Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday asked the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), who were anxious to cross the Line of Control (LoC) towards the Indian side, to wait until his ‘next call’.
“Many of you want to cross the LoC, but wait till I ask you to move forward and until I tell the world the horrific story of oppression in the Indian-held Kashmir,” the prime minister told a huge public gathering at Khurshid Hassan Khurshid Stadium in Muzaffarabad. He said as an ambassador of Kashmir, he will approach each and every international forum to highlight the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the valley in the wake of continuous lockdown. “Kashmir has become a human issue where men, women, elderly and even children are suffering at the hands of Indian occupation forces all the time,” he said.
Imran Khan said he wants to give a clear message to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that ‘only a coward person can oppress the people this way’. He said India will suffer immensely by pursuing Hindu fascism as state agenda against Muslims and other minorities. He alarmed the world that the Kashmir issue, if remains unaddressed, will impact the entire world negatively.
The prime minister said the resolution of Kashmir dispute rests with the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions which grant the Kashmiris the right to choose their fate through a plebiscite. Pakistan, he said, will accept the decision of Kashmiris and stand with them whatever their choice will be.
Imran Khan said the extremist mindset of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party cannot crush the voice of Muslims of Kashmir whose courage has surpassed the fear of death. “A Muslim is never afraid of death and fights till the last breath,” he said, adding that the Kashmiris’ resilience will prove as the last nail in the coffin of India’s oppressive policies.
The prime minister mentioned that the unending atrocities are leading the Kashmiri youth towards radicalisation, for which he warned the international community to stop India from violence. “The Kashmiris are fighting the life of humiliation, abuse and disgrace at the hands of Indian security forces, and are justified in waging an indigenous struggle for freedom,” he said.
The prime minister mentioned that due to the Pakistan government’s efforts, the international organisations, including the United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and other human rights watch groups have taken up the Kashmir issue. Four US senators have also written a letter to President Donald Trump to take notice of continued curfew and human rights violations in Indian-held Kashmir, he added.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the prime minister’s visit to the AJK capital has shown the world a comparative picture of the situation on both sides of the Line of Control. “Can Narendra Modi address a huge public gathering in Srinagar just like Imran Kahn has done in Muzaffarabad?” he asked, and added that the Indian government has done no good for the people of Kashmir.
He questioned under which law, the Indian government has arrested the Kashmiris, suspended television, internet and mobile phone services in the valley besides deploying around 900,000 troops there.
Rubbishing the Indian claims of religious freedom, he said the Ashura processions and Imambargahs were attacked in the valley, and Kashmiris were not allowed to even offer Eid and Friday prayers. Qureshi said Imran Khan, being Safeer-e-Kashmir (ambassador of Kashmir), will convey the sentiments of Kashmiri people in his upcoming address to the UN General Assembly.
AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider said the Kashmiris in the occupied valley have been facing humiliation and atrocities at the hands of occupation forces for decades. The 40-day siege has turned the occupied valley into the biggest prison, he said, and vowed to stand with the Kashmiris till they achieve their right to self-determination. He said the Simla Agreement between Pakistan and India has lost its significance and announced to hold an international conference on Kashmir in near future.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf AJK President Barrister Sultan announced that the Kashmiris and the Pakistani community will hold a historic protest demonstration in New York when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive to address the UN General Assembly session. He said by taking unilateral actions in the occupied valley, Narendra Modi will become India’s Gorbachev as he has committed a blunder in Kashmir which will ultimately result into his country’s disintegration.
