Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has once again brought up the Kashmir issue, stressing that long-term peace and stable relations with India are not possible without resolving this issue. Speaking at an Overseas Pakistanis Convention in London, he said that India should aim to be a “cooperative neighbour rather than a combative one”.
‘Without addressing Kashmir issue…’
“If anyone believes that Pakistan-India relations can be established without addressing the Kashmir issue, they are living in a fool’s paradise,” PM Sharif declared.
Sharif noted that both nations had spent billions fighting four wars, resources that he said should have gone towards the prosperity of their people. “It is up to us whether we choose peace or continue fighting,” he added.
“Pakistan and India are neighbours, and we must learn to live together. But let me be clear: there can be no normalisation of ties without resolving Kashmir. The blood of the Kashmiri people will not go in vain,” he went on to say.
The Prime Minister also mentioned Gaza during his speech and talked about the humanitarian crisis. “Over 64,000 people have sacrificed their lives in Gaza. Their food and necessities have been stopped. They are unable to earn there as well,” he said, likening it to a famine-like situation.
Trump, Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting
US President Donald Trump and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif are set to meet on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Sharif will be joined by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, along with other senior officials.
Trump, per the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, will deliver a “major speech” at the UNGA. This, she said, will include “seven wars and conflicts” that he has helped resolve.
Apart from his meeting with Sharif, Trump will also hold bilateral meetings with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina and the European Union. Later in the day, he will have a multilateral meeting with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkiye, Pakistan, Egypt, the UAE and Jordan.