Zubair Qureshi
Islamabad
President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday condemned New Delhi for stripping the disputed Muslim-majority region of Jammu & Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status and remarked that, “India has learned such tactics [of changing demography of a region] from Israel”.
While addressing a gathering of Ulema, parliamentarians, students and a large number of the members of civil society on the eve of the first anniversary of India’s illegal annexation of held Kashmir, Dr Alvi said “India’s high-ups made many promises to Kashmiris and Pakistan but none of those promises were fulfilled.”
Pakistan has decided to mark Aug 5 as Youm-i-Istehsal-e-Kashmir (Day of Exploitation of Kashmir) and a protest demonstration rally was taken out to draw the world attention towards the Indian atrocities in Kashmir.
President Arif Alvi, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi led the rally that was participated by members of the cabinet, leaders of various political parties participated, workers and civil society.
While addressing the participants, Dr Alvi said, “They signed the Simla Agreement [1972] with us in which it was decided that [both countries] would hold bilateral dialogue, but to date, India has refused to hold talks. Whenever the issue was raised on multilateral forums, India made excuses saying that it was a bilateral issue but they are not ready to talk.”
He said Pakistan did not accept Article 370 — which provided special status to the occupied region — originally as well because “we want the independence of Kashmir since it is not part of India”. Narendra Modi’s government, he lamented, repealed the law and changed Article 35(a) last year.
“If, over the past year, Kashmiris had appreciated the move [of repealing the region’s special status], India would not have to impose a lockdown in [occupied Kashmir],” President Alvi declared.
He stressed that the Pakistan government had always striven for peace. Even after India violated Pakistani airspace on the “false reaction on Pulwama” blast, Pakistan returned the captured Indian air force pilot Abhinandan “to show to the world and India that we want peace, not war”.
The president demanded the United Nations Security Council, where resolutions have been passed regarding the Kashmir issue, to fulfill its promises.
Alvi further said that the press should be given free access to Indian occupied Kashmir. “If the situation is peaceful then press should have complete freedom to report from the occupied region. He also demanded that the changes introduced by the Indian government against the Geneva Convention and UN rules should be withdrawn.
He also appealed to the international community and world bodies, including the OIC, to take note of the barbaric actions of the Indian forces in occupied Kashmir. He assured that Pakistan will continue peaceful efforts for the Kashmir cause.
