Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Monday that humanity is bleeding in the India-held Kashmir as not a single action was taken against the people involved in the state-sponsored murders, torture and rape.
Speaking at the International Kashmir Conference, the foreign minister said that it’s encouraging to note the huge support for Kashmir cause in the United Kingdom (UK) by all parties’ parliamentary group.
“Worst human rights abuses being perpetrated by India just because Kashmiris want right of self-determination, we are here to express support to Kashmiris and all those who love freedom against Indian oppression,” he said.
FM Qureshi said that humanity is bleeding in Kashmir, people are distressed, life is extremely difficult with each passing day. “Rape, murder, killings, and grievous injuries are daily occurrences,” he stated.
“The reality of Indian occupation is a frightening reality. Kashmiris are alien to the Indian state. Kashmiris want to be the masters of their own destiny,” the foreign minister said, “India is showing callousness to human rights but claims to be the world’s largest democracy.”
Qureshi earlier telephoned Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and discussed the Kashmir issue.
On Sunday, the APPG-Pakistan’s event aims to “highlight the centrality of Jammu and Kashmir dispute and the grave human rights violations against the Kashmiri people, by India, which are being widely condemned and need to be immediately stopped,” said a FO press release.
Before leaving for Britain’s capital, the foreign minister stressed that Kashmir is a cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy. He asserted that the PTI government’s stance on the matter was clear.
Recalling a telephonic conversation with the senior leaders of the Kashmiri leadership, Qureshi said Islamabad will raise the occupation issue and highlight brutalities committed by the Indian forces in the disputed valley.
“Pakistan will continue to extend its political, moral and diplomatic support for the struggle of Kashmiris for their right to self-determination in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions,” he added.
Irked by the events organised to highlight Indian forces’ brutalities, the Indian government had approached the British government seeking cancellation of the conference. Blaming Pakistan for ‘duplicity’, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that on one hand, Islamabad talked about peace but it was “working together with forces which are pushing or fermenting anti-India sentiments”.
However, the UK government turned down the request saying that the British Parliament was independent of the government. “The United Kingdom Members of the Parliament are independent of government,” said the British High Commission spokesperson in New Delhi. “It is for the individual members to decide who they meet and for what purpose.”
