Quest for sustainable peace in South Asia can only be achieved through peaceful settlement of all issues

The struggle for Pakistan came with sacrifices of millions of people including women and children, Warraich was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Pakistan High Commission. India has in the past firmly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir will always be an integral and inalienable part of the country.

The quest for sustainable peace and stability in South Asia can only be achieved through a "peaceful settlement" of all issues including the "core Jammu and Kashmir dispute", Pakistan’s charge d’Affaires to India Saad Ahmad Warraich said on Saturday.

Pakistan commemorated its National Day at its High Commission here on Saturday. The day marks the adoption of the historic Lahore Resolution on March 23, 1940 which provided a framework for the realisation of the goal of a separate homeland for Muslims of South Asia. At a ceremony held at the Chancery lawn, the charge d’Affaires hoisted the Pakistan national flag. Messages of the president and prime minister of Pakistan were read out on the occasion.

The struggle for Pakistan came with sacrifices of millions of people including women and children, Warraich was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Pakistan High Commission. Pakistan was born of "a peaceful struggle" postulated on the inalienable right of the Muslims of the subcontinent to determine their destiny as per their own choice, he said, adding "peaceful coexistence based on equality and mutual respect serve as guiding principles of Pakistan’s foreign policy".

These principles also underpinned Pakistan’s desire for a "peaceful relationship" with India, he said. The quest for sustainable peace and stability in South Asia could only be achieved through a peaceful settlement of all issues including the core Jammu and Kashmir dispute, the charge d’Affaires was quoted as saying in the statement. India has in the past firmly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir will always be an integral and inalienable part of the country.

Warraich underlined that Pakistan’s "greatest strength was its resilient and enterprising people" who had overcome every challenge through their indomitable spirit and characteristic grit and determination. Endowed with rich natural resources and "a geostrategic location" as a bridge between the East, West and Central Asia, Pakistan would continue to "play its pivotal role" as a centrepiece for trade, connectivity and regional integration, he said. "Our desire for peace is reflective of the constructive and positive outlook of a strong and self-assured nation", Warraich said.

(With Agency Inputs)