Nobody can undermine Pakistan’s solidarity with Kashmiris: Afridi

Islamabad: Shehryar Khan Afridi, Chairperson of, Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir has said that nobody can undermine Pakistan’s solidarity with the Kashmiris.

Mr. Afridi was speaking at an event organised by the Institute of Regional Studies in connection with Kashmir Solidarity Day. Mr. Afridi said that the entire nation of Pakistan always stood with the people of Kashmiris and will continue to stand alongside the Kashmiri brothers and sisters. It was due to Pakistan’s government and intelligentsia’s continuous efforts towards exposing India’s Fascist ideologies that the world has started looking at India from a different lens, he argued.

Mr. Afridi was of the view that India’s unilateral action of 5th August 2019 injected new energy into the Kashmiri struggle and the Indian forces are now facing multidimensional resistances in IIOJK. “It was imperative to strengthen linkages with the Kashmiri diaspore abroad especially in the United States and the United Kingdom to further the Kashmir cause,” he added. He stated that all parties in Pakistan despite their political differences were united on the Kashmir cause, however, he stressed that the defeatist approach on Kashmir should be shunned.

Andleeb Abbas, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs said that the Occupied Kashmir was a test case for us. We have to prevent genocide in Kashmir as Dr. Gregory H Stanton of Genocide Watch had warned of an impending genocide in IIOJK due to the Fascist policies of the BJP regime, she added. She lamented that the world was keen on talking about human rights and even on animal rights but was turning a blind eye to the grave human rights violations in IIOJK.

Iftikhar Asim, Spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reiterated Pakistan’s support to Kashmiris. He stated that the government has vociferously projected the Kashmir cause internationally. He was of the view that Pakistan’s stance was reinforced by the UN by declaring that Kashmir remains a disputed territory and its resolution would only be possible through exercising the right of self-determination guaranteed by the UN resolutions.

Farzana Yaqoob, former Minister, AJK, argued that genocide is already underway in IIOJK and was happening for the last seventy years. She appreciated Pakistan’s support to the people of Kashmir and urged Pakistani youth to play their role by projecting the sufferings of the people of IIOJK.

Dr. Waleed Rasool, an academician and researcher from Kashmir, said that India was applying an indigenous demographic model in Kashmir adding that the way India turned the different casts other than Hindus in Northeast India into minorities, the same is happening in IIOJK’. He urged overseas Kashmiris to galvanise international support for the Kashmir cause as systematic demographic changes were going on in IIOJK which will directly impact the longstanding stance of the plebiscite.

Shamim Shawl of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, said that Indian atrocities were not restricted to male activists, women had also been subjected to physical and mental tortures by Indian forces. She stressed the need to protect the vote bank amid systematic demographic changes by India. She urged the Kashmiri Diaspora to maintain its linkages with the people of Kashmir.