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Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Saturday urged the world community to take cognizance of the grave situation in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir without any further loss of time. Speaking at a news conference to apprise the media about his telephonic conversations with Secretary-General, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, Qureshi said that the world body has a responsibility and the Kashmiri people are also expecting it to come forward.
"If the international community fails to play its role, the Kashmiris will be forced to use all options to resist the highhandedness," he said, adding that he apprised the UN chief of the situation and the expectations of the Kashmir people from the international community to play its role.
"Right now there is a lull. The volcano can erupt anytime and he will judge whether these actions were correct or incorrect," Qureshi said while referring to the Indian government's August 5 illegal actions.
Referring to the denial of access to 11 Lok Sabha members from opposition parties headed by Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi to the occupied valley by the Modi government, Qureshi said that the incident exposed the ugly face of so-called largest democracy of the world.
He said that the Modi government exhibited fascist attitude in Srinagar airport where they stopped the elected members of Lok Sabha who had arrived there to hear the first-hand accounts of the situation. He said the opposition members were arrested at the airport and forced to leave for New Delhi by the next flight and even the opposition politicians who wanted to hold a press conference in protest were manhandled prior to talking to the media.
"This is the true 'fascist' face of the Modi government witnessed by the world today. I urge democratic nations of the world to watch that footage [of manhandling the opposition leaders]. When they treat their own people this way and are not ready to hold talks with them, what expectation can we have when the world powers ask us [Pakistan] to hold dialogue with them [India]?," the foreign minister asked. Qureshi said that he requested the UN chief that the world body must immediately prioritise steps to avert the humanitarian crisis in the IOK as it has done previously in crisis situations.
He invited UN chief Antonio Guterres to visit Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He urged him to pay a visit to Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOK) as well. He further said the UN chief should visit both sides of Kashmir to take cognizance of the situations. "We are ready to welcome him in the AJK and would also like the Indian side to do the same. We are also ready to facilitate his visit wherever he wants to go," Qureshi further stated.
"I wanted to draw his attention to the evolving grave situation in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and call upon him to fulfill his responsibility," he said, adding that the UN has a responsibility to stop the illegal Indian steps that violate the UN Security Council resolutions. He said he urged the UN chief to play his role to avert worst humanitarian crisis in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Qureshi said the UN chief stated that he is ready to play his role and also expressed the same on many occasions, but unfortunately, India is not ready for any such role. He said that he also shared his apprehensions with the UN secretary-general that India may stage a 'false flag operation' to divert the world's attention from the real situation in the occupied valley.
Qureshi said that he conveyed to the UN chief that the world body must play its role for the safety of the lives of the Kashmiris, adding that he told him that Security Council's resolutions bind him to stand as an obstacle in the face of demographic changes in the disputed territory. He said that he also expressed the hope that the UN will expedite its efforts towards lifting of curfew in the occupied valley.
He said he also called upon the UN chief to immediately inform the leadership of P-5 [five permanent members of the Security Council] of the sensitivity of the situation and whether or not the Security Council convenes a session, do keep on briefing them because they should know what the situation is leaning towards as it evolves. He said that he also conveyed to the UN chief that Kashmiris expect that the UN Human Rights Council will continue to play a leading role in highlighting the situation.
To a question, he declined to comment on the UAE's decision to confer its highest award on Modi, saying that it is a fact that Pakistan enjoys good relations with the emirates. "But we cannot impose restriction on the UAE not to have bilateral relations with any third country," he said. He further said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has also expressed his desire to hold talks with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince of the UAE to discuss the evolving situations, adding that Pakistan is in touch at diplomatic channels with both the countries in this regard.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the Foreign Office said that in line with the continuing diplomatic outreach, Foreign Minister Qureshi spoke with UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, to brief him on the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K). They also discussed the risks and dangers to regional peace and security. Secretary General Guterres said that he is closely monitoring the situation and would remain engaged on the evolving developments. The foreign minister and the secretary general agreed to remain in contact.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

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