ISLAMABAD: President Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) chapter Chaudhry Latif Akbar has accused the federal government of 'disappointing' the people of Kashmir through its Kashmir policy, saying an aggressive policy should be pursued to ensure the grant of self-determination to the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir.

"It seems that Kashmir is not on the priority list of Prime Minister Imran Khan," Akbar said while addressing a press conference here on Tuesday along with other office-bearers of PPP AJK chapter.

He said that India issued more than 400,000 domiciles in a month to the non-residents of IOK as part of its policy to change the demography of the occupied valley by turning Muslim majority into minority.

"Since August 5, 2019, the IOK is in a state of complete lockdown and unprecedented curfew. The innocent and defenceless people of IOK are being killed. The women are being raped and children are being brutalized. In such a serious situation, the federal government is expected to follow aggressive diplomacy and strongly pursue the Kashmir cause instead of merely relying on verbal rhetoric," he said.

The PPP has advised the federal government to take into loop all the political parties on the issue of Kashmir, he said. "National unity is the need of the hour. All political parties have to be united to raise one and united voice on the issue of Kashmir. The government's pick and choose policy will not work," he said, adding that the Kashmir issue needs to be highlighted in accordance with the resolutions of United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

Earlier on August 6, 2020, the Parliament of Pakistan reiterated its complete rejection of India's "illegal and unilateral actions since 5 August 2019 aimed at perpetuating its inhuman occupation of Jammu and Kashmir" and called upon the international community to "use all tools at its disposal to hold India accountable for its illegal and unilateral actions and human rights violations against the Kashmiri people."

In a joint session of the Parliament, the senators and Members National Assembly (MNAs) from different political parties unanimously passed a resolution that denounced the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for taking advantage of the world's preoccupation with the Covid-19 pandemic, to introduce new domicile rules in the IOK in a bid to illegally change the demographic structure of the region to advance its "Hindutva" agenda.

"The illegal steps to turn Muslims into a minority in the only Muslim-majority area in India are in clear violation of the UNSC resolutions, bilateral agreements and international law, including the 4th Geneva Convention," it added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020

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