Opposition parties APC on Kashmir issue today

Opposition parties on Monday will hold an All Parties Conference (APC) to deliberate on the situation in Indian occupied Kashmir and the political situation in the country.

The meeting will be chaired by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and attended by top leaders from the PPP and PML-N. Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will not be attending the meeting.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Maulana Fazlur Rehman met last night to discuss the agenda of the APC.

Earlier this month, India through a presidential decree revoked Article 370 which granted special status to occupied Kashmir. New Delhi has maintained a curfew in the valley since then with a complete communication blackout.

Last week members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met in over five decades to discuss the critical situation in Indian occupied Kashmir, urging parties to dispute to refrain from taking any unilateral action.

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi, welcomed the UNSC meeting and said the country was "grateful to China for calling this meeting".

"The voice of the Kashmiri people have been heard today. The fact that this meeting took place is testimony to the fact that this is an internationally recognised dispute. This meeting has reaffirmed the validity of the UNSC resolutions on the status of Jammu and Kashmir," she said, speaking to reporters after the meeting.