Peace with India possible only on equal terms, says PM Shehbaz
Shehbaz Sharif addresses special AJK Assembly session on Kashmir Day: Says India is sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan: Warns regional peace impossible without end to Indian aggression: Reaffirms support for Kashmiris’ freedom movement: AJK PM Rathore thanks Pakistanis for expressing solidarity with Kashmiri people
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said Pakistan desires peace, but stressed that peace can only be sustained on the basis of equality, warning that Pakistan would respond to India in the same language it chooses to use.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, addressing a special session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on the occasion of Youm-e-Kashmir, the prime minister said lasting peace in the region would remain elusive unless India abandons its aggressive designs.
He said the Kashmiri people were willing to sacrifice even their children but would never relinquish their right to freedom, adding that voices for independence were echoing from every corner of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
The prime minister praised Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar for effectively highlighting the Kashmir issue at international forums, calling his efforts commendable.
Shehbaz Sharif accused India of sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan through proxy elements and said that during the recent war in 2025, Pakistan had inflicted a humiliating defeat on India.
He paid tribute to every leader, citizen and member involved in the Kashmir freedom struggle and expressed deep sorrow over the passing of former president of Azad Kashmir Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry.
The prime minister announced that a service centre on the model of Islamabad would be established in Muzaffarabad and said the government was also planning to build a state-of-the-art Danish University in the city.
Addressing the session, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore thanked the people of Pakistan for expressing solidarity with the Kashmiri people.
He said that despite the presence of around 800,000 Indian troops, the occupying forces had failed to suppress the thoughts and aspirations of the Kashmiri people, adding that Pakistan’s political and military leadership stood firmly with Kashmiris.
The AJK prime minister said the sacrifices made for the Kashmir freedom movement would continue and expressed confidence that these sacrifices would ultimately bear fruit.
He also thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the gift of a Danish school for Azad Kashmir.