ISLAMABAD, Jan 19 (APP): Condemning continuous killing of Kashmiris in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK), Pakistan said Hindu terrorist organisations such as RSS, its affiliates and the armed village defence committees were committing ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Muslims in the Jammu region.
In the weekly briefing of the foreign office here Thursday, the
spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said since 2014, when the Modi government took over, the Hindu terrorists, have reportedly been empowered with full support from the state machinery, more so in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir, causing displacement of scores of Kashmiri Muslim families by design.
He maintained that All Parties Parliamentary Group on Kashmir, in the
House of Commons, UK, will hold a 3-hours debate on Thursday by where Kashmir issue and human rights violations in IoK will be discussed. This is the result of Pakistan’s efforts to sensitize the plight of Kashmiri people.
The prime minister is currently visiting Davos to participate in the
World Economic Forum, where he held bilateral meetings with various leaders on the sidelines during which he highlighted human rights violations of defenceless Kashmiris in IoK at the hands of Indian occupation forces, he informed.
During the last two weeks, he said, many Kashmiris have been killed in
fake encounters, house raids and custodial killings. This has been going on since 1947 to turn the Muslim majority Jammu district into a Muslim minority district. Genocide, state terrorism, settlement of non-Kashmiris and other tools are being employed to bring about demographic change, he added.
“We condemn atrocities perpetrated by Indian occupation forces and Hindu terrorists in IoK. Pakistan is constantly sensitizing the world community on the grave violation of human rights of hapless Kashmiris in IoK.
International Parliamentarians Seminar on January 5 & 6, 2017 and
numerous other such activities are a manifestation of Pakistani government and nation’s commitment to our Kashmiri brethren,” he remarked.
This year’s participation of Pakistan at World Economic Forum (WEF), he said is significant in many ways. Democratically strengthening and economically rising Pakistan has been warmly welcomed by the world’s political and business leaders. Pakistan’s progress has been noted, lauded and evinced interest of countries, businessmen and investors, he added.
In reference to co-chairing, Zakaria said, “We were proud to see
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy co-chair the WEF session.”
In the weekly briefing of the Foreign office, Spokesperson Nafees
Zakaria responding to a question about Afghan President Ghani’s utterances against Pakistan, said,”We reject Afghan Government’s baseless allegations.”
The accusatory approach is unhelpful towards efforts for peace, he
added.
He said that Pakistan has suffered from the menace of terrorism and has made unparalleled sacrifices, adding, “We have done more than any other nation in the world in the fight against terrorism.
Pakistan has highest stakes in the peace and stability in Afghanistan.
No country gets affected more than Pakistan due to instability in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s commitment to peace and stability in Afghanistan is, therefore, beyond any doubt, he remarked.
The spokesperson said it is disappointing that some elements, which have
no interest in peace in Afghanistan and want to damage Pak-Afghan relations, have been maligning Pakistan for their own agenda.
Pakistan, as the most sincere friend and well-wisher of Afghan people,
has contributed to the Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process, whenever requested.
He said, increasing foothold of various terrorist organizations and
outfits due to persistent instability in Afghanistan is a growing concern for not just Pakistan but other countries in the region and beyond.
A number of independent studies and assessments, he said, have
established that the factors impeding reconciliation and stability in Afghanistan are internal to Afghanistan.
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR),
General Nicholson’s annual assessment report and various other UN reports have amply identified that risks and obstacles in the way to peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan remain internal.
On its part, Pakistan remains committed to a meaningful engagement with Afghanistan to address the common challenge of terrorism.
“We are willing to extend all possible cooperation to Afghanistan,
particularly for sharing our achievements and experience in the field of counter-terrorism and border management,” Nafees Zakaria said.
With reference to the question regarding the Indian prime minister’s
statement, he said no nation has done more than Pakistan to defeat the menace of terrorism.
“Our successes in counter terrorism are well-demonstrated and have been widely acknowledged. The salutary effect on our economy is also visible,” he added.
Unfortunately, Pakistan is also a victim of terrorism, especially Indian
state sponsored terrorism. The confession statement of a serving Indian Naval Officer, Kulbhushan Yadev has proved that Indian state agencies are continuously involved in subversive and terrorist activities in Pakistan.
The spokesperson of the Foreign Office said that Pakistan has repeatedly called on the Indian Government to pursue the path
of dialogue and engagement, rather than confrontation, violence
and terrorism.
India has always shirked from dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Jammu & Kashmir dispute, he added.
Pakistan believes that the just resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is essential for normalization of relations between the two countries and the peace and development in the region, he said.
To a question about the statement of Indian Minister of State, regarding terming RSS as a terrorist organization, he said this statement should be seen in the backdrop of public confession by the RSS activist, Swami Aseemanand, regarding involvement in Samjhauta Express terrorist attack of Feb. 2007, in which mostly Pakistanis were killed.
Swami was the mastermind. He had also identified other terrorists involved belonging to Abhinav Bharat, headed by then a serving Indian Army Colonel, Parohit. RSS was instrumental in the genocide of more than 500,000 Kashmiri Muslims during Nov 1947.
Pakistani FM’s letter to the Chair UNCIP also reflected on RSS gruesome activities, he said. The rising incidents of intolerance against minorities especially Muslims, Dalits and Christians in India are a testimony, he added.
Responding to another query he said, “we have submitted the dossier on Kulbhushan Yadev very recently. This dossier is based on the confessions and revelation made by Kulbhusan Yadav. What we had submitted earlier was the evidence and information that reflected on Indian involvement in terrorism, which had been gathered.”
In 2009 at Sharm-al-Sheikh, the spokesperson said, “we had taken up the issue, at the political leadership level, of Indian involvement in terrorism in Pakistan. Indian involvement in Pakistan’s internal matters is a longstanding problem that Pakistan has been raising with the international community for a quite some time.”
In 2013, he said, “we also saw a statement of the then US Defence Secretary, Chuck Hagel, who revealed how India financed instability in Pakistan from Afghanistan.”
He also referred the statement of Ajit Doval, in which he said that India will use Taliban against Pakistan. Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parriker also stated that they would use terrorists against Pakistan.
“You have also seen the Indian statements on Balochistan at the highest political level. All these statements, ample of irrefutable evidence and undeniable proof of Indian involvement in perpetrating terrorism and terror financing in Pakistan are fact of the matter.”
To a question about the affects and impact of report of Human Rights Watch highlighting the Indian atrocities and intense anti-India sentiments among Kashmiris in IoK, Nafees Zakaria said there are many reports on this and there are also many calls by human rights associations.
“I may also remind you about the demand of the UN Human Rights Commissioner, who had asked at the formal session of Human Rights Council for an independent investigation into the human rights violations in IoK. You may also recall that Amnesty International, a few months back, had issued a statement and raised concerns. Indian authorities had sealed their offices.”
IoK is the most militarized zone in the world with one Indian soldier for every 12 Kashmiris. Over several decades Indian occupation forces have massacred over 1.5 million Kashmiris.
During the current phase of uprising since 8 July, 2016 they have once again unleashed the reign of terror targeting innocent civilians including children, he said. Pellet guns have been used to deliberately target the eyes of peaceful protestors resulting in permanent blindness of around 1,000 people, including young girls and children.
