Victory will be Kashmiris ultimate fate, Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday said Pakistan would raise voice for the Kashmiris at every world forum and highlight their continuous plight at the hands of Indian security forces.

Addressing residents along the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Kashmir, he said the Indian security forces were guilty of severe crime, particularly shooting at unarmed and oppressed Kashmiri people.

"The wounded people sitting among you are the telling evidence of these atrocities," the foreign minister told the gathering of people.

He commended the determination and courage of Kashmiri people, saying "victory would be their ultimate fate".

He regretted that the world was not openly raising voice for the Kashmiris due to its own vested interests.

"This message has clearly reached even in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJk) and India's illegal action on August 5 last year has been rejected outright by all the Kashmiris," he said.

The foreign minister said locking up mosques by India "could not imprison hearts and minds of the Kashmiris, neither their voice could be silenced".

He mentioned that the Pakistani nation, military and political leadership had a consensus on the resolution of Kashmir issue.

"Prime Minister Imran Khan as an ambassador of Kashmir and I, myself, as a foreign minister, are fighting your case at every forum," he said, adding that every effort would be made to shake the conscience of the world.

He said India was giving a false impression about resumption of normalcy in the IIOJK.

"If the situation is normal, then why the bodies of martyrs are not being returned. It is because they are afraid of the reaction," he said, mentioning that 900,000 troops was deployed by India for the same reason.

"They are psychologically degenerating, while you are winning this fight with determination," he said.

The foreign minister said the Kashmir Highway in Islamabad had been renamed as the Srinagar Highway "because our destination is Srinagar".

He expressed the hope that the day was not far when the Kashmiri people would offer the prayers of gratitude at the Srinagar's Jamia mosque.

Earlier in the day, Qureshi visited Chiri Kot Sector along the Line of Control (LoC). He was accompanied by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Security Division and Strategic Policy PlanningDr Moeed Yusuf, besides personnel from the armed forces.

 

Last week, Qureshi announced that Youm-e-Istehsal will be observed on August 5 in solidarity with of people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJ&K).

On August 5, 2019, the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government struck down Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution, thereby scrapping the law that granted Kashmir its special status.

A few months later, the right-wing Indian government of Narendra Modi instituted a controversial domicile law in the occupied valley. The certificate, a sort of citizenship right, entitles a person to residency and government jobs in the region, which till last year was reserved only for the local population.

With regards to observing Youm-e-Istehsal day, Qureshi said that the country will observe one minute of silence, followed by a solidarity march in the provincial and federal capitals.

A memorandum will be presented to United Nations Observer Mission, and Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the Azad Kashmir assembly on the day in solidarity with the people of Kashmir - to let them know they are not alone in their just right of freedom from the illegal occupation of India, apprised Qureshi.

In the same vein, Qureshi informed that the Kashmir Highway in Islamabad is being named Srinagar Highway.

Solidarity walks, photo exhibitions and seminars will be arranged with coronavirus-related SOPs in consideration to raise voices against Indian atrocities in IIOJ&K, said Qureshi.

He urged the nation, Pakistani diaspora and Muslims around the world to stand in solidarity with the people of Kashmir, on the day that opened a new era of hostilities in the disputed region, with local press engagement. The people of Kashmir were in a lockdown even before the pandemic broke out, he reminded.

According to the foreign minister, Islamabad has decided to enhance diplomatic outreach to highlight Indian oppression in IIOJ&K. Global leaders will be contacted and letters will be written in this regard, with Pakistani diplomats to play a proactive role in the process, he said. APP

With additional input from News Desk