Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal on Wednesday said the government was evaluating the possibilities of raising the issue of Indian Occupied Kashmir’s illegal annexation at all international forums including the United Nations Human Right Council and the International Court of Justice.
Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, he said the issue of Kashmir had become a grave threat to world peace.
“Pakistan is fully alert and the world was being sensitised on the situation [in IOK],” he added.
The spokesperson said foreign missions were proactively exposing Indian aggression. Besides, he added, the National Assembly speaker was also playing a key role in activating Inter-Parliamentary Union to highlight the issue.
Dr Faisal warned that the lives of millions of Kashmiris were in imminent danger because of India’s nefarious behaviour after the revocation of occupied Kashmir’s special status on August 5.
“New Delhi wants another Pulwama-like attack to justify its atrocities as anti-terrorism measures,” he maintained.
Dr Faisal informed the committee that Indian forces had placed over 10 million Kashmiris under house arrest to quell protests and around 2,000 to 4,000 were missing. “The entire region has been locked down by Indian forces. Internet and telephone services have been suspended. There is a shortage of edible items,” he noted.
“Kashmiris remain trapped in their homes; there is a communication blackout and no freedom of movement. There is one soldier outside each and every house in IOK.”
The spokesperson said India was perturbed over the United Nation Security Council convening a meeting to discuss the situation in occupied Kashmir. “They [Indians] tried their best to prevent the session from taking place,“ he added.
On India’s ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC), the FO spokesperson said: “The situation is becoming increasingly dangerous as ceasefire violations are occurring every day. Both sides are suffering loss of lives; some of our soldiers have been martyred and the Pakistan Army has retaliated with courage to kill several Indian soldiers.”
Dr Faisal said Islamabad was closely monitoring the situation in IOK and has downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi in light of the decision taken by the National Security Committee.
On the impact of worsening Pak-India ties on the Indus Water Treaty and the flood alert in Pakistan due to India’s release of water, Dr Faisal said: “The Indus River System Authority is looking into the matter and not the FO. We know that India has released water into River Sutlej and we are closely following the technical aspects of the issue. We are also convening a meeting on the matter which will be attended by all stakeholders.”
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