Pak appoints 22 envoys on Kashmir

Islamabad, August 27

Further needling India and stepping up its diplomatic offensive, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today nominated 22 parliamentarians as special envoys to be despatched to world capitals to highlight the Kashmir issue.

“We will remind the United Nations its long-held promise of self-determination to the Kashmiri people,” Sharif said.

The move by Sharif came against the backdrop of escalating war of words between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the continuing unrest in the Kashmir Valley that broke out on July 8 after Hizbul commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces.

“The Prime Minister urged the special envoys to ensure their efforts for highlighting the Kashmir cause across the world so that he can shake the collective conscience of the international community during his address at the UN this September,” Radio Pakistan reported.

“We will also make it clear to India that it was India that approached the UN several decades back on Kashmir issue but now it is not fulfilling its promise,” he said.

Sharif said the Kashmir problem was the most persistent failure of the UN and that the world body must establish its relevance.

“I have decided to send these parliamentarians for fighting the Kashmir cause in different parts of the world. These special envoys have the strength of the people of Pakistan, prayers from the Kashmiri people across the Line of Control, the mandate of the parliament and support from the government,” Sharif said in a statement.

“Generation after generation of Kashmiris have seen only broken pledges and ruthless oppression,” Sharif claimed, adding that this anniversary of the UN ought to be a catalyst, spurring the world body into action. — PTI