An in-camera meeting of the Kashmir committee chaired by Federal Minister Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon was held at Parliament House Islamabad on 30 December 2025. The session opened with a Fatiha for the late mother of the chairman, followed by detailed discussions on the political and educational dimensions of the Kashmir issue.
Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon described the Kashmir dispute as an unfinished agenda of the subcontinent’s partition and underscored the necessity of a just and durable settlement in line with UN Security Council resolutions. He emphasized that for over seven decades the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been deprived of their basic right to self-determination, a matter that must be pursued through sustained international advocacy.
The chairman called for a unified national narrative on Kashmir, urging youth, intellectuals and the media to play an active role in highlighting the issue globally. He stressed the need to strengthen research, raise academic standards and promote excellence in universities across Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and recommended inclusion of Kashmir studies, Kashmiri culture and the history of the freedom movement in the national curriculum. Establishing technical and vocational institutions in Azad Kashmir was identified as an urgent priority to support local development.
Prime Minister of Azad Jammu & Kashmir Faisal Mumtaz Rathore praised the parliamentary Kashmir committee for its work and noted that AJK universities are contributing to higher quality education. He reiterated that priority measures are being taken to support overall development in Azad Kashmir and condemned grave human rights violations by Indian forces in the occupied territory.
Acting President of Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Speaker Choudhry Latif Akbar affirmed Pakistan’s continued international advocacy for Kashmiri self-determination. He described the actions of occupying forces in Jammu & Kashmir as blatant breaches of international law and human rights, and urged that Kashmiri language, culture and heritage be integrated into educational curricula. He also called for federal support to ensure financial stability for universities in Azad Kashmir.
Participants agreed that the Kashmir committee must keep the issue at the core of Pakistan’s national and foreign policy and build public opinion through targeted awareness among young people. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister AJK Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, Acting President and Speaker Choudhry Latif Akbar, Federal Minister Aurangzeb Khichi, Senators Pervaiz Rasheed and Zamir Hussain, MNAs Mirza Ikhtiyar Baig, Abrar Ahmed, Choudhry Nasir Ahmad Abbas, Azhar Qayyum Nahra, Asad Alam Niazi, vice chancellors of Azad Kashmir universities and senior officials from relevant institutions.
