Pakistan on Sunday categorically said any attempt to bring about demographic changes in the Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) was a blatant violation of the international laws and the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.
“We understand that the Supreme Court of India is due to deliberate, shortly, on the petitions calling for scrapping of Article 35A of the Indian constitution. Pakistan condemns any such attempts as these are clearly aimed at bringing about demographic changes in the occupied valley,” the Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson said in a statement.
The FO also expressed grave concern at the evolving situation in the occupied valley. It noted that following retaliatory attacks against Kashmiris in the valley and several parts of India after the Pulawama attack, the Indian government has demonstrated further heavy-handedness with ‘enhanced use of force, large-scale arrests, and incarceration of senior Kashmiri leaders’.
“The large-scale deployment of additional paramilitary forces, and orders by the local administration to hospitals and about sale of fuel and food grains, are contributing to an atmosphere of extreme intimidation and fear. Immediate steps are required to reverse this frenzy and restore calm,” the statement warned.
The FO further called upon the international community to take cognizance of the situation and counsel India to refrain from further escalation, defuse current tensions and resolve issues through dialogue and engagement.
Published in Daily Times, February 25th 2019.
