India’s designs ‘a threat for region’

Chairman Pakistan Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Shehryar Khan Afridi on Tuesday warned that Indian colonial designs, occupational and expansionist agenda were a major threat to regional and global peace.

Addressing a seminar hosted by the World Kashmir Forum, he said it was prerogative of the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) to decide through a free and transparent plebiscite whether they want to live with Pakistan or India.

Referring to the statement of the United Kingdom military chief General Sir Nick Carter that the threat of Third World War is real, Afridi said, “Pakistan and India may head to a nuclear war if Kashmir dispute is not amicably resolved.”

The chairman added that, “The UN and the world need to immediately take practical steps to resolve the Kashmir dispute to help avoid a nuclear war in the region where three nuclear neighbors – Pakistan, India and China are involved in border disputes.”

Afridi highlighted how Pakistan and India had fought three all-out wars besides two limited wars on Kashmir.

“China and India are locked in another border dispute in Kashmir. Threat of a nuclear war is real now. Indian oc-cupational regime in IIOJK is so fearful that it has put restrictions on the elections of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, asking it to first submit expla-nation over its constitution which states that Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory,” said the Kashmir Committee chairman.

“But such tactics would fail as the people of Jammu and Kashmir have decided to offer any sacrifice required for freedom from Indian occupation.”Afridi maintained that the Hindutva regime of India did not learn anything about the history of Kashmir as the Indian prime minister possessed a fake degree and had no knowledge of history and law.

“Neither Kashmiri people nor Pakistan took Kashmir dispute to the UNSC. Rather it was Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who took the Kashmir dispute to the UNSC and begged for its intervention and holding of a plebiscite,” he said.

It is pertinent to note that there are at least 20 UN reso-lutions which call for holding a referendum in IIOJK region to decide its political fate but India has been delaying the process.

The Indian occupational forces were committing worst wa rimes in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.“Hindutva regime is put-ting extreme media gags to suppress the voices of media but brave Kashmiri journalists are writing a new chapter of resistance in the history of IIOJK,” Afridi asserted. He called upon the UN experts on Human Rights and Freedom of Expression to make an immediate intervention into the Indian government’s illegal transfer of 2.4 lakh kanal of land in IIOJK to Industries and Commerce Divisions of India.

“All Indian actions in IIOJK are illegal and in blatant vio-lation of the United Nations resolutions on the Kashmir dispute and are aimed at genocide of Kashmiris,” he said. “I ask the UN ex-perts to take note of the unabated raids of National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India on offices and residences of human rights defenders, journalists and of members of civil society, humanitarian aid organisa-tions operating in IIOJK,” Afridi demanded.