Just and lasting solution to Kashmir dispute vital for peace in South Asia: PM Imran

Published February 19, 2020
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday urged the international community to highlight India’s crimes against humanity in Kashmir. — Photo courtesy Radio Pakistan
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday urged the international community to highlight India’s crimes against humanity in Kashmir. — Photo courtesy Radio Pakistan

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday urged the international community to highlight India’s crimes against humanity in occupied Kashmir, adding that a just and lasting solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was essential for peace, security and stability in South Asia.

The premier's remarks came during a meeting with a cross-party delegation of UK parliamentarians, led by Chair of All-Parties Parliamentary Kashmir Group Debbie Abrahams on Wednesday, Radio Pakistan reported.

Prime Minister Imran apprised the delegation of the dire human rights and humanitarian conditions in Indian-occupied Kashmir following New Delhi's move to strip the region of its special semi-autonomous status.

He underscored that eight million Kashmiris were under a military siege for the past six months.

The premier also highlighted the threat to peace and security posed by the Indian leadership's belligerent rhetoric and aggressive actions on the ground, adding that the Bharatiya Janata Party government's Hindutva ideology was squeezing the Kashmiris in occupied Kashmir on one hand and constricting space for India's minorities on the other.

The prime minister voiced concern that India could resort to a "false flag" operation in order to divert international attention from its unacceptable actions in the occupied valley.

He stressed that the international community had a responsibility to raise awareness about India's crimes against humanity, besides putting pressure on India for the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir.

The premier also reiterated Pakistan's commitment to support the Kashmiri people in their struggle for justice and right to self-determination.

He also commended the delegation’s focus on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and noted the important contribution made by its earlier reports on the human rights situation in occupied Kashmir.

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