Kashmir key pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy, says Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi  said on Sunday Kashmir was the key pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy, ARY News reported.

Talking to media before flying off to London to attend a conference on Kashmir, Qureshi said Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir issue was well-explained and clear. “We will continue raising our voice against Indian oppression on innocent and unarmed Kashmiris in the India-occupied valley.”

He said Pakistan would continue political and diplomatic support to the people of held Kashmir.

On Saturday (Feb 2), Qureshi telephoned Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to discuss the situation of Indian occupied Kashmir.

Diplomatic sources said that FM Qureshi and Syed Ali Shah Geelani discussed the atrocities and grave human rights violations by the occupied Indian forces in held Kashmir.

The United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights report on human rights violations in Kashmir and the Kashmir Conference of London were also discussed by the two leaders.

On this occasion, Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani lauded the role of Pakistan for extending continuous moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiris struggling for achieving their right to self-determination.

All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman, Syed Ali Gilani, on January 7, had   appreciated the efforts of Pakistan in supporting a settlement to the long-pending Kashmir dispute, Kashmir Media Service reported.

A statement released by Syed Ali Gilani, had read that the joint press conference of Prime Minister Imran Khan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara expressed serious concern over the issues faced by the Muslim community worldwide.