A Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) meeting over the weekend made a call for a referendum in Kashmir.

A Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) meeting over the weekend made a call for a referendum in Kashmir.

“India accepted the verdict of the UN Security Council, which it should fulfill,” Sardar Mohammad Ashfaque, general secretary of the Kashmir Community organization, said in his presidential address.

“The strong presence of Indian armed forces cannot change the minds of Kashmiris who are seeking their basic right to self-determination," he said and called for increasing awareness of the issue and a referendum.

He also wanted Pakistan to take urgent measures to solve the issue of Pakistanis stranded in Bangladesh.

Syed Neaz Ahmed, president of the Pakistan Writers Forum, said a lot of effort was needed at an official level to highlight the Kashmir issue with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

He regretted the delay in repatriating thousands of Pakistanis who remain stranded in Bangladesh.

Gulab Khan said, "Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah called Kashmir our 'key nerve,' which remains occupied by India for over 60 years. No other proposal will work except a referendum there."

He added that the issue of stranded Pakistanis is not as complicated as Kashmir and could be solved easily if the government showed it was serious about resolving the issue.

Shaikh Mohammad Luqman criticized the UN's alleged double standards, as he said it played a key role in pushing through referendums in East Timor and Sudan, but had failed to fulfill its commitment for one in Kashmir for over six decades.

PRC Convener Syed Ehsanul Haque said the OIC was the right body for raising the issue in the UN Security Council and seeking the right to self-determination for the people of Kashmir.