ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah on Wednesday alleged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s personal relationships with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi is damaging Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir issue.

“Nawaz Sharif's relations with the Indian administration, especially with Prime Minister Modi, is a hurdle in resolving the Kashmir dispute,” Shah said while talking to media personnel.

Shah added that Sharif’s silence on the Kashmir issue is beyond understanding after the current wave of atrocities committed by Indian forces in the disputed valley.

The PPP leader urged the government to use all diplomatic channels to stop Indian aggression against the Kashmiri people.

“The government should convene a special meeting of Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) over the Kashmir issue, in order to get support from Muslim countries for the issue,” Shah elaborated.

He said that at the time when other countries are condemning the use of force by Indian forces in Kashmir, the government of Pakistan's stance has not met the expectations of the people across the Line of Control (LoC).

“People of Kashmir are disappointed from the attitude shown by the prime minister and his government towards Kashmir's dispute,”

Shah was of the opinion the premier cannot sacrifice the Kashmir issue over his relations with Modi.

Uptick in violence

It is the worst civilian violence to hit the restive region of Indian-held Kashmir since 2010, when mass protests broke out against Indian rule.

Wani, a 22-year-old commander of Kashmir's largest pro-independence militant group Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), was killed along with two other separatists during a brief gun battle with Indian government forces.

Wani joined the HM group at the age of just 15, and was viewed as a hero by many in Kashmir. The state's former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted after his death that he had become the “new icon of Kashmir's disaffected”.

Witnesses said tens of thousands attended his funeral despite a curfew imposed by Indian authorities, chanting independence slogans and firing pistol shots in his honour.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called an emergency meeting to discuss escalating violence in India-held Kashmir amid anti-India protests that have left at least 30 people dead and hundreds injured in clashes with authorities.

Pakistan's Foreign Office has also condemned the violence in Indian-held Kashmir.

HM is one of several groups that for decades have been fighting around half a million Indian troops deployed in the region, calling for independence for Kashmir or a merger with Pakistan.

Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since 1947, but both claim the territory in its entirety.

Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting since 1989.

Violence has sharply declined in recent years following a major crackdown by the hundreds of thousands of Indian forces deployed in the region.

But a recent uptick in militant attacks has galvanised frustrated young Kashmiris, many of whom deeply resent the military's presence.