace or change the situation in Kashmir. He urged India to recognize that peace is the path to progress. “Pakistan will continue to offer unwavering moral, diplomatic, and political support to the Kashmiri people until they achieve their right to self-determination,” Sharif stated. He added that the only solution to the Kashmir issue lies in the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution, which calls for the right of self-determination for the people of Kashmir.

Both Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Sharif called on the international community to pressure India to allow the Kashmiri people to determine their own future, in hopes of achieving lasting peace in the region.

Anwarul Haq, the “Prime Minister” of PoK, echoed this sentiment, declaring that Pakistan is the ultimate destination for the Kashmiri people. He asserted that lasting peace in the region is not possible without resolving the Kashmir issue. During the event, the chairman of Pakistan’s joint chiefs of staff committee, along with the country’s military leadership, reiterated their full support for the Kashmiri people.