President of Pakistan Arif Alvi has said that instead of ‘justifying terrorism against innocent citizens by pushing a ‘false narrative of killings militants’, Indian Government should uphold the rights of the Kahsmiri people.
As the country marks ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day, Alvi in his address to the Legislative Assembly of Pakistan Administered Kashmir in Muzaffarabad issued a list of demands for the Indian Government.
He said, “Free all political prisoners, uphold freedom of expression, ban the use of firearms against citizens, ban the use of pellet guns, withdraw draconian ‘black laws’, Allow IOK leaders to travel freely and “make their case abroad”, allow international rights observers into IOK to “see the situation for themselves”, lift restrictions on electronic communications.”
Alvi urged the Indian government to ‘lift restrictions on electronic communications in Kashmir so that international media and social media are in the know about what is happening in the occupied territory.’
“If you are in the right, the world will come to know about it. And if you are in the wrong, the world will find out about,” Alvi said.
The president also asked the United Nations to send a fact-finding commission to Kashmir and “fulfil the promises it made to Pakistan and India”.
“I salute your struggle,” he said, addressing the people of Kashmir. “Pakistan is with you.”
Pakistan reiterates its unflinching solidarity with the people of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir and pays homage to the heroes & martyrs of this epic struggle for liberation that has become a living symbol of the indomitable human spirit.Your cries for Azadi cannot be suppressed pic.twitter.com/lAoUzYDRYj
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) February 5, 2019
Earlier, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Chairman of the Hurriyat (M) thanked Pakistan for their ‘their vigorous and unwavering support to Kashmiri’s Right to Self Determination.
In a video message shared with the Dawn, JKLF Chief Yasin Malik thanked Pakistan for standing in solidarity with the people of Kashmir on Feb 5, which is observed as ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’.
He slammed the ‘criminal silence adopted by the international community over the oppression of Kashmiris by the Indian forces’.
Addressing the media after the international conference on Kashmir in London, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi thanked members of the British Parliament for tabling a joint resolution on the Kashmir issue — a development he termed as “massive”.
Meanwhile, India had raised objections with the United Kingdom for allowing Pakistan to use their Parliament as a ‘stage’ for a Kashmir Conference.
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”.