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Foreign minister says no attempt to externalise the dispute will change reality
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has expressed deep anguish at the gross violations of human rights in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir which continue unabated, says a press release issued by the Foreign Office.
He added that the intensified cordon and search operations by the occupying forces are violative, both of the Kashmiris’ dignity, as well as the sanctity of their families. “The objective of such operations is not to apprehend individuals for any due process of law, but primarily butcher them,” he said.
These operations are also designed to inflict collective punishment on the innocent and the defenceless, who were engaged in an epic struggle to bring an end to the illegal occupation, he said, adding the number of martyrs continues to mount with each passing day.
He said India continues with its malicious attempts to mislead the global community by seeking to portray the popular and indigenous struggle of the Kashmiri people as “terrorism.”
“No attempt to externalise the dispute will change reality. India’s continued illegal occupation and its brutalisation of the Kashmiri people through the unbridled use of force remains solely responsible for the tragic situation in Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.
The foreign minister condemned, in the strongest possible terms, the repeated arrests and incarceration of the top Kashmiri leaders.
پاکستان سے لازوال محبت۔۔ نا قابل تسخیر جز بہ۔۔ آزادی کی لگن۔۔ قر با نیوں کی نا ختم ہونے والی داستان۔۔ رب العزت کشمیریوں کو سرخرو کرے pic.twitter.com/VylaoYWFFn
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) November 24, 2017
“The environment of fear and intimidation created by the occupying forces has not been able to break the will of these valiant people,” he said, noting that these tactics shall not succeed.
The minister stressed that Pakistan stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the people of Kashmir with its strong moral, political and diplomatic support.
“We will continue to steadfastly stand by them until the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people,” he concluded.
Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed that US Defence Secretary James Mattis would arrive on a visit to Pakistan on December 3.
In an unofficial media talk in the capital, Asif told journalists that James Mattis would meet the civil and military leaders to discuss various matters.