Malala Yousafzai on Kashmir issue: We can all live in peace

Nobel Peace Prize winner and Pakistani education rights activist Malala Yousafzai on Thursday appealed for the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue, saying "we can all live in peace" and there is no need to "hurt each other".

Malala's statement comes after the Indian government on Monday revoked Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. In response, Pakistan on Wednesday expelled the Indian High Commissioner and decided to downgrade the diplomatic ties with India over what it called New Delhi's "unilateral and illegal" move.

"The people of Kashmir have lived in conflict since I was a child, since my mother and father were children, since my grandparents were young," the youngest ever Nobel Laureate tweeted. Malala, 22, said that she cared about Kashmir since "South Asia is my home, a home I share with 1.8 billion people including Kashmiris". The region represented different cultures, religions, languages, cuisines and customs, she said and expressed hope that "we can all live in peace".

"There is no need for us to continue to suffer and hurt each other," she said. Malala said she was worried mostly about the women and children in Kashmir, since they are the "most vulnerable to violence and most likely to suffer losses in conflict". She called on all South Asians, the international community and authorities to respond to their suffering. "Whatever disagreement we may have... Must focus on peacefully resolving the seven-decade conflict in Kashmir," Malala said.

-PTI