NEW YORK: Hundreds of American Kashmiris, Pakistanis and Sikhs staged a demonstration in front of the United Nations office in New York, calling on the world body to play its role to protect the Kashmiri people suffering under the tight Indian military siege.
They urged the United Nations to decisively move towards implementing its resolutions that pledged the right of self-determination to Kashmiris.
Speakers at the rally called on Indian government to immediately reinstate the protected status of the disputed state, lift the siege, and enter into peaceful negotiations to determine the future of Occupied Kashmir in accordance with the UN resolutions.
Addressing to the crowd, Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan said the future negotiations on Kashmir should focus on conflict resolution, not management, in order to end the Indian occupation once and for all.
Other speakers included Kashmiri activists like Ghulam Nabi Fai, Sardar Sawar Khan, and Senator Capt. (Rtd) Shaheen Butt.
A prominent Sikh leader, Sardar Amarjit Singh, also voiced support for the cause of Kashmir and reaffirmed his call for the establishment of Khalistan.