-Indian soldiers open-fired on innocent Kashmiris leaving seven dead on Thursday
-Families of slain Hindus demand India to share probe report with Pakistan
-Yesterday Indian troops martyred three more Kashmiris
By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday reiterated its call for independent probe as the Indian security forces continued to kill innocent civilians in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) with seven such extrajudicial killings took place only on Thursday.
“The extra-judicial killings by the Indian Occupation forces continued unabated during the past week as well. Ten more Kashmiris were martyred in Pulwama and Shopian districts of IIOJK. Out of these seven were martyred only yesterday,” Foreign Office spokesperson said. In his weekly press briefing, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said Pakistan had repeatedly called for independent investigations under international scrutiny, into the extra-judicial killings of all innocent Kashmiris.
He said Pakistan had also consistently underscored the need for unhindered access to the UN human rights bodies, international human rights organizations and media to assess the human rights situation in IIOJK.
The spokesperson said Pakistan was concerned over the continuing military siege, incarceration of Kashmiri leadership and unprecedented restrictions on fundamental freedoms of the Kashmiri people.
He also expressed concerns over ongoing efforts to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory, in clear violation international law, in particular the 4th Geneva Convention.
“The international community must take cognizance of the unabated human rights violations in IIOJK and play its role in resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions,” the spokesperson urged.
Apprising media of Foreign Office activities during last week, the spokesperson mentioned the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov from April 6-7, 2021.
During the visit, the delegation level talks were held between the two foreign ministers. Sergey Lavrov also called on Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. He said the visit provided both sides an opportunity to review the whole gamut of bilateral relations and share their respective perspectives on key regional and international issues.
During the delegation-level talks, the two sides agreed on the need to intensify efforts to deepen cooperation in all areas, including economy and trade, energy, counter-terrorism, security and defence, education, and people-to-people exchanges.
During the call on the prime minister, bilateral relations and issues of regional and global importance were discussed. The prime minister also stressed the importance of a negotiated political settlement in Afghanistan and appreciated Russia’s support in this regard. With reference to the situation in IIOJK, the prime minister shared Pakistan’s perspective on issues of peace and security in South Asia. He reiterated his invitation to President Putin to visit Pakistan.
He also proposed a five-pronged roadmap including actions to expand intra D-8 trade from currently around US$100 billion to US$ 500 billion by 2030.
