ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Sunday prayed for early recovery of Syed Ali Geelani, the chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, from illness and said that his existence was a great source of encouragement for the people of Kashmir.

In a video message, the foreign minister prayed for the APHC leader’s good health and long life.

“You are a rock in your resolve. The way you have represented the unarmed people of Kashmir over the last six decades and became a flag bearer of their right to self-determination, is unprecedented in the history,” the foreign minister said.

No worldly favours, oppression, torture or detention could deter Mr Geelani’s resolve, Mr Qureshi said.

He said that after India’s unilateral action of Aug 5, the people who had been opposing Mr Geelani’s viewpoint were now admitting their mistake of wasting their time for believing the Indian government’s false commitments on Kashmir.

The foreign minister said that the people of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir living anywhere in the world were praying for recuperation of the Hurriyat leader because Mr Geelani had become a symbol of courage, resolve and the ideology of self-determination.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2020