Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan called for greater support from the international community in controlling the recent surge in violence in India-held Kashmir.

Addressing a convention of British councillors, lord mayors and mayors in London, Khan remarked that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) should intercede to take full cognisance of the situation in India-held Kashmir and “stop massacres, killings, and illegal detentions”.

The AJK president said, “The conflict of Jammu and Kashmir is the most obscure in the region where thousands of people are killed, maimed, tortured, and incarcerated every year.”

Unlike other conflicts, Kashmir has little visibility on the international radar and remains the least reported conflict, he said, adding that the world powers should play their “rightful role instead of acting as bystanders in the Kashmir dispute”.

Khan asked: "Has the UN not intervened in South Sudan, Mali, Central African Republic, Yemen, and Libya, without waiting for the consent of the parties to the conflict?"

The AJK president was of the view that Pakistan should no longer hold dialogue with India on Kashmir because of three reasons: “Kashmir is an international, not a bilateral, dispute; secondly, India has closed all doors for bilateral dialogue; and thirdly, the rounds of bilateral engagement so far have proved to be a mirage and totally unproductive.”

He further underlined that Kashmir was a trilateral issue between Pakistan, India and the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and “the Kashmiris were the most important party in this dispute because they have to decide their political future in accordance with the UNSC resolutions”.

He informed the audience regarding how AJK has become part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor and a hub for economic activity.