Pakistan’s Prime Minister: Peaceful settlement of Kashmir conflict is indispensable

14-04-2022

Anna Magdalena Comploi 

Pakistan and Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

Upon being elected, Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan “desires peaceful and cooperative ties with India” and that a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir conflict is “indispensable”  (Al Jazeera, 2022).Pakistan’s Prime Minister, who was elected on April 11th, 2022, posted this statement on Twitter, after India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s congratulated him on his election to Prime Minister  (Al Jazeera, 2022).Kashmir has been disputed by both Pakistan and India since 1947, following British colonial rule. Both India and Pakistan are administering parts of Kashmir but claim the region in full. Sharif’s statement received mixed reactions (Al Jazeera, 2022). Sharif stems from an elite political family seen in India as conciliatory and willing to settle the dispute with diplomatic dialogue– unlike predecessor Imran Khan (Al Jazeera, 2022).

Sources and further reading: 

Al Jazeera. (2022, April 13). PM Sharif: Peaceful settlement of Kashmir dispute ‘indispensable.’ Retrieved April 14, 2022, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/13/pakistan-pm-shehbaz-sharif-peaceful-settlement-kashmir-dispute-indispensable