-Says situation in IoK deplorable amid global pandemic
By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesperson, Aisha Farooqui holding a weekly press conference on Friday said that grave human rights violations continue in the illegally occupied land of Jammu and Kashmir, media reported.
Aisha Farooqui said that Pakistan has serious concerns over what is transpiring in the illegally annexed valley and criminal actions being taken by the government of India against innocent Kashmiris.
She also said that there are substantiated reports that people land locked in Kashmir are facing a tremendous dearth of medicines and healthcare facilities amidst the global coronavirus pandemic. Aisha Farooqui urged international peace making bodies and other foreign countries to take notice of the atrocities and pay heed to the Kashmiri plight.
Shifting gears to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s debt relief appeal to global money lenders, foreign office spokesperson said that
the statement issued by global money lending bodies afterwards is a welcomed step which is being seen with great respect and admiration across the globe.
Earlier on April 14, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi penned a letter to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) drawing its attention to the Indian government’s move to change domicile rules in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui on Friday strongly rejected the “irresponsible, spurious and totally false allegations” against Pakistan by the Indian army chief. “These baseless Indian allegations are patently designed to divert global and domestic attention from India’s state-terrorism and egregious human rights violations, and clamping of fundamental freedoms in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, particularly post August 5, 2019,” said the FO in her statement.
Earlier in the day, Indian army chief General MM Naravane had alleged that while India was busy “not only helping our own citizens but the rest of the world by sending medical teams and exporting medicines” during the coronavirus crisis, Pakistan was only “exporting terror”.
According to Hindustan Times, he made these comments while on a two-day visit to occupied Kashmir to review the security situation. “It is very unfortunate that at a time when the whole world and India is fighting the menace of this pandemic, our neighbour continues to foment trouble for us,” Naravane was quoted as saying. Pakistan in recent days has charged India with repeated ceasefire violations across the Line of Control (LoC), which have resulted in the loss of civilians’ lives. A statement by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said heavy artillery fire by India “deliberately targeted civilians” across the border. “This year alone, Indian occupation forces in occupied Kashmir have committed over 765 ceasefire violations, resulting in shahadat (martyrdom) of 3 civilians as well as serious injuries to 54 innocent civilians,” said Farooqui in her statement today. “In 2019, India violated the ceasefire agreement 3,351 times. Pakistan continues to respond to Indian belligerence in a firm and responsible manner.”
