‘Kashmir remains the most militarised region of the world and it was a sad reflection of the state of global politics today that “India’s violence and terrorism against unarmed Kashmiri people was being allowed to go unchecked’
Srinagar: Questioning the silence and double standards of world community, cricketer turned politician and chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has asked the world bodies to leave behind the hypocrisy and open mouth on the “continued oppression on Kashmiris”.
Slamming the Pakistan Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir, headed by Fazlur Rehman, he said that it has been a “shameful failure and must be held accountable”.
Reacting to the killing of top Hizb commander, Sabzar Ahmad Bhat in an encounter with armed forces in Saimoo village of Tral in Pulwama district on Saturday morning, Khan claimed that the “personal” contacts of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with Indian businessmen have “prevented him from speaking forcefully for the Kashmiri people on the multiple international forums”.
He, however, impressed upon the world community to advocate for resolution of Kashmir through plebiscite in the divided state of Jammu Kashmir.
In a reaction to the recent killing of Kashmiri freedom fighter Sabzar Ahmed Bhat and other young people by the Indian Army, he said that the hypocrisy and double standards of the international community have never been so starkly displayed, as on the Kashmir issue.
Funeral of slain Hizb ul Mujahideen commander, Sabzar Ahmad Bhat. (FPK Photo/Vikar Syed)
Strongly denouncing the ongoing “reign of terror” in Kashmir, he deplored that the protestors were fired upon with shotgun pellets by Indian troops as curfew was imposed in Srinagar and a “media blackout” was imposed by the Indian government.
“The new round of terror and violence unleashed by India against the Kashmiri people is nothing short of state terrorism,” he said, and called on the international community to take note of this Indian “state terrorism” against the Kashmiri people, which was a violation not just of the UN charter and its underlying principle of the right to self-determination but of all human rights and humanitarian laws.
The PTI chairman reminded the world that Kashmir remains the most militarised region of the world and it was a sad reflection of the state of global politics today that “India’s violence and terrorism against unarmed Kashmiri people was being allowed to go unchecked despite multiple international calls for combating all forms of terrorism”.
“India’s media blackout, its suspension of internet services and a re-imposition of the ban on a number of social media sites including Twitter and Facebook, are all reflective of the repressive and authoritarian nature of the Indian government and its troops,” he added.
“The use of military force cannot be used to deny the Kashmiris their basic right to self-determination guaranteed to them by the UN Security Council resolutions,” he maintained, “we will always stand by the Kashmiri people in their struggle for self-determination and justice.”
No solution to the Kashmir conflict, he said, can be valid or viable without the support of the Kashmiri people. “The Kashmiri people must have the right to decide their future.”
