Qureshi hopes Europe will speak up on atrocities in IOK

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Sunday said he hoped Europe would play its role in bringing an end to India’s atrocities in occupied Kashmir.

“The European Parliament is expected to deliberate [on Monday] on the Modi government's illegal actions in the Indian Occupied Kashmir and raise its voice against the human rights violations in the disputed territory,” he told reporters at the Karachi airport.

India’s heavy restrictions on movement and communication blockade in occupied Kashmir entered its 28th day on Sunday. The lockdown was imposed on August 4, a day before India revoked the semi-autonomous status of the occupied valley, paving the way for outsiders to buy land and settle there – a move aimed at changing the demography of the Muslim-dominated territory.

Qureshi said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to face embarrassment in his attempts to prevent the Kashmir issue from being highlighted internationally.

The minister called for the release of thousands of Kashmiris imprisoned by the Indian authorities after the revocation of the special constitutional status of the IOK on August 5.


He criticised the Indian brutalities, the incessant curfew and other restrictions in the occupied territory.

“There is no precedent in the history of the suppression of the freedom of association and the freedom of press which the Modi government has resorted to in the IOK,” he observed.

He said children in the occupied valley were being deprived of education and people could not contact their loved ones because of the clampdown.

“The world is watching whatever is happening in the IOK. Prime Minister Imran Khan has timely and effectively presented the case of Kashmiris, and the international community including the Muslim countries will hopefully take notice of human rights violations in the IOK.”

To a question, Qureshi said Gulf countries stood by Pakistan over the Kashmir dispute.