President Alvi, PM Imran urge world to hold India accountable for crimes against humanity in IIOJK

Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi, in their separate messages on Kashmir Solidarity Day, urged the international community to hold India accountable for its crimes against humanity in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).

In his message, President Arif Alvi said that resolving the IIOJK issue in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of Kashmiri people was the key to durable peace in South Asia.

“The denial of this right and subjugation of Kashmiris is the very negation of human dignity,” the president said calling self-determination as one of the fundamental rights codified in the United Nations Charter.

“Demographic apartheid in the occupied territory by the Indian occupation forces is a further violation of international law wherein the Kashmiris’ majority is being turned into a minority in its own land,” he added.

Prime Minister Imran said Pakistan would remain unshakable in its solidarity with the Kashmiri people until they realize their inalienable right to self-determination.

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolute support for the Kashmiri brothers and sisters, who continued to be subjected to an inhuman military siege and communications blockade since August 5, 2019.

PM Imran demanded India to give access to the international human rights organisations, as well as the international media to investigate the grave human rights situation in the occupied territory.

Read More: Support for the suppressed in IIOJK

Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa also stated that it was “time to end this human tragedy and resolve the Kashmir issue as per aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and United Nations.”

“Salute to Kashmiris for their valiant struggle, braving gravest atrocities, human rights violations & lockdown in IIOJ&K under Indian occupation forces,” the ISPR quoted COAS Bajwa as saying.

Separately, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Kashmir was a state issue and was not limited to a political party or government even though each country had economic and trade interests.

“P5 [the permanent members of United Nations Security Council] understand the position of Pakistan taken on the Kashmir issue and Kashmiris should not lose hope, as the entire nations stands by the oppressed people of India, Occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” said the minister on Thursday in an exclusive interview to The Express Tribune.

Talking about political disputes between the opposition and the government, Qureshi maintained that the political parties might have differences but the nation was united on the issue of Kashmir.

“The opposition’s politics is based on lies and hypocrisy as it strived to do politics in Muzaffarabad,” he said, adding the country’s narrative on Kashmir should be clearly conveyed to the world that “Pakistan vows to Kashmiris that it will never leave them alone”.