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ISLAMABAD, Oct 27 (APP):Former President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan’s former Ambassador to the United Nations, United States, and China, Sardar Masood Khan on Monday called upon the youth of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to become architects of a self-reliant future, grounded in justice, equality, and strategic clarity.
According to press release received here, addressing cadets at Cadet College Palandri on Monday, he said Pakistan’s resurgence on the global stage must be reinforced by intellectual renewal at home, coupled with strong economic empowerment.
Speaking on “The Modern United Nations and the Changing Global Order,” he said that while the UN was established to prevent wars, safeguard human rights and promote decolonization, it had drifted from its original mission.
He cited the ongoing humanitarian crises in Gaza and Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir as examples of the international system’s “moral paralysis.” Major powers, he argued, have failed to uphold the charter principles they committed to. “The system cannot endure if it remains indifferent to genocide, occupation and oppression,” he warned.
Masood Khan urged students to challenge global inequities and free themselves from a mindset of dependence on structures designed by former colonial powers. “Develop your own governance models, your own intellectual ecosystem. You must think like sovereigns, not subjects,” he said.
While addressing Kashmir’s history, he recalled the July 19, 1947 resolution in favour of accession to Pakistan and the sacrifices made by Kashmiris resisting occupation.
He said India’s demographic engineering in IIOJK echoed the tragic massacres of 1947, and stressed that Pakistan remained committed to the right of self-determination for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Despite the revocation of Articles 370 and 35A, Pakistan has raised the issue thrice at the UN Security Council and continues to honour international law,” he asserted.
Highlighting AJK’s transformation from post-war underdevelopment to progress and educational advancement, he said Kashmiris were today contributing significantly to Pakistan’s armed forces, civil services, media and business sectors.
Students from the region, he noted, were excelling at globally renowned universities, reflecting their potential to lead in science, technology and innovation.
He emphasised that young Pakistanis now constitute the majority of the population and must take ownership of the country’s trajectory.
“We are strong militarily; now we must become strong economically. No external power will design our destiny. National unity, economic strength and moral resolve must guide Pakistan forward,” he said.
Commending Cadet College Palandri for cultivating disciplined and visionary cadets, Masood Khan said, “the future belongs to nations whose youth act with purpose. Let the youth of Pakistan and AJK rise as the vanguard of a confident and forward-looking state.”