ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said the situation in India-held Kashmir is grave which warrants the world to take notice of the worst kind of human rights violations by the occupation forces.

Talking to the media after his arrival in London on Sunday, the foreign minister regretted the silence of the world on unabated incidents of torture and aggression, indiscriminate use of pellet guns by the Indian forces and rape and killing spree of innocent Kashmiris.

He said that during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to held Kashmir, there was a complete strike in Srinagar. The Kashmiris were expressing their resentment and had taken practical steps, he said, regretting the oppressive measures taken in the world’s highly militarised area in the wake of Mr Modi’s visit.

Whether such grave human rights violations were allowed in any civilised society of the world, he wondered and urged India to realise the seriousness of the situation in the held valley.

Mr Qureshi, who arrived in London to attend events in connection with the Kashmir Solidarity Day, asked why India had clamped down on social and print media and disrupted the internet service. It was a kind of media gag, he said and asked the world media to highlight the situation in India-held Kashmir.

He said that certain incidents often made headlines in the international media, but in held Kashmir grave human rights violations were being committed by the Indian occupation forces on a daily basis.

In reply to a question, the foreign minister said there was complete national consensus on the Kashmir issue in Pakistan. He said the conference in the UK would deliberate on the Kashmir situation where he would reiterate Pakistan’s stance. Mr Qureshi said the UK parliament and UN rights body had also released their reports on the gross human rights violations in India-held Kashmir.

Published in Dawn, February 4th , 2019