Azad Kashmir’s president visits Anadolu Agency

ANKARA

The president of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and an accompanying delegation on Friday paid a visit to the headquarters of Anadolu Agency, Turkey's leading news agency, in capital Ankara.

Sardar Masood Khan, president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, was received by Metin Mutanoglu, Anadolu Agency’s deputy director general and editor-in-chief, and Mehmet Ozturk, the editor of world languages department.

President Khan said the news agencies held a great responsibility regarding the Kashmir dispute, as the region was among “the least” covered conflict zones in the world.

Describing the humanitarian situation in the conflict zone as “grim and gruesome”, Khan underlined that the global community should closely watch the ground developments in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

He said the international community has the responsibility to address the “root causes” of the conflict to find a permanent solution.

He stressed a nuclear warfare between conflicting parties could lead to the death of some 20 million people in the region, and a “nuclear Armageddon” could bring a nuclear winter that could put the globe under a grave risk.

The president argued the government of India did not seek to find solution to the crisis, saying India used the issue to influence local politics.

Mutanoglu gave a presentation regarding Anadolu Agency's operations, objectives along with the organization's structure and functioning worldwide.

Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi, Pakistan’s ambassador to Ankara, was also present at the event.

Earlier on Friday, Khan attended a conference -- titled Kashmir Dispute and Role of International Community -- organized by Institute of Strategic Thinking in capital Ankara.

Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.