Pakistan urges UN to intervene over grave IHK situation

By APP
August 25, 2019

By News Desk

Advertisement

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres Saturday to immediately intervene for the safety and security of the people of Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) who had been facing relentless curfew and other restrictions since New Delhi stripped the disputed territory of its special autonomy on August 5.

The foreign minister told a news conference here that he held a detailed telephonic conversation with the United Nations secretary general, who was in Paris, and apprised him of the fast worsening situation in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the unabated lockdown, grave human rights violations, and the scarcity of food and medicines in the wake of India’s unilateral and illegal steps.

He said the Kashmiris were patiently looking towards the international community for help and they expected it to play its role, and in case it failed, the Kashmiris would be forced to avail all options to resist the highhandedness and aggression unleashed by the Indian government in the disputed valley.

Qureshi said the UN Human Rights Commissioner was also urged to intervene to protect the lives of Kashmiris. He said the UN secretary general was reminded that there were three parties to the dispute. Pakistan and the Kashmiris had already vehemently rejected the unilateral and illegal Indian steps, whereas the third party, India stood divided as a huge strata of Indian society and opposition parties had been opposing Modi’s illegal steps.

The minister said the fascist regime of Narendra Modi manifested its intention further after a delegation of nine Indian opposition parties led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi were detained at the Srinagar airport and deported back to Delhi.

They had gone to assess the situation in the Indian occupied Kashmir.

Furthermore, party leaders of Congress who were holding press conference were also arrested, he said.

“Such is the democratic face of India, the world is today witnessing.” How the Modi government, which did not sit with its own people, could sit with Pakistan to resolve the issue, he asked.

The foreign minister said he lauded the Kashmiri people, who had been uploading footages of their struggle as there was complete communication shutdown in occupied Kashmir. Kashmiris held a demonstration after Friday prayers and the occupation forces used tear gas and pellet guns against them as a result a large number of protestors were injured. The foreign minister said he thanked the UN secretary general for his statement over the Kashmir dispute, which reflected a legal and correct version of the UN, and highlighted the plight of innocent Kashmiris.

Qureshi said he told Guterres that the UN Security Council had timely held its deliberations, sensing the gravity of situation in the IHK.

The UN secretary general told Qureshi that the UNSC members were briefed over the evolving situation in the disputed valley, the threats the region was facing and the human rights violations. Qureshi said during the closed-door consultations, all the UNSC members were of the opinion to resolve the issue peacefully.

The foreign minister said the UN secretary general’s statement had a weight and the world gave attention to it. He also brought into the notice of UN secretary general the use of cluster ammunition and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s concerns over possibility of staging of a false flag operation by India in the occupied valley.

The world body had already been cautioned over that threat thrice through his letters and during today’s conversation, the secretary general was directly apprised in that regard, he added.

Qureshi said the UN was reminded that its security council was mandated to intervene over any illegal and unilateral steps aimed at demographic change of the disputed territory.

The UN secretary general was further requested to expedite efforts to help lift curfew in the occupied valley, and also to apprise the P-5 leadership of the gravity of situation there, he added. The foreign minister said the UN secretary general also assured him that during an upcoming meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi in Paris, he would take up the Kashmir issue.

Guterres reiterated he was ready to play his role for the resolution of the issue, but the Indian side was the main hurdle, Qureshi added. The UN Human Rights Commissioner had already unveiled its report over the serious human rights violations in the occupied Kashmir exposing the Indian aggression, the foreign minister said.

Advertisement