MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Barrister Sultan Mahmood on Monday urged Norway to help resolve the protracted Kashmir issue peacefully, leveraging its status as a mutual friend of both the countries.

President Mahmood made these remarks during a meeting with former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik at Kashmir House in Islamabad, according to a press release issued by his office.

Norwegian Ambassador to Pakistan Per Albert Ilsaas, former member of Oslo Parliament Aamir Javed Sheikh, and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

Mr Bondevik had served as Norway’s Prime Minister from 1997 to 2000 and again from 2001 to 2005. After retiring from active politics, he founded The Oslo Centre in 2006, an organisation dedicated to international dialogue and democracy. He later joined the Club de Madrid in 2005, a global assembly of former heads of state committed to democratic governance.

During the meeting, President Mahmood underscored the importance of third-party mediation in resolving the Kashmir conflict, citing Norway’s success in facilitating peace processes in the Middle East as an example.

He expressed the hope that Norway could play a similar role in bringing India and Pakistan to the negotiating table to achieve a just and honourable solution to the Kashmir issue.

“Peace and stability in South Asia are intrinsically tied to the resolution of the Kashmir dispute,” he said, while emphasising the critical need for Norway to leverage its exemplary human rights record to address ongoing violations in Indian-occupied Kashmir.

The AJK president also called on Norway and other influential global governments to fulfil their responsibility toward the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination, a right guaranteed by the United Nations.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2025