Qureshi warns India against provoking Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday sent a clear warning to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that it would be a folly to once again provoke Pakistan, especially across the Line of Control (LoC), to divert attention from the continuing crisis engulfing India.

"On behalf of the people of Pakistan, I would like to make it clear to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that we are a peaceful nation. But do not make the mistake of forgetting the events of February 27. Our Army is ready to give you a befitting reply if you use an excuse to attack,” warned Qureshi in a rare video message.

This was also a message from Islamabad to world capitals that enough warnings are being given for a neighbour which has always sought refuge in opening up a front with Pakistan when it was under great internal pressure.

The minister also took to write to the president of the UNSC (and Secretary General of UN) asking to ensure that there is no further escalation of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan, he said, has proposed strengthening of UNMOGIP’s presence in the region. A reinforced UNMOGIP could better observe and report on the situation along the LoC. It could serve as an important tool in the hands of the Security Council for maintenance of peace and security in the region.

“The Council must have this possibility in order to take informed decisions on ways to deploy tools of preventive diplomacy in case of further escalation and stop deterioration of the situation that could spiral out of control very quickly,” added the letter.

He pointed to the over 3,000 ceasefire violations, targeting over 300 civilians, including women and children since January 2019 alone, the partial removal of fence on the LoC in five sectors, deployment of Brahmos missile regiments, anti-tank guided missiles and spike missiles for use across the LoC and conduct of numerous missile tests since August 2019.

“The reason could only be planning for some ‘misadventure’ across the LoC. Our intelligence agencies have noticed extraordinary movement along the Line of Control (LoC), it has been breached from five places and this indicates that India has mala fide intentions. If India attempts any false flag operation or tries to invade Pakistan under any pretext, Pakistan armed forces will give a befitting response,” he added.

Commenting on the UN Security Council meeting on Kashmir raised by China on Pakistan’s request, he stated that the issue was raised at the right moment.

“It is deeply concerning that missiles are being deployed. Moreover, missile tests being conducted since August illustrate India’s true intentions which can harm regional peace. There is a pattern emerging in their actions,” he warned.

“Keeping these developments in mind, we request the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to conduct independent verification so that the facts may be presented before the Security Council,” he said.

He pointed out to extreme measures being taken to suppress the rights of the Kashmiris.

“There is a communication blackout, the media cannot travel to the valley and even diplomats are barred. Take also the Babri Masjid verdict. These things are making India’s 200 million Muslims feel like second-class citizens,” he added.

Commenting on the passage of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill in India, he said that West Bengal state’s Chief Minister Mamta Banarjee herself has denounced the legislation.

“Slowly, there are protests (against the bill) emerging in every city and every state.”

India’s opposition has vehemently opposed the bill and considers it contrary to their constitution, he added.

“However, in order to take the eyes off these protests, we anticipate that India is planning something. All these things lead us to believe that India’s intentions are not peaceful,” he said.

In his latest letter to the President of the UNSC (and Secretary General of UN) the foreign minister noted that there was wrongful projection of the occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the so-called “political maps” issued by the Indian Home Ministry recently which is a continuation of the series of India’s illegal actions. As the Government of Pakistan has stated, these maps have no validity and are null and void, as they are in violation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

“Further escalating the already tense environment in South Asia, India has stepped up unprovoked and deliberate ceasefire violations on the LoC and is taking steps that are posing serious risks for regional peace and security. Some details include:

The setting of a department in IOK for land transactions further substantiate concerns brought by Pakistan to the attention of the Security Council since 5 August, 2019 about the deliberate plans to alter the demographic composition and identity of the occupied territory, in complete violation of international law,” the letter noted.

Further the letter adds, “The UN was informed that the reign of terror unleashed by the occupation forces in IOK continues unabated. Curfew and communications blackouts have now entered the fifth month. Kashmiri political leadership remains in custody, in jails, and in detention centres across India. Thousands of Kashmiri youth have been abducted, many of them tortured and maimed, often publicly. Kashmiri protests have been violently suppressed, including by using pellet guns and other forceful means. Mosques and other religious institutions remain shut. Food and medicines are running short, the grim humanitarian situation is bound to further exacerbate as winter sets in.

India’s claims of ‘return of normalcy’ in IOK are false and designed to mislead the world community. No independent observers, journalists or Indian opposition leaders have been allowed to visit Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and evaluate the situation. Yet, successive independent reports including by the international media and human rights organisations, attest to India’s massive ongoing repression in IOK.

These reports also confirm that Kashmiri alienation and opposition to India’s occupation is universal. Reacting to Indian oppression, the Kashmiri people have been left with no choice but to resist foreign occupation. The response of the occupation forces is then expected to be characteristically brutal, resulting in wide-spread massacres.

In this backdrop, it continues to be our persistent concern that India may resort to a ‘false flag’ attack to divert world attention.

The bellicose rhetoric emanating from Indian leadership is further vitiating the atmosphere, threatening inter alia to review their nuclear doctrine, establish ‘physical jurisdiction’ over Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and ‘dismember’ Pakistan.