Expressing solidarity with Kashmiris, living under siege since August 5, 2019, President Arif Alvi addressed a rally in Islamabad. He told the participants of the rally about obduracy of past and present Indian leadership to fulfill their promises plebiscite made to the people of occupied Kashmir and Pakistan. On the contrary last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi government abrogated Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted special status to the state of occupied Kashmir. The President said that India has all along refused to hold talks for the resolution of the core issue of Kashmir on multilateral and bilateral forums. A similar rally was led by the Prime Minister Imran Khan upon arrival at Muzaffarabad. In his speech on this occasion, the Prime Minister said that India has turned occupied Kashmir into an open prison. Later addressing the AJK legislative assembly, the Prime minister said that Indian Premier Modi committed a strategic blunder by revoking the special status of Kashmir as the only solution is “valley’s freedom.” Credit must be given to PTI government by internationalizing Kashmir dispute by taking it to the UN Security Council last year, which held in-camera session on the human rights situation the occupied Kashmir. Prime Minister Imran Khan drew the attention of international community toward the amicable resolution of Kashmir. He is constantly sensitizing the world how BJP government is implementing a plan to change the demography of occupied Kashmir by large scale settlement of Hindus to reduce the Muslims’ population there into minority. He unveiled a political map of Pakistan on Tuesday, showing the territory of illegally occupied Kashmir by India as part of Pakistan. The present government is giving a new dimension to its Kashmir policy. In addition to the conduct of sustained diplomacy by the diplomats in our High Commissions abroad, public diplomacy is also being launched with the help of Pakistani Diaspora., to which the foreign minister has referred to few days ago. These initiatives are not getting the deserved limelight in mass media of the country, giving the opposition and a former Foreign Service officer to mislead public opinion. Former Pakistan’s ambassador to New Delhi, Abdul Basit has created an impression that there is no difference in Kashmir Policy of the present and past governments, while giving his analysis in a current affairs programme of a private TV Channel and responding to questions asked on telephone and in his versions on You Tube.
