ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Friday said Pakistan has always supported and would continue the support for Kashmiris till realisation of their destiny - the right to self-determination.

Addressing Kashmir Conference here, the minister said that India had occupied Kashmir illegally but now Kashmir has 'occupied' the narrative of India which was being ridiculed at the world level due to gross human rights violations in Occupied Kashmir at the hands of brutal Indian armed forces.

Fawad said Pakistan was desirous of improving its relations with India but the mindset of Indian leadership was the big hurdle in normalisation of bilateral relations.

The minister said Kashmiris have been fighting against the Indian occupation, generation after generation and Pakistanis were supporting their cause since day one. He said India and Pakistan have fought three wars over the long-standing dispute of Kashmir.

Fawad said the present government was sincere towards the Kashmir cause. For India, he said Kashmir was a territorial issue but for Pakistan, it was a humanitarian issue as Pakistan has bond of blood and soul with Kashmir.

Due to social media, Indian state terrorism in Kashmir and its real face has been exposed and the world community could not remain silent over this issue, he said adding even some Kashmiri leaders who traditionally used to support India, have been admitting now that Kashmiris hearts are not with India as their love for Pakistan has been increasing with each passing day.

Addressing the conference, Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan sought international community’s assistance for resolution of Kashmir dispute as per aspiration of Kashmiris.

He urged diplomats present in the conference to convey to their capitals, aggression, atrocities being committed by the Indian forces in Indian occupied Kashmir and play role to settle down Kashmir issue as per United Nations resolution.  

He said the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) should intercede to take full cognizance of the situation in India occupied Kashmir and “stop massacres, killings, and illegal detentions”.

The AJK president said: “The conflict of Jammu and Kashmir is the most obscure in the region where thousands of people are killed, maimed, tortured, and incarcerated every year.”

He further underlined that Kashmir was a trilateral issue between Pakistan, India and the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and “the Kashmiris are the most important party in this dispute because they have to decide their political future in accordance with the UNSC resolutions.”

He said Kashmiris and Pakistani must not impress from Indian propaganda on the status of occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Masood Khan said India had failed to subjugate Kashmiri Muslims despite offering economic benefits and boons to the Kashmiris, adding that Indian government under Narendra Moodi had also failed to label Kashmiris as terrorists.

He said the release of the United Nations Human Rights Commission report on the brutalities by the Indians in IoK was true acceptance of the conflict and must pave the way for the right to self determination to the Kashmiris.

He said the Indian government had been mistakenly trying to propagate that Kashmir was an integral part of India. 

Masood Khan said violation of human rights was a common scene in the IoK and youth were brutally murdered and women assaulted every day by the Indian forces.

He said Kashmiris were offering unprecedented sacrifices for their right to self-determination and Pakistan stood with them for resolving the issue as per their aspirations.

AJK president said Indian forces had made 6,000 Kashmir partially and completely blind by using pellet guns. “Such example cannot find in the world war where in huge number of people had been made blind,” he added. 

He said the people of Kashmir were fighting with the Indian army without any weapons as half of the Indian army had been deployed in IoK to suppress the freedom struggle of Kashmiris. He said the people of Kashmir had clear stance that they do not want to live with India. 

He said the Kashmiris were under subjugation for last 200 years since Raja Gulab Singh forcibly occupied and this occupation had contributed since August 14, 1947 when Indian annexed Kashmir against the wishes of the people.

Sardar Masood Khan thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan for highlighting Kashmir dispute, saying that the government was moving in right directions.

 

Indian mindset big hurdle in improving ties, says Fawad