Pakistan will raise the issue of Kashmir issue in United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which will meet in Geneva from September 9-27 to sensitise the global watchdog on human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, told Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi briefed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to lead Pakistan's delegation to the 74th UN General Assembly to be kicked off from Sep 17 and the prime minister will take the Kashmir issue and update the world leaders on the situation in the Indian occupied valley in the wake of Modi government's Aug 5 illegal actions.
Qureshi told the panel that former foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua, who was recently appointed as the prime minister's special envoy, is already in Geneva to raise the worst human rights violations in the occupied valley in the Human Rights Council. The foreign minister said he would also be attending the session of the Human Right Council in Geneva, adding that the entire picture of the grave human rights abuses in the occupied valley will be raised before the Council.
About further steps the government of Pakistan will take in response to the Indian government's illegal actions, he apprised the committee of the National Committee on Kashmir meeting and the proposals put forth by its members. He told that the proposals will be submitted to the prime minister and the next course of action will be devised after the approval of the cabinet.
Reaffirming Pakistan's strong commitment to continue political, diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris, he said India is making efforts to change the demographic composition of occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Qureshi said India has virtually clamped down occupied Jammu and Kashmir with 24 hours curfew restrictions for the consecutive 23 days and banning of communications in order to hide the facts from the world.
He pointed out that real facts from the occupied valley are yet to come out completely, but the information coming through certain sources are very critical. He said there is a complete lockdown and the Kashmir people are being denied to offer Friday prayers in mosques, which is against the fundamental rights under international laws. Qureshi also apprised the committee of the diplomatic outreach, saying that Foreign Office is apprising the international community of the grave situation in Occupied Kashmir.
He also updated the committee on his letters recently written to OIC Secretary General, UN Secretary General, UN Security Council President, and UN Human Rights Commissioner to keep them in the loop. The foreign minister said the convening of emergency session of the UNSC on Kashmir recently was a great diplomatic achievement which contravenes Indian assertion that Kashmir is its internal matter.
He told that the prime minister has given a clear policy on Kashmir in his Monday's address to the nation. He said Pakistan and Kashmiri people, being the two parties to the Kashmir dispute, have already rejected the Modi govt's illegal steps while India which is the third party to the dispute is divided, as a large segment of the Indian society and the opposition parties have expressed serious concerns over the unilateral actions.
The meeting was chaired by MNA Malik Ehsanullah Tiwana and attended by committee members including Hina Rabbani Khar, Mehar Ghulam Mohammad Lali, Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Maleeka Bokhari and others as well as senior officials of the Foreign Office.
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