ISLAMABAD | 29 September 2017Centre for Peace, Development and Reforms (CPDR) organized an interactive session at Riphah University, Islamabad with Justice (R) Manzoor Hussain Gilani, the former Chief Justice Supreme Court of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, who has recently visited the Kashmir Valley. The meeting aimed to enhance the understanding of the participants about the current Kashmir situation.
The prominent among the participants were Ambassador Arif Kamal; Dr. Rashid Aftab of Riphah University; Dr. Shaheen Akhtar, Head of Department of International Relations, National Defense University, Islamabad; Mr. Ershad Mahmud, Executive Director CPDR; Dr. Waqas Ali Kausar, Mrs. Ammara Durrani, freelance writer, Head of Department (Governance and Public Policy), National University of Modern Languages (NUML); Raja Mansoor Akhtar, Deputy Secretary General of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Syed Ali Muneeb, Jalaluddin Mughal and others.
Justice Gillani, while addressing the session briefed the participants about his observations regarding the socio-economic and political changes happening taking place in the region especially during the post Burhan Wani era. He stated that Kashmir Valley is in the grip of political turmoil and violence has become a daily occurrence.
He also acquainted the participants with the knowledge about the impacts of current uprising in Kashmir on the daily life as well as on the socio-economic and political activities in Kashmir. While responding to the questions by the audience, Justice Gillani stated that he has observed an overwhelming pro-Azadi sentiment among the youth in the Valley and felt complete alienation. He suggested that a political process should be begin to address this issue as soon as possible.
