Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Thursday briefed the heads of missions, ambassadors and members of diplomatic corps about the illegal actions of Indian government and urged them to stop New Delhi from committing blatant violations of human rights in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. "The foreign minister briefed the heads of mission / ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps, rejecting the Indian decision to try to change disputed status of IoK [Indian Occupied Kashmir]," the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a tweet.
He further said that the foreign minister also urged them to stop India from committing blatant violations of human rights against Kashmiris as it has turned IoK into the largest prison in the world by deploying over 900,000 troops to subjugate 14 million Kashmiris. According to a press release issued by the Foreign Office, a large number of the members of diplomatic corps attended the briefing and the foreign minister told them that Pakistan rejects the unilateral steps taken by India in an attempt to revoke the special status of the occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Qureshi said that under the Simla Agreement, Pakistan and India were bound to resolve all the outstanding issues through bilateral consultations. "But the Indian government resorted to a unilateral action which is an illegal step," Qureshi said. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has stated that Pakistan will take two steps forward if India takes one, but India has always showed reluctance to engage in bilateral talks with Pakistan.
The foreign minister further told the heads of the foreign missions and diplomats that statements of former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru are on the record of the UN Security Council and other international forums in which he had acknowledged Kashmir being a disputed territory between the two countries.
He said that IoK is a Muslim majority region and asked whether India will lift the curfew for Eid-ul-Azha and allow the Kashmiri people to celebrate the religious event. "Does India want to commit massacre of Kashmiri people once the curfew is lifted?" Qureshi further asked. He also shared his fear with the foreign diplomats that India may resort to stage another Pulwama like drama. He further said that India has escalated tension on the Line of Control (LoC) and also resorted to use cluster ammunition on the civilian population along the LoC.
He said that there is a complete shutdown of internet services in the occupied valley and the tourists have been asked to leave while instructions have been issued to the railways officials to store more fuel and edibles. Qureshi further said that former chief ministers of IoK including Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah have been arrested. "If India is thinking of the socio-economic development of the people of IoK, it must lift the curfew and let the people of occupied valley to express their views," he added.
The foreign minister also apprised the diplomatic community of the decisions taken by the National Security Committee including downgrading ties with India and suspension of the trade relations and others. Qureshi also apprised the diplomatic corps of his telephonic conversation with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini earlier in the day to discuss the evolving situation in IoK.
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