ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s opposition parties on Monday vowed to stand with the people of Indian-administered Kashmir in the face of New Delhi’s two-week long security clampdown and communications blackout in the territory.
“We condemn the Indian atrocities in the occupied Kashmir in the strongest possible terms and urge it to lift the curfew and other restrictions immediately,” Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of politico-religious party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), said in a press conference after chairing a multiparty conference of the opposition bodies.
Representatives of mainstream and other opposition parties including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP) attended the conference convened to discuss the situation in Indian-administered Kashmir after New Delhi stripped the territory of special status earlier this month.
India’s revocation of special status for Jammu and Kashmir blocks the state’s right to frame its own laws and allows non-residents to buy property there. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government argues that the old laws prohibiting people from outside Kashmir from buying property, settling there and taking up government jobs had hindered development in the valley.
“We hold our rulers responsible for the current state of Kashmir,” Rehman said while lambasting the government for what he called an “irresponsible attitude” toward the Indian actions against Kashmiris.
However, PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari – leaders of two of Pakistan’s major opposition parties – could not attend the multiparty conference. A PML-N spokesperson said that Sharif could not attend the conference due to pain in his back while Zardari is visiting Gilgit-Baltistan to hold public rallies.
Commenting on their absence, Special Adviser to Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan said the PML-N and PPP leadership had ditched Rehman by not showing up.
“Maulana [Fazlur Rehman] should better raise voice for Kashmiris as these fake coins [the PPP and PML-N leaders] are of no use,” she said in a twitter post.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from colonial power Great Britain in 1947. They came close to another one in February after a deadly attack on Indian police by a Pakistan-based militant group resulted in airstrikes by both countries. Pakistan denies state complicity in the attack and has since launched a widespread crackdown against violent and banned organizations within its borders.
Last week members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met in over five decades to discuss the critical situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir, urging both Islamabad and New Delhi to refrain from taking any unilateral action.
Prime Minister Khan welcomed the UNSC’s decision to discuss tensions in the disputed region of Kashmir. “I welcome the UNSC meeting to discuss the serious situation in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” Khan tweeted after the talks in New York.
“Addressing the suffering of the Kashmiri people & ensuring resolution of the dispute is the responsibility of this world body,” he added on Twitter.
The opposition parties, however, said the government has not raised the issue at international forums effectively. “We assure Kashmiris that we are with them through thick and thin,” Rehman said. “We will fight their case at every forum across the globe,” he added.
Pakistan’s opposition parties join hands on Kashmir crisis
Pakistan’s opposition parties join hands on Kashmir crisis
- Say the government failed to effectively advocated Kashmir issue at global forums
- Term extension in the army chief’s tenure a routine matter
Pakistan missions in Saudi Arabia establish helplines, airport teams to facilitate passengers
- Several regional countries shut down their airspace when Iran launched retaliatory strikes against US bases in Gulf nations last week
- Conflict has disrupted air travel, particularly for Pakistani Umrah pilgrims, other passengers in Kingdom’s western regions
Islamabad: The Pakistani embassy in Riyadh and the country’s consulate in Jeddah have set up helplines and deployed teams at regional airports to facilitate Pakistani passengers suffering flight disruptions, state media reported on Sunday.
Several regional countries shut down their airspace when Iran launched strikes against US bases in the Gulf following US-Israeli strikes on Iran last week. The conflict has affected key air corridors and forced airlines to cancel or reroute thousands of flights.
Hundreds of international and domestic flights have been canceled in Pakistan since the conflict began on Feb. 28, with most of them scheduled to fly between the South Asian country and destinations in the Middle East.
“As per the instructions of the Government of Pakistan, the Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate General of Pakistan in Jeddah have set up round the clock helplines and deployed teams at regional airports to facilitate Pakistani passengers,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
The state media outlet noted that the Middle East war has disrupted air travel, particularly for Pakistani Umrah pilgrims and other passengers in the western regions of Saudi Arabia.
“The situation of Pakistani pilgrims and passengers in Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah is stable, while minor operational restrictions and risk warnings are in place in these airspaces,” Radio Pakistan added.
Earlier this week, the Pakistan Aviation Authority (PAA) denied media reports of a partial closure of the Pakistani airspace from Mar. 3 and Mar. 31.
It said Pakistan’s entire airspace remains fully open, safe, and available for all civil aviation traffic, including commercial flights. It added that alternative routing options are routinely used for affected flows.
“There are no restrictions on commercial operations, arrivals, departures, or overflights across Pakistan,” the PAA said. “Our air traffic controllers and airport teams are fully operational and managing traffic normally.”
