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Srinagar, May 01 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, the veteran Kashmiri Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani, has said that the Kashmir dispute is in fact a leftover of colonial rule and can easily be settled by giving the Kashmiri people their inalienable right of self-determination.

Syed Ali Gilani in a statement issued in Srinagar said, Kashmir issue is primarily only a problem concerning the Kashmiris’ right of self-determination; and India and Pakistan are the parties to it. “The Kashmiris have not so far been provided an opportunity to decide their future in accordance with their wishes and aspirations. Any solution to Kashmir issue should primarily be acceptable to the Kashmiris,” he said.

The veteran leader said that during the period of colonial rule the big world powers had occupied many countries through their military might and the people of these nations stood up against the forces and finally achieved their goal. “The Kashmir issue is one of the remnants of this colonial rule,” he said. The veteran leader maintained that simple solution of the Kashmir dispute is that New Delhi should withdraw its forces from Jammu and Kashmir and allow its people to decide their fate by themselves.

Syed Ali Gilani pointed out that the UN resolutions provided the most democratic, easy and practicable resolution to the lingering dispute. “Both India and Pakistan have in principle accepted these resolutions and the whole world stands witness to it,” he added.