Modi’s IIOJ&K uplift claims ring hollow amid rights abuses: FO

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has firmly rejected the baseless and misleading remarks made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).

“Such statements represent a deliberate attempt to deflect international attention from the grave and persistent human rights violations being committed in a territory under foreign occupation,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday.

“We are deeply dismayed that the Indian Prime Minister has once again chosen to accuse Pakistan of involvement in the Pahalgam attack, without presenting a single piece of credible evidence,” it said.

“Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognised disputed territory, the final status of which is to be determined in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and the will of the Kashmiri people. No amount of rhetoric can change this legal and historical reality,” the foreign ministry said, adding: “Claims of development in IIOJ&K ring hollow against the backdrop of an unprecedented military presence, suppression of fundamental freedoms, arbitrary arrests, and a concerted effort to alter the region’s demography in violation of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.”

The ministry stressed Pakistan remains steadfast in its principled support for the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their just struggle for their rights and dignity. “We call upon the international community, including the United Nations and human rights organisations, to hold India accountable for its oppression and to ensure that the Kashmiri people are allowed to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions,” it added.