SWABI, Feb 9: Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Abbas Sarfaraz Khan said here on Saturday the Indian leaders had been indulging in a negative propaganda campaign against Pakistan, alleging that Pakistan had hijacked the Kashmir issue while making inflammatory remarks.

Speaking at the ‘Rabita’ programme of the Abaseen Union of Journalists, he recalled that the government had sent various delegations to a number of countries for highlighting the Kashmir issue. This, he added, had resulted in a better understanding by the world leaders of Pakistan’s principled stand of providing moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir.

The constitution of the Kashmir Committee, the minister said, was another step in this direction. The committee comprised non-official figures and its members would further highlight the core issue of Kashmir on international level, he added.

Abbas Sarfaraz said Pakistan would never give up its principled stand on the Kashmir issue and continue its efforts for the implementation of the UN resolutions which called for a plebiscite under the supervision of the world body.

There was neither a king’s party in the country nor had the government decided to hand over power to a particular political party, he said, and added he had not yet decided to join any political party though Imran Khan, former president Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari, Omer Asghar Khan and the PPP had contacted him.

He, however, announced he would contest the elections for both the National Assembly and provincial assembly seats from his native town Mardan. Whether he would contest the elections on a party platform or as an independent candidate would be decided at a proper time, Abbas Sarfaraz added.

To a question, he said the visit of interim Afghan government Chairman Hamid Karzai to Islamabad had paved the way for a better understanding and warm relations between the two countries as they decided to bury the bitter past.

Appreciating the graduation condition, he said there was a need for qualified parliamentarians. How could an illiterate person properly legislate, he wondered.