ISLAMABAD, Feb 4 (APP):President Dr Arif Alvi Thursday while reiterating Pakistan’s firm stance of political, diplomatic and moral support for the people of IIOJK, resolved that the country would not allow the international community forget the Kashmir dispute.
Addressing a seminar “Pakistan Stands with Kashmir”, the president said the world community must play a role to pressure India end human rights abuses like killings, curbs on freedom of expression and assembly.
LIVE #APPNews : President Dr. Arif Alvi addressing Seminar “Pakistan Stands with Kashmiris” to mark #KashmirSolidarityDay #Islamabad. @ArifAlvi @PresOfPakistan #KashmiriLivesMatter https://t.co/MpGo9NiMQx
— APP 🇵🇰 (@appcsocialmedia) February 4, 2021
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, National Security Advisor Moeed Yousuf, Kashmiri leader Mushal Mullick, Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS) Director General Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry and diplomats from various countries also addressed the event organized here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr by ISS and National Security Division.
The president said the Kashmir Solidarity Day was aimed at commemorating the sacrifices by the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and made the world recall the promises made to them.
Calling the implementation of the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions as the only solution, the president said the responsibility lied with the international community as the issue was related to the human lives.
Referring to the multiple UN resolutions guaranteeing right to self-determination to the Kashmiri people, the president said Kashmir would have been liberated had Jawahar Lal Nehru not approached the UN for ceasefire because since the beginning, the Kashmiris had been resisting the Indian occupation.
But, he said, India moved away from its international responsibility, usurping the fundamental rights of the Kashmir people.
Even while unilaterally revoking Article 370 of its constitution, on August 5, 2019, he said, India had committed that it would not change the status of population and properties owned by the Kashmiris. Contrary to that, 900,000 troops were deployed in the territory to suppress eight million people, he added.
New domiciles were being given to the loyal people of Hindutva to change the demographic structure of the IIOJK, Dr Alvi said.
The president said Prime Minister Imran Khan had committed that if India took one step forward, Pakistan would take two for peace but the former moved to the opposite side.
Even following the Pulwama incident, he said, the Modi government tried to make aggression against Pakistan just to attract anti-Pakistan votes.
Calling India a “very irresponsible” and “belligerent” state, President Alvi said the country had been blaming Pakistan even for its own misdeeds.
He said India also revoked the special status of IIOJK and the only solution to the dispute was the reversal of Indian unilateral actions.
He thanked UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who called for peaceful resolution of the dispute, and urged the attending diplomats to apprise their respective governments of what India had been doing in the IIOJK.
Urging the media to highlight the Indian atrocities in Kashmir, the president demanded India to allow international media and the UN observers to the territory, just like Pakistan did in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on August 5, 2019, India had deluded that the Kashmiri people would accept its actions as their fate, it would hoodwink the entire international community and it would be successful in depriving the Kashmiris of their right to self-determination forever.
“India has failed and will continue to fail in its dark attempts,” he said and reiterated that India stood fully exposed before the international community for usurping the fundamental freedoms of the Kashmiri people.
He said despite global condemnation, India had not corrected its course rather was busy further perpetuating its occupation of the IIOJK through illegal demographic changes.
Qureshi said the recent report by EU DisinfoLab about India’s global disinformation campaign against Pakistan had further validated Pakistan’s position about India’s evil designs.
He said India had been oppressing the Kashmiri people through an inhuman military siege, communication blockade, extra-judicial killings, usurpation of rights to freedom, life, liberty, education and every other possible human right of the Kashmiris, besides using pellet guns against peaceful demonstrators.
The foreign minister asked India to immediately lift the continuing military siege and rescind illegal and inhuman actions taken in the IIOJK, remove restrictions on communications, and release the incarcerated Kashmiri political leaders and allow them to express the wishes of Kashmiri people.
