Imran points out double standards on Kashmir

• PTI chairman says Fazl-led Kashmir Committee must be held accountable

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday asked the world community to get rid of its hypocrisy and double standards and speak out on the continued Indian oppression against the Kashmiri people in blatant violation of UN charter and resolutions for plebiscite in the divided state of Jammu Kashmir.

In a reaction to the recent killing of Kashmiri freedom fighter Sarbaz Ahmed Bhat and other young people by the Indian Army, he said that the hypocrisy and double standards of the international community have never been so starkly displayed, as on the Kashmir issue.

Strongly denouncing the ongoing reign of terror unleashed by the Indian forces in the Indian-held Kashmir, which led to the death of 12 Kashmiris including Sarbaz Bhat on Saturday, he deplored the protestors were fired upon with shotgun pellets by Indian troops as a curfew was imposed in Srinagar and a media blackout was imposed by the Indian government.

“The new round of terror and violence unleashed by India against the Kashmiri people is nothing short of state terrorism,” he said, and called on the international community to take note of this Indian state terrorism against the Kashmiri people, which was a violation not just of the UN charter and its underlying principle of the right to self-determination but of all human rights and humanitarian laws.

The PTI chairman reminded the world that the disputed state remains the most militarised region of the world and it was a sad reflection of the state of global politics today that India’s violence and terrorism against unarmed Kashmiri people was being allowed to go unchecked despite multiple international calls for combating all forms of terrorism.

“India’s media blackout, its suspension of internet services and a re-imposition of the ban on a number of social media sites including Twitter and Facebook, are all reflective of the repressive and authoritarian nature of the Indian government and its troops,” he added.

He said the use of military force cannot be used to deny the Kashmiris their basic right to self-determination guaranteed to them by the UN Security Council resolutions. “We will always stand by the Kashmiri people in their struggle for self-determination and justice.”

He made clear that no solution to the Kashmir conflict can be valid or viable without the support of the Kashmiri people. “The Kashmiri people must have the right to decide their future.” He also criticised the government for what he claimed not projecting the Kashmir issue and Indian actions against Kashmiri people at international forums.

He said that the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir, headed by Fazlur Rehman, has also been a shameful failure and must be held accountable. He claimed that the ‘personal’ contacts of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with Indian businessmen have prevented him from speaking forcefully for the Kashmiri people on the multiple international forums.