Qureshi says Pakistan standing by Kashmiris till final victory

The Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi addresses conference on 'Kashmir conflict' with Information Minister Shibli Faraz (Right) and Special Assistant for National Security Moeed Yousuf (Left). Photo Courtesy: Radio Pakistan

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday said that the Kashmiri people are facing immense difficulties, pain and persecution under a continued military siege for the last one year, reaffirming Pakistan's support for the Kashmiris'struggle for independence from Indian rule.

"Pakistan will stand by the people of the besieged valley till its final victory," he asserted.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad accompanied by Information Minister Shibli Faraz and Special Assistant for National Security Moeed Yousuf, the federal minister regretted that no one other than the Kashmiris knows what has happened during the past one year in the occupied region.

"To date, Kashmir suffers a communication blackout and basic human rights violations," the minister regretted.

The minister said the world should empathise with Kashmir after having experienced life in lockdown and enduring restrictions on their freedoms. He highlighted that Kashmiris have been enduring a "double lockdown" (the coronavirus lockdown as well as restrictions imposed by Indian occupation forces) for the past one year, he added.

He said that he wanted to send a message of solidarity to Kashmiris all over the world. "The Pakistani nation stood with the Kashmiris yesterday, stands with them today, and will stand with them till the final victory," Qureshi said.

Describing Prime Minister Imran Khan as an ambassador of the Kashmiri people, who had put forward the case of Kashmir in the United Nations, the minister said that the premier has had more than 100 engagements in order to highlight the plight of Kashmiris during the last two years.

"The struggle of Kashmiris on August 5 is a new turning point for independence. On this day, New Delhi snatched their flag, tried to erase their identity by dividing them; but whether it was Hindu pandit or a Buddhist follower, no one accepted it," the minister said.

Stressing that the United Nations recognises Kashmir as a disputed region, the foreign minister slammed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for forcibly trying to integrate it into India.

He described Indian-occupied Kashmir as "the world's largest military zone where basic human rights are violated".

"Shining India has been seen as Burning India during the past few months," he said, referencing widespread riots in India against the Modi regime's Hindutva policies.

Qureshi asked the nation to show solidarity with Kashmir by commemorating the injustices they have suffered at the hands of India since August 5, 2019.

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