Kashmir rights abuses ‘constitute war crimes’

AJK president says India is unhappy with development promise of CPEC

MUZAFFARABAD: Reiterating the policy stance taken by Pakistan after India’s falsified claims of launching surgical strikes into Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a top official from the region on Monday said “such claims are part of New Delhi’s propaganda to divert world’s attention from its abuses in Occupied Kashmir”.

After India claimed to have launched the surgical strikes across the de-facto Line of Control, Pakistan has taken a principled stand that no such misadventure had taken place in the first place and if so asked India to share evidence with the world of destroying the so-called militant camps.

Tension between the two countries has been running high ever since the Indian claims, with sporadic incidents of ceasefire violations from the Indian side. Pakistan has responded with restraint to such provocative actions so far.



“India has been facing humiliation at the international level because of gross human rights violations in Occupied Kashmir by its security forces. To avoid criticism from the west, New Delhi has violated the ceasefire along the LoC,” AJK President Masood Khan told a press conference.

He said Indian aggression along the LoC was part of India’s plan to divert the world attention from the current violence and an upsurge in freedom struggle in Occupied Kashmir.

“The gross human rights violations in the Kashmir Valley constitute war crimes.”

The AJK president elaborated that India has been using its all available resources to weaken Pakistan by any means and added that it is particularly unhappy with the development promises by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Also, adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said that Pakistan wants de-escalation of tensions with India for the collective good of the entire region.

Radio Pakistan quoted Aziz as saying in an interview that no progress was visible in the Pakistan-India relations until Narendra Modi was in power in New Delhi. However, Pakistan did not desire escalation of the situation, he added.

Pakistan would continue diplomatic efforts for improvement of ties with India, Aziz said.

Asserting that Pakistan would never compromise on its principled stand on Kashmir, he said they would continue to extend political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris struggling to get their absolute right to self-determination.  

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2016.