India formally lost Kashmir: AJ&K premier

Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) Raja Farooq Haider has said that by repealing the special status granted to Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK), India has completely lost control over the territory. Addressing a press conference here on Monday in response to India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) decision to strip Kashmiris of the special autonomy they had for 70 years through a rushed presidential order, Haider said, "India has formally lost Kashmir today."
"We were never a part of India but today it has lost Ladakh, Jammu and the Valley as well," he declared. Kashmiris in IoK are "fighting for their lives," the AJ&K Premier said, adding that he feared India "would commit a genocide" in the region. Haider urged the government to contact world leaders and forums to intervene and help resolve the Kashmir dispute. "India is carrying out propaganda against Pakistan at international level and it is high time to counter that propaganda through effective strategy," he said.
Reiterating the Indian army's unethical use of cluster bombs against civilian population, PM Farooq also added that Indian PM Narendra Modi will do something outrageous in the coming days. "There's a possibility of a full-blown genocide in Kashmir, but we need to stop that," said the Premier, adding that leaders of the world should work together to stop this atrocity.
He said that the BJP and allies before implementing their nefarious designs imposed an indefinite curfew in the IoK, sent thousands of additional troops there, and elected leaders were put under house arrest. By repealing Article 370 of the Indian constitution, the people from the rest of India will now have the right to acquire property in IoK and settle there permanently. Kashmiris as well as critics of India's Hindu nationalist-led government see the move as an attempt to change the demographics of Muslim-majority Kashmir with Hindu settlers.
Haider said that New Delhi has always maintained that it has provided special status to IoK under Article 370 of India's constitution. "India has lost its own stance through this move," he said, adding that a session of the AJK assembly had been summoned to discuss the situation on Tuesday (today). He said that the government should "not only counter India's propaganda but also present its own viewpoint before the world," cautioning that the revoking of IoK's special status will not only affect the Held Territory but will also "spill over into Azad Kashmir, and that can create a situation between Pakistan and India."
"On Sunday, I told the foreign minister and he agreed with me that the United Nations (UN) fact-finding mission should be allowed to visit AJ&K. They should see that we have nothing to hide. This will put pressure on India because questions will be raised over New Delhi's refusal to provide the mission access to IoK," he said.
Referring to the recent aggression by Indian forces across the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary, he said, "We trust the Pakistan Army and we know that it is capable of defending the LoC and Working Boundary. I assure you, if India tries any misadventure, every man, woman and child of AJK will stand with its forces."
"We have some scores to settle with the Indian forces as well. For the past 72 years, they have been committing atrocities against Kashmiris in IoK and from across the LoC as well," Haider said. He added that he is thankful to the Pakistani political parties for their support to the Kashmiri cause.
Meanwhile, Mushal Malik, the wife of Hurriyat Leader Yasin Malik, has termed India's decision to revoke the special status of occupied Kashmir as an open act of terrorism. "India has openly disregarded international laws, humanitarian laws, international conventions and United Nations resolutions. They are trying to bring all of India here (Occupied Kashmir)," Malik said in a video statement released on Monday.
The Indian government rushed through a presidential decree to abolish special status granted to Occupied Kashmir under its constitution. "In 1947 over 500,000 Muslims were slaughtered by RSS thugs in Kashmir. The Modi regime which is the follower of RSS has scraped Articles 35A and 370 and it has been signed by the Indian president," she added. She called on Pakistan to raise this issue immediately in the United Nations Security Council. "An emergency meeting should be called and sanctions should be placed on India," she demanded.