ISLAMABAD: Mushaal Hussein Mullick, the Pakistan prime minister’s aide on human rights, on Saturday demanded New Delhi give international observers access to Indian-administered Kashmir to investigate alleged rights abuses against the Kashmiri people, Pakistani state media reported.
The statement came a day ahead of the Kashmir Solidarity Day, which Pakistan observes every year on February 5 to express solidarity with the people of Indian-administered Kashmir.
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint between Pakistan and India since their independence from the British rule in 1947. Both Pakistan and India rule parts of the Himalayan territory, but claim it in full and have fought three wars over the disputed region.
Mallick once again called for an early resolution of the Kashmir dispute and said the situation in Indian-administered Kashmir had reached a “crucial point,” the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“India is trying its best to execute Hurriyat leaders and then build some farcical narrative on it ahead of general elections [in September],” Mullick, wife of prominent Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik who is jailed in India since 2019, was quoted as saying.
“A Commission of Inquiry be made to probe India’s violations in the IIOJK (Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir) and the territory be made accessible to international observers so that ground realities can be brought before the world.”
In December last year, India’s Supreme Court upheld a 2019 decision by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revoke special autonomous status for Indian-administered Kashmir and set a deadline of Sept 30 next year for state polls to be held.
The Modi government’s repealing of Article 370 of the constitution in 2019 allowed people from the rest of the country to have the right to acquire property in Indian-administered Kashmir and settle there permanently.
Kashmiris, rights groups and critics of the Indian government had termed the move an attempt to dilute the demographics of the only Muslim-majority Indian state.
In connection with the Kashmir Solidarity Day, a walk is scheduled to be held in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Monday, which would be participated in by cabinet members, parliamentarians and people from different walks of life, according to Radio Pakistan.
Various other events would be held across Pakistan to express solidarity with the Kashmiri people.
Pakistan PM’s aide calls for access to international observers in Indian-administered Kashmir
https://arab.news/5rfhg
Pakistan PM’s aide calls for access to international observers in Indian-administered Kashmir
- The statement by Mushaal Hussein Mullick comes ahead of the Kashmir Solidarity Day on Feb. 5
- The disputed region has been a flashpoint between Pakistan and India since their independence
Peace can only prevail if Afghanistan renounces support for ‘terrorism’— Pakistan defense chief
- Pakistan’s chief of defense forces visits South Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan
- Pakistan says has killed 481 Afghan Taliban operatives since clashes began last Thursday
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir said on Wednesday that peace with Afghanistan can only prevail if Kabul renounces support for “terrorism” and “terrorist” organizations, the military’s media wing said as the two countries remain locked in conflict.
Fighting between the two neighbors, the worst in decades, broke out last Thursday night after Afghan forces attacked Pakistan’s military installations along their shared border. Afghanistan said its attacks were in response to earlier airstrikes by Pakistan against alleged militant hideouts in its country.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering militant outfits such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on its soil who have launched attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces in recent years. Kabul denies the allegations.
Munir visited Wana town in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district to review the security situation and troops’ operational preparedness at the Afghan border, the Pakistani military’s media wing said in a statement.
“The Field Marshal reiterated that peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organizations,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The military chief said the use of Afghan soil by militant outfits to launch attacks against Pakistan was unacceptable, vowing that “all necessary measures” would be taken to neutralize cross-border threats.
During the visit, Munir was briefed by military commanders about ongoing intelligence-based operations and measures being taken by the military to manage the border with Afghanistan.
He was also briefed about “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq” or “Wrath for the Truth,” the name Pakistan has given to its military operation against Afghan forces, the ISPR said.
The Pakistani military chief spoke to troops deployed in the area, praising their vigilance, professional conduct and high morale, the ISPR said.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the military has killed 481 Taliban operatives, injured more than 690 and destroyed 226 Afghan checkposts since clashes began.
Arab News has been unable to verify claims by both sides about the damages they claim to have inflicted on each other.
Afghanistan has signaled it is open for dialogue but Pakistan rejected the offer, saying it would continue its military operations till its objectives were achieved.
Since the conflict began, diplomatic efforts have intensified with several countries, including global bodies such as the European Union and United Nations, urging restraint and calling for talks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Ankara would help reinstate a ceasefire, the Turkish Presidency said on Tuesday, as other countries that had offered to mediate have since been hit by the conflict in the Gulf.
