Staff Reporter
Karachi
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday said that the six-month clampdown on Indian-Occupied Kashmir by the Indian government had left millions of Kashmiris unemployed.
Addressing a ceremony of Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Karachi, FM Qureshi said that Narendra Modi’s actions have also damaged the economic conditions in the occupied territory.
“It has caused the loss of two billion dollars to the economy in the valley and four hundred thousand people have been deprived of employment,” he said adding that the entire country was protesting which was destabilising the economy.
The foreign minister further said the international community is well aware of what is happening in IOK and apprised that he has written several letters to the president of the UN Security Council to highlight the Indian brutalities in the besieged Himalayan region.
“India might try a false flag operation to divert attention from its internal turmoil,” FM said. He said that even though countries talk about protecting human rights and ethics but, no practical steps are taken.
“They realise that Indian trade market is huge, so they end up taking steps which protect their own economic interests,” Qureshi said. Talking about debt repayment, FM Qureshi informed that “the present government has repaid $10 billion in loans.”
“We have learned a lot in a year-and-a-half. Economic stability is essential for Pakistan for it to be taken seriously in its foreign affairs,” he said. “The world is connecting its foreign policy with economic interests.”Shah Mahmood Qureshi said India’s ruling Bhartya Janata Party was facing imminent defeat in New Delhi polls due to premier Narendra Modi’s contentious moves concerning new citizenship laws.
The minister said since the BJP’s victory in the 2019 general elections in India, the party had to “face difficulties” in three state elections. “As for the Delhi elections, where results will be announced tomorrow (today) it is expected the BJP will face a lot of difficulties and is facing a huge defeat,” Qureshi said.
The foreign minister said there could be several reasons for the BJP facing these setbacks, but particularly highlighted the Indian government’s “cruel” policies in occupied Kashmir and the “countrywide protests that have resulted after the introduction of the CAA and the NRC” as the major reasons.
Speaking of economic growth and stability, Qureshi said, “The world will take Pakistan seriously when we are financially stable. “That is why I am here today, so that we can come up with ways for the foreign ministry to facilitate the finance ministry and other ministries in establishing contact with other countries and forging better ties with them.
“This will hep us learn from them and also work with them,” Qureshi said while adding that Pakistan has seen deindustrialisation in recent years.“The question is about when this process started. If industries are shutting down now, something must have happened in the past few years to have triggered the process. No one sets an industry up with the feasibility of a year or six months in mind, they think years ahead of time.
“However, I am not here to place blame or play politics, I am here to find a way forward,” the foreign minister said.