Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Tuesday said that taking on the Hindutva ideology in today's India as well as adding greater momentum to efforts to support Kashmiri people's right to self-determination is the greatest challenge before Pakistan's foreign policy. Speaking at a seminar on 'Major Foreign Policy Challenges Facing Pakistan,' organised by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) here, Qureshi mentioned Pakistan's permanent interests, such as to create the conditions conducive for socio-economic development and work towards a peaceful neighborhood, in the context of which Pakistan's progress can be ensured.
He said that another interest is to protect Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity and seek a just, peaceful and lasting solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
"The greatest challenge before Pakistan's foreign policy today is how to stand up to the Hindutva ideology, and sustain and add greater momentum to our moral, political and diplomatic support to the just struggle of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination, while preserving the peace," he said. Qureshi said that India's August 5 illegal and unilateral actions and its total lockdown of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir have created a dire human rights and humanitarian situation and posed serious risks for peace and security. He said that India through the illegal and unilateral actions has sought to alter the internationally recognised disputed status of occupied Jammu and Kashmir and pave the way for changing its demographic structure and identity.
He said that India has reneged on solemn pledges made to the international community, the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan. He said that the Modi government has trampled upon inalienable right of self-determination of Kashmiri people. Simultaneously, it has reinforced its occupation with more troops, more guns, and more munitions, he added.
Qureshi said that the innocent unarmed civilians are facing off against the brute might of an occupation army armed to its teeth. For almost a month now, this inhuman military siege of over 8 million Kashmiris and clampdown on their lives and livelihoods has continued unabated, he added. He said that there have been four weeks of no medicines, no healthcare, no access to basic facilities, no school, and no phone or internet link, adding that thousands have been arrested, young boys are being picked up, patients are being denied treatment, and pellet guns are being used to quell protests.
He said that the brutality, which is unheard of in modern times, is cascading into a humanitarian disaster of epic proportions. "I am not the only one talking about these crimes of India. The United Nations is talking about them. The British Parliament is talking about them, the European Union is talking about them, and the OIC is talking about them," he said. He further said that the Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch are talking about them.
Qureshi pointed out, "There is real fear of what may transpire next: a false flag operation to divert the world's attention from India's crimes in IOJ&K; a misadventure across the Line of Control, even a Rwanda or Srebrenica-like genocide."
He pointed out, "Prime Minister Imran Khan is right in asserting that what we are confronted with is a dangerous mindset that draws its inspiration from the ideology of Hitler and Mussolini. This extremist exclusionist and Hindu supremacist mindset oversaw the killing of thousands of Muslims in Gujarat. It is the same mindset that celebrates pogroms targeting minorities, and justifies mob lynching." In today's India, he said, it is not just Muslims, but also other minorities including Christians and Dalits who live in perpetual fear. "The latest actions of this clique have created a dangerous and highly combustible cauldron that could erupt any moment and engulf the entire region," he warned.
He said that in the past four weeks Pakistan has undertaken a diplomatic surge. "We have acted with immense responsibility and restraint, but with firm resolve that the Indian actions are unacceptable, and that should India choose the path of aggression, Pakistan would be ready to fully defend itself," he said. Apart from downgrading diplomatic relations and suspending bilateral trade, stopping of the rail and bus services, he said, the government is also reviewing other existing arrangements in response to India's illegal actions. "We will not keep quiet. We will seize every opportunity to sensitize the world community about the unspeakable suffering of the people of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and dark vision of their tormentors," he said.
While hopes have dimmed for the people of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, he said, in Afghanistan there are real hopes of a breakthrough in parleys between the US and the Taliban. "Dialogue is well underway. It is about to come to fruition, and will, we sincerely hope, pave the way in due course, for lasting peace and stability," he said, adding that Pakistan will continue to facilitate the process as part of a shared responsibility.
"Assisting in whatever way we can, an Afghan-owned, and Afghan-led process of reconciliation that paves the way for enduring stability remains our second greatest challenge," he added. In Afghanistan, he said that major headway continues to be made towards reaching a peace deal between the Taliban and the United States. "This is likely to be followed up with Intra-Afghan negotiations," he hoped.
Referring to Pakistan-China relations, he said that Pakistan-China strategic cooperative ties are the anchor of stability in the region, adding that President Xi's Belt and Road Initiative, specifically its flagship project the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), holds the prospect of transforming Pakistan's and the region's fortunes, by fostering win-win integration. "We believe it would be a mistake for the world to relapse into another cold war. We still think that cooperation, rather than confrontation, should be the leading dynamic in global attires," he added.
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