ISLAMABAD: Central leader of Pakistan Tehriki (PTI) and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday said durable peace in South Asia was not possible without the resolution of Kashmir dispute.

Speaking at a seminar held in connection with Kashmir Solidarity Day, Mr Qureshi said the dispute was not only a threat to peace in South Asia but also the entire world.

He said the United Nations (UN) and the international community should come forward and play their roles in bringing to an end repression, violence and human rights violations being committed in the Indian-held Kashmir.

He asked the government to announce a clear policy on Kashmir, adding that the dispute needed urgent resolution as per the wishes of the people of Kashmir. “We will continue supporting the cause of Kashmir,” he added.

The participants of the seminar later staged a protest against the atrocities of Indian forces against the people of Indian-held Kashmir, calling upon the UN to take notice of the excessiveness being meted out to children, elders and women.

The protesters, most of them workers of political parties and civil society organisations, expressed solidarity with the Kashmiri people.

They said the public holiday on February 5 clearly showed that the people of Pakistan attached great importance to the Kashmiris.