ISLAMABAD, Oct 9 (APP): Pakistan, while urging the international community to take immediate cognizance of India’s use of state-terrorism as a tool to destabilize the region, Thursday said it had been consistently sensitizing the world regarding latter’s involvement in terrorism to destabilize the country and the region.
“Recently, we have seen many international endorsements, which vindicate Pakistan’s consistent position that India is a state sponsor of terrorism,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said in response to a question here during the weekly press briefing.
He said the report by a US magazine further exposed the true face of India — the so-called largest democracy in the world, whose belligerent posture and expansionist policies were imperiling regional peace and stability.
Pakistan had already shared with the international community, incriminating evidence regarding Indian intelligence agency RAW’s involvement in the terrorist activities on its soil, the spokesperson maintained.
About the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Zahid Chaudhri said the Kashmiris were continuously subjected to an unprecedented brutal military siege and inhuman restrictions for 431 days since India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019.
In September alone, he said, the Indian occupation forces martyred 19 more Kashmiris, including a woman, in “fake encounters” and so-called “cordon-and-search” operations.
“The occupation forces also injured at least 16 peaceful protestors, arbitrarily detained 88 Kashmiri youth, and destroyed 14 houses to inflict collective punishment on the Kashmiri communities,” he added.
The spokesperson said in their latest act of state terrorism, the Indian occupation forces martyred two more Kashmiri youth in staged cordon and search operations in Shopian on October 7, 2020.
“The cold-blooded murders of innocent Kashmiris are a clear manifestation of the state terrorism to which unarmed Kashmiris have been subjected to for the past seven decades,” he maintained.
Recalling the extra-judicial killing of three innocent Kashmiri laborers in a staged “cordon and search” operation in Shopian on July 18, 2020, the FO spokesperson referred to a statement issued by the Indian Army on September 18, in which they “confessed that the powers vested under the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) were exceeded”.
“On 3rd October, the Indian authorities exhumed and handed over the mortal remains of those innocent Kashmiri boys to their families,” he added,
The spokesperson said the acknowledgment of war crimes in the IIOJK by the Indian Army, was a sad reminder of Pakistan`s consistent sensitization to the world community about India`s serious crimes against the Kashmiri people.
“As the Indian occupation army is trying to evade responsibility for serious war crimes through ‘bogus disciplinary actions’, Pakistan once again calls for a transparent judicial inquiry, under strict international scrutiny,” he added.
“We also reiterate our call for independent judicial inquiry into the gruesome killing of prominent Kashmiri lawyer and activist, Babar Qadri, who was shot dead by unidentified attackers in Srinagar,” the spokesperson said.
He said since all of India’s state institutions had lost credibility due to the deep permeation of extremist “Hindutva” ideology, “any investigation into the Indian crimes in IIOJK, to be acceptable to the Kashmiris and to the international community, must be held under strict international scrutiny.”
“The international community, particularly the United Nations and human rights bodies, must take immediate cognizance of the RSS-BJP regime`s genocidal tendencies and hold India accountable for these serious crimes against innocent Kashmiri people,” he added.
The spokesperson welcomed the recent statement by the Chair of the European Parliament’s Sub-Committee on Human Rights, “which serves as another damning indictment of the Indian Government’s Human Rights record.”
“Marginalization of communities in India, including religious minorities, particularly Muslims, has become a hallmark of the RSS-BJP government’s policies – a fact which this statement particularly highlights,” he added.
The spokesperson said, “The statement also expresses concern that “journalists and other peaceful critics continue to be arrested under draconian counter-terrorism and sedition laws, while human rights defenders are unceasingly and severely targeted by the authorities.”
About the Indian Air Force Chief’s recent irresponsible statement regarding India being ready for a “two-front war” with China and Pakistan, he said,“Such provocative statements are a true reflection of RSS-BJP mindset, a dangerous mix of extremist ideology and hegemonic designs.
“It is ironic that, certain senior Indian political and military leaders continue to make a career out of issuing provocative statements against Pakistan at the cost of putting regional peace and security as well as India’s own security at risk,” he added.
The spokesperson said while making such braggadocio, the Indian Air Force Chief must not forget India’s defence limitations, so embarrassingly exposed to the world, first during its misadventure in Balakot and more recently in Ladakh.
“India must not underestimate the resolve of Pakistani nation and the preparedness of our armed forces against any ill- conceived misadventure by India,” he maintained.
The spokesperson said in the interest of peace and prosperity in South Asia, India must abandon its 3rd century ‘Chanakya Doctrine’ and adopt the 21st century model of regional peace and development.
To a question regarding Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Afghanistan, he said President Ashraf Ghani had extended invitation to the prime minister to visit Kabul during their phone call on August 25, 2020.
“The prime minister has accepted the invitation. The visit will be planned at mutually convenient dates,” he added.
About the case of Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav and the remarks made by the spokesperson of Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Zahid Chaudhri said India was fast depleting its already eroded credibility by making insane demands and illogical remarks in the case.
“It is utterly surprising that India continues to repeat the questions that have already been answered. Pakistan has already provided two unimpeded and uninterrupted consular accesses to India and has offered a third one,” he added.
The spokesperson further said, “It has also been clarified to India that only those lawyers can appear before the honorable courts in Pakistan, who have the license to practice law in this country. This is in line with legal practice in different jurisdictions, including India.”
“As for the demand for provision of relevant papers, it has been conveyed to the Indian side that a duly appointed lawyer can collect the relevant papers from the office of the Attorney General for Pakistan,” he added.
The spokesperson said,“It appears that India is actually afraid of the difficult questions which it will need to answer during the review and reconsideration process.
“Rather than trying to abuse the legal process, India would be well advised to act as a responsible state and cooperate with the Pakistani courts to give effect to the ICJ (International Court of Justice) judgment,” he added.
