Pakistan condemns crackdown on Hurriyat leaders

Says India’s actions an attempt to stifle the voice of Kashmiris

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan on Thursday condemned the crackdown against Hurriyat leaders in Indian-administered Kashmir ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Srinagar.

“These actions are an attempt by the Indian authorities to stifle the voice of Kashmiris, who are struggling against continued Indian occupation and gross human rights violations in Indian-occupied Kashmir,” Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said at his weekly briefing.



He deplored what he called a ‘massive crackdown’ on leaders and political workers of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in Indian-administered Kashmir. The APHC had planned a million-man march on the eve of Modi’s visit to the valley.



“The massive gathering of people in Indian-occupied Kashmir for Hurriyat leadership is a stamp of approval for the realisation of the right to self-determination by the Kashmiri people under UN auspices,” Qazi said.

Taking notice of growing incidents of intolerance in India, the spokesperson urged the international community to take note of the terrorist activities of Hindu extremist group Shiv Sena. “Pakistan is concerned at the recent rise in extremism in India. We expect the international community to take note of it,” the spokesperson said.



He dismissed reports that Pakistan failed to get re-elected as member of UN Human Rights Council because some Gulf countries did not vote due to Islamabad’s decision to stay away from the conflict in Yemen. “That Pakistan was not re-elected to the Human Rights Council has nothing to do with our position on South China Sea and relations with GCC countries,” Qazi said. He added that winning or losing election to a UN body had a lot to do with reciprocal arrangements with other countries.

“Pakistan had made reciprocal arrangements with a large number of countries,” he said, adding that some countries remained non-committal until the last minute.

Replying to a question about the emergence of a dissident group among the Afghan Taliban, the spokesperson said it was an internal matter of Taliban leadership. “Our policy on Afghanistan is well known. Afghanistan is our neighbourly, friendly and brotherly country. We desire peace and stability in Afghanistan and have been cooperating with Afghanistan in this regard,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2015.