FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi warns of false flag operation by India

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has once again drawn the attention of important world capitals to the Modi government’s intentions of staging a false flag operation to divert the world attention from the grave human rights violations in India and the Occupied Kashmir — something that it has done in the past.

“The world must have its interests for considering India its commercial ally but it should not be silent on the prevailing situation in India giving due importance to people's values,” Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told the Eleventh Advisory Council meeting at the Foreign Office on Monday.

However, the Foreign Office did not make public the recommendations of the meeting, except that they had agreed to further enhance diplomatic interactions with the international community to rid the people of occupied Kashmir of continuing Indian oppression.

Qureshi said millions of people in India had realized the facts and the international human rights organizations as well as the foreign media were also covering these protests.

“However, those who have interests in India have set aside their democratic values and kept mum over this situation,” Qureshi was quoted by a Foreign Office statement. The Advisory Council set up by Prime Minister Imran Khan was meant to dispel the impression that the foreign policy was mostly security-centric. Experts having relevant experience in international economics have been made part of the council.

Ministers of finance, commerce and planning have also been included as members of the council. It comprises highly experienced former diplomats, ambassadors and academicians from the country’s renowned universities associated with the study of international relations and foreign policy.

The council is tasked with formulating recommendations related to Pakistan’s foreign policy, based on their experience and knowledge, especially issues that are not routinely concentrated on such as national resource constraints.

The Advisory Council on Monday focused on events inside India where by now the entire India is protesting the Modi-regime's Hindutva policies.

The foreign minister pointed out that today in India those protesting against discriminatory measures were facing the worst police torture on behest of the Modi regime. He said the police were involved in torturing people by raiding Muslim majority areas.

The meeting also deliberated on the situation inside Indian Occupied Kashmir where millions of people have been facing curfew since illegal act of the Indian government on 5 August this year.

India has currently been divided into two ideologies. He said democratic values were being suppressed in India, while Hindutva philosophy was being promoted. The foreign minister said everyone was sad over the maltreatment of Ulema in Utter Pradesh. He said police had also manhandled Priyanka Gandhi what to speak of the common man.

“This situation prevails across the country, but the Modi government is unmoved,” he added. He said the Indian government had blocked the voice of occupied Kashmir through the communication blackout and curfew but the voice of the entire India could not be suppressed.

This tension, he said, was no more confined to any religion, area or language, but had spread to every nook and cranny of India. He said the police were storming the Muslim majority areas and subjecting them to violence.

He said FIRs had been registered against 10,000 students for holding protest demonstrations. The foreign minister apprehended that India might carry out any drama in Kashmir to divert world attention from the internal chaos.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also chaired an inter-ministerial meeting at the Foreign Office where the participants exchanged views to promote the voice of oppressed people of IOK and project other important foreign policy matters through the media.

The meeting was attended by Special Assistant to the PM on Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Aashiq Awan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Security and Strategic Policy Planning Dr. Moeed Yousaf, Adviser to the PM on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood and other senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.