(Karachi) On the invitation of the Government of Pakistan, the US delegation, including Senator Chris Van Hollen, Maggie Hassan and US Charge d’ Affaires Ambassador Paul Jones, visited Azad Kashmir on Sunday, a statement issued by Foreign Office stated.
The purpose of the fact-finding visit was to see the ground situation and gauge public sentiment following India’s illegal August 5 move to revoke Indian Occupied Kashmir’s (IOK) special status.
The delegation visited Muzaffarabad and held meetings with the president and prime minister of Azad Kashmir, it read. During the meeting, the US envoys were briefed about the current situation at the Line of Control (LoC). The US delegation expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in Kashmir and at the border, the statement added.
The US envoys expressed their resolve to remain engaged for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute, the Foreign Office statement said.
Earlier, the Indian government denied US Senator Chris Van Hollen entry to the Indian Occupied Kashmir. Later, the Pakistani government invited the US delegation to visit the other side of the valley.
On the invitation, Hollen along with US Charge d’ Affaires Ambassador Paul Jones travelled to Multan to meet Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who is in the city for the 780th Urs celebrations of the Sufi Saint Hazrat Bahauddin Zakaria.
On the occasion, the foreign minister briefed the US Senator about the tradition and rituals of the Urs and the teachings of the Islamic mystic regarding respect, tolerance and peaceful co-existence.
Both leaders also discussed the Kashmir issue at length during the meeting.
The Kashmir conflict
While highlighting in detail the continued lockdown in Occupied Kashmir and aggravating situation of the region, Qureshi advised Senator Hollen to visit both sides of the valley to assess the ground situation and the reality of brutal torture of the Indian forces on innocent citizens of Kashmir.
The foreign minister said that curfew in Kashmir had entered the third month of lockdown, adding that the people of held Valley had no access to hospitals, schools markets to get food and daily-use items.
He said that the Indian army is using pellet guns against the unarmed people and thousands of young men had been rendered blind there.
The foreign minister said that Pakistan is a peaceful nation and does not want conflict with India. He maintained that the entire world has raised concerns over the current scenario in Occupied Kashmir.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi stated that the policy of denial by the Indian Government to neutral observers to visit Kashmir demonstrated their efforts to conceal the brutal repression and the misery of the people of Kashmir at the hands of Indian forces.
Upon Qureshi’s suggestions, US Senator Van Hollen agreed to visit Azad Jammu and Kashmir to have a first-hand evaluation of the situation.
Qureshi thanked Senator Von Hollen for his principled stance in raising consistent concerns on the deteriorating situation in Occupied Kashmir. He also appreciated the US Senator’s role in proposing an amendment to the Senate Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 2020 that explicitly expresses concern about the “humanitarian crisis in Kashmir.”
India’s move criticized
US officials have criticized India’s move to lockdown Kashmir and have called on New Delhi to ease restrictions imposed on the residents. The criticism came after US senator Hollen was blocked from visiting the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir on October 5.
Tensions remain high in the disputed Himalayan region that has entered the third month of a crisis caused by a near-total lockdown.
Hollen mentioned he had sought to travel to Kashmir to observe conditions there, adding that the United States is “closely monitoring the humanitarian situation” in the occupied valley.