Pak needs national consensus on Kashmir: Shujaat Hussain

All political parties of Pakistan must strive to create a national consensus on the Kashmir issue, said former Prime Minister Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain, according to a media report today.

All political parties of Pakistan must strive to create a national consensus on the Kashmir issue, said former Prime Minister Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain, according to a media report on Saturday.

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"All parties must strive to create a national consensus on Kashmir, which will be in consonance with the emotional sentiments of the Pakistani people," Hussain said in a meeting with Jamait-e-Ulema Pakistan (Fazlur) chief and the National Assembly's Kashmir Committee chief Maulana Fazlur Hussain, the Urdu daily Jang reported.

Former Punjab chief minister Chaudhary Pervez Elahi, who was also present at the meeting on Friday at Hussain's house in Islamabad, praised Maulana Fazlur's efforts to bring all political parties and leaders on the same page on the issue.

Hussain also accepted Maulana Fazlur's invitation for his Pakistan Muslim League to join the All Parties Kashmir Conference.

India accuses Pakistan of providing military and financial support to the separatist campaign raging on in Jammu and Kashmir since 1989. Islamabad denies the charge, saying it only gives diplomatic and moral backing.

Jammu and Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan. While Pakistan holds the northern third of the Himalayan state, the rest is controlled by India.