President Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday called Kashmir the “jugular vein of Pakistan” even as he sought a peaceful resolution of the long-standing dispute with India over it.
“We are a peace loving nation and want peaceful relations with other nations, especially our neighbours,” Hussain said in his address at the Pakistan Day parade ceremony where the country’s armed forced showcased their military might.
He said Kashmir was the “jugular vein of Pakistan” but his country would continue efforts for the peaceful resolution of the long-standing dispute. Hussain reiterated support for Kashmiri people, saying, “Pakistan will continue to extend moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their right to self-determination.”
last year, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, while addressing a joint session of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s assembly in Muzaffarabad, had described Kashmir as his country’s “jugular vein”. In 2014, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif had also termed Kashmir as the “jugular vein” of Pakistan and said the issue should be resolved in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of Kashmiris.
Hussain said that Pakistan’s desire for “peaceful ties should not be misconstrued as our weakness”.