Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said he wants to transform Kashmir into “a paradise,” establish peace and justice in the region, and ensure that the people of Kashmir receive all of their legitimate rights.
Addressing an election rally in Muzaffarabad, Bilawal said that the future of Kashmir should be decided solely by the Kashmiri people.
He stressed that the principle of popular sovereignty requires that the candidate receiving the public’s vote should emerge victorious, adding that elections must be decided by the ballot, not the bullet, and that electoral fraud should never be concealed.
He announced that a constitutional convention would be convened after the elections and called for effective representation of Kashmiri refugees in the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
Bilawal also pledged to seek observer status for Kashmir in Pakistan’s National Finance Commission (NFC) and said his party would take steps to address the issues facing Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan.
The PPP chairman said that, alongside property rights, people must also be guaranteed the right to employment.