Indian atrocities in Kashmir: Pakistan to observe ‘black day’ on July 19
New Delhi reacts angrily to federal cabinet decision.
PHOTO: AFP
LAHORE:
Pakistan’s cabinet decided on Friday to observe a countrywide ‘black day’ on July 19 to protest unabated atrocities of security forces in the Indian-controlled Kashmir. A joint session of the two houses of parliament will also be convened to discuss the deteriorating situation in the disputed Himalayan region where clashes are spreading despite a curfew.
“Pakistan will continue to provide moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiris in their just struggle for right to self-determination,” says a statement issued by the prime minister office after a special meeting of the federal cabinet at the Governor House in Lahore.
“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged upon the United Nations to fulfill its ‘unfinished agenda’ on Kashmir and ensure provision of right to self-determination to Kashmiris,” it said. “I and the entire Pakistani nation steadfastly stand by Kashmiris against Indian oppression,” the premier was quoted as saying in the statement.
He said Kashmiris were waging a freedom struggle and emphasised that Indian hostilities would further strengthen their resolve. He stressed that calling the Kashmir freedom movement terrorism was sheer dishonesty on part of India. “The baseless propaganda can neither demoralise Kashmiris nor misguide the international community.”
The prime minister said 700,000 Indian troops could not suppress the Kashmiris’ movement. “If not stopped, Indian forces’ horrendous practice of killing innocent people will jeopardise peace in the region,” he added.
Instead of picking up arms, the Kashmiri youth had been campaigning on the social media for the last three years for their inalienable right denied to them by the Indian government, the cabinet said. “It was a golden opportunity for New Delhi to engage the Kashmiri youth in dialogue and accept their just demands.”
Regrettably however, the Narendra Modi sarkar once again tried to muzzle the voice of Kashmiris and martyred the ‘representative of the new generation’ Burhan Wani, it added. “India has to understand that the use of brute force cannot win hearts.”
Twenty-two-year-old Wani, described by Indian media as a poster boy for Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), one of several homegrown separatist groups, was killed in a gun battle with government forces on July 8. The group has for decades been calling for independence or a merger with Pakistan.
The cabinet said Pakistan would play its role in ‘awakening the conscience’ of the international community. All institutions of Pakistan would highlight the tyranny of Indian forces in Kashmir, it added. “Pakistan and Kashmir are linked in a relationship of history and tradition, and the people of Pakistan share the pains and joys of their Kashmiri brethren.”
The cabinet also reiterated Pakistan’s offer of dialogue to India on the Kashmir issue, saying that leaders from the disputed valley should also be part of such a dialogue. The cabinet directed the foreign ministry to highlight through Pakistan’s envoys in world capitals the plight of Kashmiri people.
The prime minister also asked for updates on efforts to recover Ovais Ali Shah, the son of Sindh’s top judge who was seized by masked gunmen from a busy marketplace of Karachi on June 21. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan briefed the cabinet on the case.
A day earlier all 20 judges of the Sindh High Court (SHC) urged the prime minister and the president to ensure the safe recovery of the son of SHC Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah.
“The prime minister also formed a three-member committee, comprising Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqba, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid and Adviser to PM Irfan Siddiqui, to recommend civil awards for qawwali maestro Amjad Sabri and acclaimed philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi,” an official who attended the meeting told The Express Tribune.
Earlier, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry briefed the cabinet about the situation in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The cabinet also condemned the terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and France and expressed grief over the loss of precious lives.
India reacts angrily
New Delhi took strong exception to the Pakistani cabinet’s decision to observe July 19 as a ‘black day’ in solidarity with the people of Indian-controlled Kashmir and asked Islamabad to refrain from ‘interfering in India’s internal matters’.
“India completely and unequivocally rejects the decisions adopted by the cabinet of Pakistan on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir,” read a statement issued by India’s external affairs ministry on Friday.
“We are dismayed at the continued attempts by Pakistan to interfere in our internal matters, where, we reiterate, Pakistan or any other external party has no locus standi,” it said.
The Indian ministry also hit out at Pakistan for “continuing to glorify terrorists belonging to proscribed organisations” and accused it of “deriving political mileage out of recent developments in Kashmir”. The statement added that New Delhi “hopes Pakistan will respond constructively to India’s initiatives for peace.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 16th, 2016.
