Sharif to raise Kashmir issue at UN

Islamabad: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will lead Pakistan’s delegation to the UN General Assembly in New York next month and “forcefully” raise the Kashmir issue at the world body, the Foreign Office (FO) in Islamabad said on Thursday.

“The prime minister strongly pleaded the cause of Kashmir during the general assembly session last year and will again forcefully raise the issue,” FO spokesman Nafees Zakaria said at a media briefing.

He said the UN Secretary General and most of the UN members have already been informed about the “precarious situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir”.

The spokesman said it is time India is reminded by UN and international community to ensure realisation of the right of self-determination of people of Jammu and Kashmir as per UN Security Council resolutions.

He said the issue is outstanding on the Security Council agenda for six decades.

The spokesman said that “blatant violations of human rights have been committed by Indian occupation forces in Kashmir” for 40 consecutive days.

He said over 80 Kashmiris have been martyred while over 100 have lost their eyesight and thousands more injured due to the firing of pellet guns by Indian security forces.

The spokesman said the international community and human rights organisations should call upon India to stop “use of brute force” against Kashmiris.

He said Pakistan has invited India for dialogue on Kashmir in view of the “grave situation in Indian-held Kashmir” and for the sake of regional peace.

Responding to a question about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent statement alleging human rights abuses in Pakistan’s province of Balochistan, the spokesman said that Modi’s remarks amounted to violations of the UN Charter.

He said the Indian leader crossed “the red line” and his remarks reflected India’s involvement in “sponsoring and financing terrorism” in Balochistan.

About reports that India has objected to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project in talks with China, the spokesman said both China and Pakistan have said time and again that it is a project aimed at economic development of not only the two countries but the entire region.

He said objection of India to such a beneficial economic project is beyond comprehension.

In Balochistan, a rally led by the region’s chief minister Sanaullah Khan Zehri on Thursday condemned the “interference” of the Indian prime minister in internal affairs of Pakistan, according to media reports.

Addressing a rally held in the provincial capital Quetta, the chief minister said that India “is directly involved in terrorists’ activities in Balochistan”.

Zehri also denounced the recent reported statement of Brahamdagh Bugti, leader of a banned Baloch separatist group living in self-imposed exile abroad, in which he welcomed Narendra Modi’s remarks regarding Balochistan.