ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi reiterating his warnings regarding the precarious situation in occupied Kashmir said Indian actions in the disputed region are inching towards the unthinkable.
In an op-ed in CNN Online, the foreign minister wrote that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to revoke the special status of Indian Occupied Kashmir has reminded people of extremism and xenophobia that are still present in the world today.
He added that international media, human rights organisations and legislators in the western world have criticised the actions of the Bharatiya Janata Party for its illegal annexation of the occupied valley. The foreign minister warned that New Delhi was putting major US interests at stake with ethno-nationalist saber-rattling in the South Asian region.
FM Qureshi also noted the brutalities faced by the people of Kashmir since the lockdown by the Indian armed forces on August 5 – including the communication blockade, night raids, mass arrests, alleged torture and food and medicine shortages.
The foreign minister further blamed Modi’s government for gaslighting the international community into normalising India’s decision to revoke IOK’s special status.
“India’s government wants to gaslight the international community into normalising India’s de facto annexation of the Muslim-majority state, and its ethno-nationalist sabre-rattling in a region with major US interests and international stability at stake. But, the world must stand up for what is right,” he wrote.–Agencies