Pakistan’s cabinet decided on Friday to observe a countrywide ‘black day’ on July 19 to protest unabated atrocities of security forces in the Indian-controlled Kashmir. A joint session of the two houses of parliament will also be convened to discuss the deteriorating situation in the disputed Himalayan region where clashes are spreading despite a curfew.
“Pakistan will continue to provide moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiris in their just struggle for right to self-determination,” says a statement issued by the prime minister office after a special meeting of the federal cabinet at the Governor House in Lahore.
“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged upon the United Nations to fulfill its ‘unfinished agenda’ on Kashmir and ensure provision of right to self-determination to Kashmiris,” it said. “I and the entire Pakistani nation steadfastly stand by Kashmiris against Indian oppression,” the premier was quoted as saying in the statement.
He said Kashmiris were waging a freedom struggle and emphasised that Indian hostilities would further strengthen their resolve. He stressed that calling the Kashmir freedom movement terrorism was sheer dishonesty on part of India. “The baseless propaganda can neither demoralise Kashmiris nor misguide the international community.”
The prime minister said 700,000 Indian troops could not suppress the Kashmiris’ movement. “If not stopped, Indian forces’ horrendous practice of killing innocent people will jeopardise peace in the region,” he added.
Instead of picking up arms, the Kashmiri youth had been campaigning on the social media for the last three years for their inalienable right denied to them by the Indian government, the cabinet said. “It was a golden opportunity for New Delhi to engage the Kashmiri youth in dialogue and accept their just demands.”
Regrettably however, the Narendra Modi sarkar once again tried to muzzle the voice of Kashmiris and martyred the ‘representative of the new generation’ Burhan Wani, it added. “India has to understand that the use of brute force cannot win hearts.”
Twenty-two-year-old Wani, described by Indian media as a poster boy for Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), one of several homegrown separatist groups, was killed in a gun battle with government forces on July 8. The group has for decades been calling for independence or a merger with Pakistan.
The cabinet said Pakistan would play its role in ‘awakening the conscience’ of the international community. All institutions of Pakistan would highlight the tyranny of Indian forces in Kashmir, it added. “Pakistan and Kashmir are linked in a relationship of history and tradition, and the people of Pakistan share the pains and joys of their Kashmiri brethren.”
The cabinet also reiterated Pakistan’s offer of dialogue to India on the Kashmir issue, saying that leaders from the disputed valley should also be part of such a dialogue. The cabinet directed the foreign ministry to highlight through Pakistan’s envoys in world capitals the plight of Kashmiri people.
The prime minister also asked for updates on efforts to recover Ovais Ali Shah, the son of Sindh’s top judge who was seized by masked gunmen from a busy marketplace of Karachi on June 21. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan briefed the cabinet on the case.
A day earlier all 20 judges of the Sindh High Court (SHC) urged the prime minister and the president to ensure the safe recovery of the son of SHC Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah.
“The prime minister also formed a three-member committee, comprising Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqba, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid and Adviser to PM Irfan Siddiqui, to recommend civil awards for qawwali maestro Amjad Sabri and acclaimed philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi,” an official who attended the meeting told The Express Tribune.
Earlier, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry briefed the cabinet about the situation in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The cabinet also condemned the terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and France and expressed grief over the loss of precious lives.
India reacts angrily
New Delhi took strong exception to the Pakistani cabinet’s decision to observe July 19 as a ‘black day’ in solidarity with the people of Indian-controlled Kashmir and asked Islamabad to refrain from ‘interfering in India’s internal matters’.
“India completely and unequivocally rejects the decisions adopted by the cabinet of Pakistan on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir,” read a statement issued by India’s external affairs ministry on Friday.
“We are dismayed at the continued attempts by Pakistan to interfere in our internal matters, where, we reiterate, Pakistan or any other external party has no locus standi,” it said.
The Indian ministry also hit out at Pakistan for “continuing to glorify terrorists belonging to proscribed organisations” and accused it of “deriving political mileage out of recent developments in Kashmir”. The statement added that New Delhi “hopes Pakistan will respond constructively to India’s initiatives for peace.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 16th, 2016.