ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday categorically rejected the remarks made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and stated that the “craftily staged” visits to the occupied territory will neither dampen the spirit of the Kashmiris struggling to break free from the illegal Indian occupation nor would it deceive the world into believing New Delhi’s deception.

Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar reacted sharply to the Indian prime minister’s statement about the IIOJK in a public rally in Gujarat and categorically rejected the remarks.

“The Indian prime minister’s farcical contention that he has, somehow, “resolved the Kashmir issue”, is not only false and misleading but also reflects how oblivious the Indian leadership has become of the ground realities in IIOJK,” he said.

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He stated that Jammu and Kashmir was an internationally-recognised dispute, the resolution of which had been on the agenda of the United Nations since 1948. Despite clear UN resolutions that prescribe a free and impartial plebiscite for the final disposition of the dispute, he added that India had not only illegally occupied the territory but was also guilty of egregious human rights violations employing over 900,000 brutal occupation force.

“The fact remains that the people of IIOJK continue to brave India’s reprehensible occupation which it seeks to perpetuate through malicious demographic changes and strong-arm tactics,” he stated.

He added that the craftily staged visits of the Indian leadership to the occupied territory and choreographed launches of so-called development projects in a bid to create a façade of “normalcy” will neither dampen the spirit of the Kashmiris struggling to break free from the illegal Indian occupation nor would it deceive the world into believing India’s deception.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022