ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Thursday expressed disappointment after the US Department of State did not mention the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir in its recent tweet regarding resumption of 4G mobile internet service in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri in a statement said that the reference is inconsistent with the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir as recognized by numerous United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the international community.
Jammu and Kashmir is one of the oldest items on the agenda of the UNSC, which remains unresolved because of India’s intransigence and unwillingness to implement the relevant UNSC resolutions and its own solemn commitments made to Pakistan, the Kashmiris and the international community.
The political and economic progress of the people of Jammu and Kashmir is inextricably linked to the realization of their desire for exercising the right to self-determination.
The international community, including the United States, must urge India to stop its consistent and systematic human rights violations in IIOJK–including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, incarceration of political leaders, ongoing efforts to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory, extra-judicial killings of Kashmiris in fake “encounters”, and staged cordon-and-search operations — and take genuine steps to resolve the dispute in a peaceful manner in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions.
The State Department in a clarification said that there has been no change in America’s Kashmir policy and Washington still considers the region as disputed between India and Pakistan.
The tweet in question welcomed India’s decision to restore access to 4G mobile internet service in “India’s Jammu & Kashmir”.
We welcome the resumption of 4G mobile internet in India's Jammu & Kashmir. This marks an important step for local residents and we look forward to continued political & economic progress to restore normalcy in J&K.
— State_SCA (@State_SCA) February 10, 2021
“This marks an important step for local residents, and we look forward to continuing political & economic progress to restore normalcy in J&K,” the State Department had commented.
