ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch has said that the Kashmiri people have not been able to exercise their fundamental right of self-determination due to continued Indian narrow-mindedness.
She said this while speaking at a Seminar titled: “Kashmir Solidarity Day: a commitment to peace, rights and self-determination” organised by Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI).
The event included inauguration of Kashmir Resource. Ms Baloch, speaking as chief guest, said that the true representatives of the Kashmiri people remain behind bars, with the total number of political prisoners being in thousands.
She said iconic Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani died during imprisonment. She told the gathering as if the imprisonment of popular Kashmiri leaders was not enough, the Indian authorities was banning political parties, now 14, that represent the true aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
She was of the view that India’s persistent occupation of large parts of Jammu and Kashmir have put regional peace at risk and added Pakistan believes in peaceful co-existence with neighbours.
Strong bond between Pakistan, Kashmir
sharing her perspective as a Kashmiri youth, Research Officer at CISS (AJK), Tayyaba Khurshid, said that there is a strong bond between people of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
She told the participants that the youth in Azad Kashmir is hopeful of a better future. She said that women in occupied Kashmir have shown incredible resilience in the face of brutal repression and violence.
“For more than seven decades, Kashmiri people, particularly women led protests, sit-ins, and resistance movements.” She highlighted the sacrifices of women like Anjum Zamrud Habib, Asiya Andrabi and Fehmeeda Sofi who have been in Indian prison for years.
Chairperson Kashmir Institute of International Relations,
Altaf Hussain Wani, spoke on Modi’s policies in the occupied territory.
While citing the case of renowned human rights activist Khurram Parvez, Wani said that free speech has been criminalised in part of Kashmir under Indian occupation.
Convener All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Ghulam Muhammad Safi, while highlighting various dimensions of the Kashmir dispute said that rape is being used as a weapon.
He cited a long list of human rights abuses as, he added, Kashmiris are being killed and tortured in custody of Indian army.
He said that India wants to silence the voice of Kashmiri people and deter them from demanding their right to self-determination.
Director-General ISSI, Sohail Mahmood, in his remarks, said that while Pakistan and the Kashmiris remain firm in their quest for a solution of the Kashmir issue based on the United Nations Security Council resolutions, India has long reneged on its solemn commitments.
He said that the world community hesitates to play its rightful role, either because of geo-strategic considerations or corporate interests.
He was of the view that India’s conduct in the occupied Kashmir is marked by political manipulation, demographic engineering, heartless cruelty and repression and an onslaught of misinformation and disinformation.
