ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has condemned reported restrictions imposed by Indian authorities on Eid Al-Adha prayers and the sacrifice of animals in Indian-administered Kashmir, state-run APP news agency reported on Wednesday.
The Foreign Office’s statement came amid reports Eid prayers were disrupted by the presence of a large number of troops and restrictions had been imposed at major mosques in the region.
“Imposition of restrictions on prayers and religious festivities on one of the most important days of Islamic calendar represents complete disrespect and deep-rooted prejudice by the Indian government for the sentiments of the Muslims,” the Foreign Office said. “It is also a flagrant violation of their fundamental freedom of religion.”
“Pakistan urges the international community, the United Nations, and other human rights and humanitarian organizations to take notice of brutal suppression of the religious rights and freedoms of the Kashmiri people in violation of international laws and conventions,” Pakistan said. “India must realize that by such measures, it cannot break the will of the Kashmiris and suppress their aspirations for freedom…Pakistan reiterates its support of Kashmiri people for their inalienable right to self-determination as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”
Kashmiri Muslims leave a mosque on Eid al-Adha in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, on July 21, 2021. (AP)
New Delhi has struggled for decades to dampen secessionist sentiments in what had been its only Muslim majority state, blaming neighboring Pakistan for supporting insurgencies in the Himalayan region, which Islamabad denies.
Reasserting New Delhi’s control in August 2019, Modi abolished Article 370 of the Constitution, ending the region’s autonomy and removing its statehood by splitting it into the federal territories of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Buddhist-dominated Ladakh.
