Muzaffarabad
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan Thursday said that the unilateral and unlawful steps taken by the Indian government to bifurcate and now colonize the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) was an illegal and flagrant violation of international law.
He said that the people in IOJ&K were facing repression, the likes of which have not been witnessed before.
The AJK president made these remarks while speaking to 33 foreign diplomats from Asia, Europe and Africa undergoing the 28th Foreign Diplomatic Course at the Foreign Service academy in the AJK state’s capital town, said in a press release issued by AJK Presidential secretariat.
Welcoming the foreign diplomats to the AJK capital, the president said that Azad Kashmir is a developing economy where we are focusing on self-sufficiency by shifting our dependence from the public sector to the private sector. Unlike IOJ&K, he said, we have opened up AJK for investors from all over the world.
The president said the AJK government has three priorities: intensifying diplomatic and political efforts for the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, promotion of good governance and fast-paced economic development in the Azad territory. He added that Azad Kashmir has the highest educational score in the whole of Pakistan, a district-wide survey has suggested, and it has the lowest crime rate.
Speaking on the current situation in IOJ&K, the president said that after the August 5 occupational lock down, the number of Indian troops had been beefed up to 900,000. The UN SC has declared the whole State as a disputed territory but India is maneuvering to permanently change this status. He said the people of IOJ&K have vowed not to give up their struggle for their freedom and over the years 500,000 Kashmiris have been mercilessly killed by the Indian occupation forces.
Responding to a question from the participants, the president said that nations raise their armed forces to defend their territorial boundaries and strategic interests. He said that war between Pakistan and India is a possibility but we must realise that any confrontation could lead to the use of nuclear weapons. Even a small scale nuclear exchange would be devastating for not only the people of this region but the whole world is at risk of being affected.
Right now, the president said, the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute is possible through diplomatic means and the implementation of the existing UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir. “It is the responsibility of diplomats like you, the world community and the UN to intervene to peacefully resolve the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and save the world from devastation”, he asserted.—APP
