ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday again denied any change in the government’s position on the Kashmir dispute and said that outreach to the international community on the issue would continue.

“Let me reiterate that there is no change in Pakistan’s principled position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute which needs to be resolved in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions that call for a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices,” FO spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said at the weekly media briefing.

The questions have been raised in the context of the recently agreed restoration of ceasefire at LoC and some of the government gestures.

“Pakistan has never shied away from talks and has always called for peaceful resolution of all outstanding disputes, including the internationally recognised dispute of Jammu and Kashmir,” the spokesman said.

Official says Indian brutalisation will never be able to subjugate the Kashmiris

He said that Pakistan would continue to engage all relevant international fora to keep them updated on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Occupied Kashmir.

Mr Chaudhri recalled that Pakistan had also been highlighting human rights violations and the treatment of minorities in India, especially Muslims, under the RSS-BJP regime.

“We have been repeatedly saying that India is using every possible tool of oppression and violating every single human right of the Kashmiri people to break their will. However, no amount of Indian brutalisation has been able to subjugate the Kashmiris,” he added.

These violations committed by the Indian authorities, he said, had been comprehensively documented by the UN human rights machinery as well as international human rights and humanitarian organisations, including the Human Rights Watch.

Replying to a question about Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Geelani’s critical remarks about the Pak-India understanding on ceasefire, the spokesman noted “his sacrifices and contribution to the Jammu and Kashmir cause” and said that he was one of the most respected Kashmiri leaders for having dedicated his entire life for the cause.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2021