ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said that Pakistan is intensifying diplomatic efforts to sensitise the world about the Indian state’s atrocities on the people of occupied Kashmir, while winding up debate in the National Assembly on an adjournment motion moved by Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
The adviser said letters in this regard had already been sent to five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), he said.
He said six letters had been written to presidents of the UN General Assembly and Security Council, Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and International Human Rights Commission on the plight of the Kashmiris and the excesses of Indian security forces in the occupied zone.
He said over 60 innocent Kashmiris had been martyred and over 3,500 wounded, of which 120 had lost their vision after being injured by pellets shot by Indian forces as a means of “non-lethal” crowd control.
Aziz said India could not suppress the indigenous movement of Kashmiris by using brute force. She would never succeed in her designs to suppress the Kashmiris’ struggle for their right to self-determination, he added.
He said the Kashmir issue should be resolved politically as the use of force would bear no fruit.
He added Pakistan had officially approached the International Human Rights Commission to send a fact-finding mission to the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) to investigate the slaughter of innocent civilians and impose a ban on the use of pellet guns as a means of crowd control.
Aziz also rejected the impression that Pakistan’s approach regarding the Kashmir issue was not proactive. The Prime Minister, he said, had forcefully raised the Kashmir issue at the UNGA last year. Moreover, during the Prime Minister’s visit to the United States in October 2015, a joint declaration signed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and US President Obama was issued calling for resolution of the Kashmir issue according to UN resolutions, he added.
About sending of for raising the Kashmir issue at international forums, He said the Prime Minister had been apprised of a proposal to send parliamentary delegations to raise the Kashmir issue with various countries and a decision on the proposal would be taken soon.
He said Pakistan would raise the Kashmir issue at all fora and would provide moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir in their just struggle for the right of self-determination.
He said he himself had met foreign ministers of various countries during his recent visit to Laos and Mongolia and raised the Kashmir issue with them.
He said Pakistan would approach the Human Rights Council of the United Nations on its own behalf and on behalf of the OIC Contact Group on Kashmir.
Sartaj said the international community had responded positively after the issue issue was raised with them by Pakistani ambassadors abroad.
The Adviser said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had issued a strongly worded statement expressing deep shock on the killing of innocent people in Kashmir. The Foreign Secretary also summoned the Indian High Commissioner and lodged a strong protest, he added.
He said the sacrifices of Kashmiris would not go waste and the day was not far away when they would emerge victorious.
