ISLAMABAD: Azad Kashmir President Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry on Sunday slammed the Indian government for using Pahalgam false-flag for a malicious campaign against Pakistan.

Speaking at a special meeting of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (Azad Kashmir Chapter) at Kashmir House, the AJK president condemned the attempts to malign Kashmir freedom movement by raising the bogey of so-called “cross border infiltration”.

Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry said the killing of tourists by unknown assailants was highly condemnable but India’s reaction to the April 22nd incident, was equally condemnable, unjustified and unwarranted.

“India’s response has been widely viewed as disproportionate and escalating tensions unnecessarily,” he said, adding that following the incident, the oppression in occupied Kashmir had intensified with raids of hundreds of homes, arrest of more than 1,500 Kashmiris, and 50 plus house demolitions.

He said India could not suppress the freedom movement of Kashmiris with its cruelty and barbarity. India, he said, had miserably failed to subdue Kashmiris, despite using all possible means of oppression and suppression.

Lauding the unprecedented sacrifices rendered by the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir, Mr Chaudhry said after its failure, India had now resorted to dirty war tactics to link Kashmiris’ freedom with terrorism — citing false-flag operation in Pahalgam.

The AJK president urged the international community to step in and play its due role to defuse tension in the region, exert pressure on India to stop violation of human rights in occupied Kashmir and help resolve the Kashmir issue according to the will and wishes of the Kashmiri people.

On this occasion, Barrister Chaudhry said India’s war rhetoric posed a serious threat, as both India and Pakistan were nuclear-armed nations.

“Even a minor incident between the two could escalate into a large-scale conflict, which could endanger global peace”, he said, urging influential countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, to intervene, and play an active role in defusing the growing tensions in South Asia.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2025