Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said the situation in Kashmir is grave which warrants the world to take notice of the “worst kind of human rights violations” by the Indian forces, reported the Dawn.
Upon his arrival in London on Sunday, Qureshi regretted the silence of the world on “unabated incidents of torture and aggression, indiscriminate use of pellet guns by the Indian forces and rape and killing spree of innocent Kashmiris.”
Qureshi added that during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kashmir, there was a complete strike in Srinagar.
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“Kashmiris were expressing their resentment and had taken practical steps, he said, regretting the oppressive measures taken in the world’s highly militarised area in the wake of Modi’s visit.
Qureshi, who arrived in London to attend events in connection with the Kashmir Solidarity Day, asked why India had ‘clamped down’ on social and print media and disrupted the internet service.
It was a kind of media gag, he said and asked the world media to highlight the situation in Indian Administered Kashmir.
In reply to a question, Qureshi said there was complete national consensus on the Kashmir issue in Pakistan.
He said the conference in the UK would deliberate on the Kashmir situation where he would reiterate Pakistan’s stance. Qureshi said the UK parliament and UN rights body had also released their reports on the gross human rights violations in Kashmir.
Meanwhile, India has raised objections with the United Kingdom for allowing Pakistan to use their Parliament as a ‘stage’ for a Kashmir Conference.
he report said that New Delhi has conveyed these objections through diplomatic channels after it emerged that the Pakistan foreign minister has a packed Kashmir agenda during his visit starting February 4.
Recently the Express Tribune had reported that Qureshi, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister has invited all parliamentarians of Pakistan and the political leadership of Pakistan Administered Kashmir to attend a seminar on the Kashmir issue at the United Kingdom’s House of Commons early next month.
Qureshi, according to the report, said that national unity was essential to bolster Islamabad’s efforts for an effective resolution to the Kashmir issue.
Recently, Qureshi rang up Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and briefed him about the efforts being made by his country to highlight the ‘human rights violations committed in Kashmir by the Indian forces’.
According to a statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, Qureshi briefed Mirwaiz on the efforts of the government of Pakistan to highlight the “gross human rights violations being perpetrated by the Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir.”
However, India summoned Pak High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood to raise their objections.
However, Islamabad, in a statement, justified its engagement with Hurriyat Conference leader, with the Pakistan Foreign Ministry saying it “categorically rejects the objections raised by India”.
