Chairman All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said that Kashmir is a trilateral issue and not a bilateral dispute between Pakistan and India.
Leading a seven-member delegation of Kashmiri leaders, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq reached Lahore Saturday and Punjab Minister for Hospitality Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor welcomed the members at the Lahore airport.
Talking to the media at the airport, Mirwaizsaid ‘Kashmir dispute requires due attention of the international community when other international disputes are progressing towards solution.’
The Kashmiri leader said that sole purpose of their visit was to spur the efforts for the settlement of the Kashmir dispute. It was also a problem of Pakistan and Kashmiri people, he reminded.
Mirwaiz said that Pakistan played a positive role in the solution of Kashmir issue and it always extended its moral‚ diplomatic and political support to the Kashmiris.
He appreciated the restoration of the dialogue process between Islamabad and New Delhi.
To a question, Mirwaiz said that India would have to change its stance on Kashmir.
During the visit the delegation would meet Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, besides Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, Jamaat-i-Islami chief Munawar Hasan and other prominent leaders.
The Kashmiri leaders will also visit Muzaffarabad to meet the AJK president and prime minister. The delegation came at the invitation of the Pakistan government and its members are Abdul Ghani Bhat, Abbas Ansari, Bilal Gani Lone, Mukhtar Ahmed, Musaddiq Adil and Agha Syed Hasan al-Musawi.
Another APHC leader Syed Shabir Ahmed Shah, known as Nelson Mandela of the Kashmir movement, also scheduled to be the part of the delegation but he may not reach due to bad weather as he opted to travel by bus through the Line of Control (LoC).
The LoC have been closed because of heavy snowfall, which has dampened the prospects of Shabir Shah to reach and join the delegation by December 17.
Earlier, talking to the media at Srinagar Airport before departure‚ APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq urged India to create a congenial atmosphere for talks with Pakistan on Kashmir dispute.