Observer Report
Islamabad
Everyone is on the same page regarding the issue of Kashmir, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Tuesday while addressing an All Parties Conference held to form a consensus on the lingering dispute.
Qureshi said that Pakistani nation, political parties, and the armed forces were on the same page regarding Kashmir.
“Despite torture, oppression, and imprisonment, India cannot dampen the spirits of Kashmiris,” Qureshi said, adding that the country had rejected India’s unconstitutional and unilateral move on August 5, 2019.
The Chairman Senate, Speaker of National Assembly, Minister for Information Senator Shibli Faraz, and representatives from JUI-F, Jamaat-e-Islami, ANP, PPP, PML-N, BNP, DG ISI and others were present at the meeting held at the Foreign Office.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi addressing the conference, said that Pakistani nation, political parties, and the armed forces were on the same page regarding Kashmir.
Qureshi said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-inspired BJP government has sown seeds of hatred in the hearts of not only Kashmiris but also minorities in India.
“Pakistan has exposed the ongoing human rights violations in IIOJK at every international forum,” the foreign minister said. “India’s Hindutva policy is a threat not only to Kashmiris but to the peace of the entire region.”
The foreign minister added that India seeks to
change the population demographics in the occupied valley by changing domicile laws, which is a clear violation of international law.
Meanwhile, talking to a news channel, FM Qureshi said that the entire country was united on the issue of occupied Kashmir and will give ‘one message’ to India on the one-year anniversary of New Delhi’s August 5 move. “There is no confusion in our emotions or direction,” said the foreign minister. “The entire country is united [on Kashmir issue] and will send one message to India [on August 5],” he added. Answering a question about Pakistan’s response and what more needed to be done, the foreign minister said that the struggle to provide the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir was an ongoing one.
“See, this is a struggle and it will have its ups and downs,” he said. “Our stance hasn’t changed and our destination is Srinagar. The locks and chains on the Jamia Masjid Srinagar will be broken,” he added.
FM Qureshi said that political activists, stakeholders and other members of the society will take part in Yaum-e-Istehsal rallies around the country. “We will observe one-minute silence, of course, keeping in mind the SOPs due to the coronavirus pandemic,” he said. The foreign minister lashed out at the Indian government for imposing a curfew in the occupied region, saying that it had negated India’s stance. “India’s stance has been buried [by its decision to impose curfew again],” he said. “It shows that the Indian rulers aren’t confident that Kashmiris will agree with them, despite the government’s oppression and greed tactics,” he added. He said, “India’s Hindutva ideology is not only a threat to Kashmiris but to the entire region’s peace. India wants to change the proportion of the population of occupied Kashmir on the basis of racial bigotry. Director General of ISI, Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed also briefed the participants on prevailing situation in IIOJK.
