UN should help stop Indian aggression: Bilawal

PPP chairman writes letter to UN secretary-general

ISLAMABAD: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday urged UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to take notice of ‘state-sponsored’ violence and prevail upon India to bring to an end this brutality.

In a letter, he drew his attention towards large scale violations of human rights in Indian Kashmir.

Many have been injured or killed, because they demand their right to self-determination guaranteed to them by the UN over six decades ago, the letter said, adding media reports speak loudly of the atrocities in Kashmir at the hands of Indian security forces.

“I; therefore, urge you to please take notice of the state-sponsored violence in Kashmir and prevail upon the Indian authorities to immediately cease all such actions that violate the human rights, dignities and fundamental entitlements of the Kashmiri people,” it added.

“Excellency, I am sure you agree that Kashmir is a dangerous flashpoint in the region. Regardless of which government is in power, the people of Pakistan are committed to provide moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir in their just struggle for their inalienable right to self-determination.

“The over seven hundred thousand Indian troops stationed in Kashmir for the past decades have not been able to suppress the yearning of the Kashmiri people to achieve what has long been promised to them by the international community, including through an important instrument of UN Resolution. Furthermore, I worry that any conflagration or ramping up of tension also runs the risk of threatening regional peace and stability.”

Bilawal said Pakistan has been seeking non-military solutions to this vexed conflict and “seeks your good offices in taking note of the egregious violations of the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination”.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2016.