ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Raja Ali Ejaz called on Dr. Abdullah Mosa Altayer, Chief Advisor to Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Acting Secretary General on Sunday, to apprise him on Indian aggression along the Line of Control (LoC) and the Indian military’s use of illegal cluster ammunition to target civilian populations, the Pakistan Consulate General in Jeddah said.
Ambassador Ejaz told Dr. Altayer that on the night of July 30th and 31st, the Indian army had “targeted innocent citizens including women and children in Neelum Valley through artillery using cluster ammunition,” which was in violation of the Geneva convention and international humanitarian law, the statement read.
The envoy said there was deepening anxiety and fear among the people of Indian occupied Kashmir, due to “reports of deployment of additional 38,000 Indian paramilitary forces in recent weeks.”
He also reiterated Pakistan’s stance to resolve the Kashmir issue peacefully according to UN resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people and urged the international community to pressurize India to stop human rights violations.
Earlier, following an SOS tweet from an All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader in Indian-administered Kashmir, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan would contact the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) immediately, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday.
The chairman of the APHC, an organization which holds observer status with the OIC, posted the Twitter version of a distress call.
“This tweet must be taken as an SOS (Save Our Souls) message to all Muslims living on this planet,” Syed Ali Gilani wrote Saturday evening, and went on to express fears of a looming violence perpetrated by India.
Following the tweet, while speaking to journalists, Qureshi said he would appraise the OIC Secretary General and urge him to play a role in saving Kashmiris from “the brutalities of Indian forces,” local media reported.
The foreign minister also sent a letter to the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, and Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi tweeted that the “grave situation in occupied Kashmir has also been circulated among members of the UN Security Council.”
In a separate tweet, she said the FM’s letter brought up concerns that India was looking to change Kashmir’s constitutional status.
“FM SM Qureshi’s letter to UNSG also expresses concern at reports that India is preparing ground to change status of Occupied J & Kashmir. Pakistan has consistently opposed any move that could alter situation in IoK as it would violate Security Council resolutions,” Lodhi tweeted.
Pakistan on Saturday accused India of using banned cluster bombs deliberately targeting civilian populations along the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir region.
India alleged that Pakistan-backed militants had planned attacks on Hindu pilgrims in Kashmir, which Pakistan strongly denies.
“This is a familiar Indian ploy to externalize blame, use baseless allegations as a smokescreen, and persist with its state-sponsored repression against the Kashmiri people. We again caution the international community against any false flag operations,” a Pakistan foreign ministry statement said on Saturday.
Pakistani envoy in Riyadh briefs OIC on Kashmir
Pakistani envoy in Riyadh briefs OIC on Kashmir
- Ambassador reiterated Pakistan’s stance to resolve the Kashmir issue peacefully according to UN resolutions
- Pakistan has sent a letter to the UN secretary general and a brief has been circulated in the security council
Two killed in suicide blast targeting security forces in Pakistan’s northwest
- Multiple people were injured in the attack in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
- It comes days after militants rammed explosive-laden vehicle into checkpost, killing 12 people
ISLAMABAD: Two security personnel, including an officer, were killed, while multiple others sustained injuries when a suicide blast targeted their vehicle in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, a police official said.
The suicide bomber hit his explosive-laden motorbike into an armored vehicle of security forces in Sara Darga area of KP’s Bannu district, according to a local police official who requested anonymity.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have carried out similar assaults in the region in past.
“The attack had damaged the armored vehicle, causing deaths and injuries,” he told Arab News, adding that they suspected the Pakistani Taliban to be behind the attack.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP, which borders Afghanistan, in recent years, with militant groups, particularly the TTP, frequently targeting security forces, law enforcers and government officials in the region.
Earlier this week, Pakistani Taliban militants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a checkpost jointly manned by security forces and law enforcement agencies in KP’s Bajaur district, killing 11 security personnel among 12 people, the Pakistani military’s media wing said.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil and India of backing militant groups for cross-border attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny this.
