Pakistan urges Obama to intervene in Kashmir

Pakistan on Friday urged United States to intervene in the Kashmir issue to ?protect the legitimate aspirations of the people?.

Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in a joint media appearance with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after their three-day third U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue here said: ?It is in the U.S. strategic interest to work for peace, stability, and resolution of the disputes in South Asia. The starting point in this quest is justice for the Kashmiri people.?

?President Obama has always understood the importance of a Kashmir solution. His coming visit to the region is the time to begin to redeem the pledge that he made earlier,? Qureshi said.

?Pakistan and the United States have a shared interest in a peaceful and stable South Asia. Unfortunately, the prospect is threatened again by the recent events in Kashmir,? he said.

?People of conscience have protested the use of force against the defenseless people of Kashmir, in particular targeting of the Kashmiri youth, which has claimed over hundred lives in the past three months.

?But the Kashmiri mothers are baffled at the deafening silence of the world leadership,? he said.

Qureshi said ?history has proved that the force of arms cannot suppress the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiri people?.

Meanwhile, there are reports in India media quoting intelligence sources that ahead of US President Barack Obama’s visit to India in November, there could be fidayeen attacks (suicidal strikes) in the Valley.

Intercepts and intelligence inputs indicate increased attempts to launch fidayeen attacks and Thursday’s attack in Srinagar was indicative of such strategy, an Indian TV channel said.

Kashmir is roiled by anti-India protests since mid June led by the separatist groups. More than 110 people were killed in the street protests in the past months.