The event began with the screening of a special video message by His Excellency Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu, and Kashmir which emphasized the importance of a negotiated settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Charter and UN Security Council resolutions.
The panel of eminent guest speakers included Dr. Karen Elizabeth Parker – President, Association of Humanitarian Lawyers and IED delegate to the United Nations, Ambassador Touqir Hussain – former Ambassador and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, Rizwan Kadir – Director, The Kashmir Society, Dr. Imtiaz Khan – Professor at School of Medicine & Health Services at George Washington University and Sardar Zulfiqar Khan – prominent Kashmiri American leader. Each speaker discussed at length various facets of the Kashmir issue. They voiced deep concerns over the gross human rights violations being committed by Indian Security forces in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and paid rich tribute to the courageous people of Kashmir, who remained steadfast in their resolve to free themselves from brutal Indian occupation.
Speaking at the occasion, Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan said that Pakistan will continue to extend its unflinching moral, diplomatic and political support to the cause of self-determination of the people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He urged the international community, specifically the United States, to play its due role in resolving this longstanding dispute. He further called upon the US Administration to exercise its diplomatic clout in pressurizing the Government of India to put an end to reign of terror and genocide in Indian occupied Kashmir and fulfill its international obligations under international law.
A special documentary portraying the unabated and undeterred resilience of the Kashmiri people was also screened on the occasion.
A large number of students, prominent members of the Pakistani American and Kashmiri diaspora, representatives of civil society and media organizations attended the seminar.
