Murad urges int'l community to become voice of oppressed people of Kashmir

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the Indian authorities have imposed the longest curfew in the history of Kashmir which is a naked violation of human rights and enough to inculcate the conscience of international community and human rights bodies.

This he said while talking to the media just after leading a rally to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir organized by Commissioner Karachi from Peoples Chowrangi to Mazar-e-Quid. The rally was attended by provincial ministers, Saeed Ghani, Murtaza Wahab, IG Sindh, provincial secretaries, civil society, human rights activists and others in large number.

Shah said that the Indian government, in order to suppress people of Kashmir, has not only amended their constitution to deny the historical rights of people of the valley, but has turned the valley into a no-go-area where no person is allowed to enter to witness the plight of the people. "In the history the curfew imposed in Kashmir is the longest ever imposed anywhere in the world," he said.

Murad Ali Shah said that the conferences, walks and seminars to highlight the plight of people of Kashmir were good but we would have to make some tangible efforts on diplomatic forums to force India to restore the status of Kashmir, lift curfew from the valley and allow plebiscite as was decided by the United Nations.

He recalled the efforts of Shaheed Bhutto and Shaheed Mohterma Benazir Bhutto for making Kashmir an international issue. "All the previous governments in Pakistan with the sagacious policies kept the Kashmir issue alive but the present government has failed to follow the course," he said and added "setting aside all political difference, we as a nation would have to unite on a single agenda to liberate the people of Kashmir from the clutches of Indian government," he said.

The chief minister said that the atrocities unleashed in the valley of Kashmir were threat to the regional peace. "If the international community is interested in the peace in the region it would have to take notice of Modi government crimes in Kashmir and force him to restore the rights of suppressed people of Kashmir by withdrawing heavy police and armed forces from the valley.

Murad Ali Shah urged the international community to become the voice of the voiceless people of Kashmir. He also assured people of Kashmir that the people of Pakistan were with them and would be fighting for their legitimate rights.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021