Abdullah Gul (Defense Analyst): 

The Kashmir issue is amongst the long-standing issues at the UN charter. The world also acknowledges that the Kashmir dispute is an international issue. The former Indian Prime Minister Nehru himself took the issue to the United Nations and promised to hold a plebiscite in the occupied valley. The world becomes the guarantor for the peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue. On the 19th July, 1947, Sardar Qayyum along with a number of Kashmiris decided to merge with Pakistan but unfortunately on 27th October, India forces landed in the valley and illegally occupied it. India claims that Kashmir is an internal issue but as per the UN resolutions the Kashmir is a disputed territory. The world needs to resolve the Kashmir issue as per UN resolutions and according to the will of the Kashmir people. Pakistan, on continuous basis, highlighting Kashmir dispute on all international forums and also continuing moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmir cause. In my opinion, all the regional issues including Afghanistan must be resolved for the sake of regional peace and prosperity. The international community has to pay attention to humanitarian crises emerging in Afghanistan.

Dr. Noor Fatima (IR Expert):

Pakistan is observing the 147th birth anniversary of its national philosopher and poet, Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal across the country today. Iqbal played a pivotal role in awakening the Muslim community of the subcontinent and he laid the foundation for the idea of an independent Muslim state, eventually leading to the creation of Pakistan. Allama Iqbal aroused a revolutionary spirit in the nation through his poetry. It is fact that Iqbal's teachings on self-reliance, unity, and self-awareness remained vital sources of inspiration for the nation's development. Allama Iqbal was having a belief that the young people possess immense potential to shape their own destinies and contribute meaningfully to the world around them as the youth can be the source of native ideas to bring around a lasting change.