Governor Sarwar writes to EU, British parliamentarians to save Kashmiris

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar has urged the British and European Union (EU) parliamentarians to save Kashmiris from Indian atrocities in the aftermath of revocation of "special status" of Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) and deter India from gross human rights violations.

The governor, in a letter addressed to the British and EU parliamentarians on Friday, urged the world community, including the Muslim Ummah, to ask India to desist from violation of its commitments under the United Nation's resolutions.

Chaudhry Sarwar wrote that the revocation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution by Narendra Modi's government had changed Jammu and Kashmir's "special status" as a disputed territory, and advanced from occupation of the territory to its annexation.

He said the revocation of Article 370 had strained relations between the two nuclear neighbours. Pakistan would employ available options to counter the illegal move of the Indian government, he added.

The Punjab governor mentioned that the Indian illegal move would aggravate the law and order situation in the IoK and pose greater threats to the regional peace and harmony.

Mentioning that no weapon or draconian law could deter Kashmiris from their right to self-determination, he wrote that the Indian occupied forces made brazen use of cluster bombs and pellet guns against hapless Kashmiris, which was a violation of international conventions.

Expressing Pakistani government's preference to peace and negotiations, he said the Kartarpur Corridor was an initiative of Prime Minister Imran Khan to build bridges between the two countries, but India's folly could escalate into a perilous situation in the region.

He urged the UN Security Council, international community and the Muslim Ummah to play their role in diffusing the tension between the two countries by asking India to give the hapless Kashmiris their right to final disposition of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the will of the people expressed through free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the UN.

He expressed the hope that the British and the EU parliamentarians would keep up to their greatest tradition of addressing international issues and save the Kashmiris from illegal Indian annexation at all costs.