ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad has said that India’s designs to silence the Kashmiris and their leadership through oppression, wanton use of force and sham trials will never succeed. As the popular reaction in IIOJK on the sentencing of Muhammad Yasin Malik proves, this will provide further momentum to their legitimate struggle, he said.
This was stated by Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad while addressing a weekly press briefing on Friday.
At the start of the press briefing FO spokesperson reiterated Pakistan’s strongest condemnation and rejection of the malafide conviction and sentencing of Hurriyat leader Muhammad Yasin Malik in a grossly suspicious and contrived case registered under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Indian Penal Code (IPC) dating back to 2017.
He said that the Indian Charge d’Affaires (Cd’A) in Islamabad was called to the Foreign Office on 25 May and was conveyed Government of Pakistan’s strong indignation over the highly reprehensible sentencing of Yasin Malik after his conviction on fabricated charges, denial of fair trial, and inhuman incarceration despite his deteriorating health, in complete defiance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Asim Iftikhar Ahmad has said that we remain deeply concerned at the continuing repression and human rights violations by the Indian occupation forces. We strongly condemn the extra-judicial killing of four innocent Kashmiri youth in Srinagar and Pulwama on Friday. Earlier during the week, 4 Kashmiris were martyred in so-called cordon and search operations in Baramulla and Kupwara.
He said that on 21st May, the Government and people of Pakistan paid homage to Shaheed Mirwaiz Molvi Mohammad Farooq and Shaheed Abdul Ghani Lone who were martyred by Indian occupation forces on 21 May 1990 and 21 May 2002 respectively. Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) commemorated the significant contributions of the two iconic Kashmiri leaders to the struggle for self-determination.
He said that Pakistan once again urges India to halt its state terrorism, immediately cease human rights violations, release all Kashmiri leaders detained on trumped-up charges, and lift the inhumane military siege of IIOJK.
Asim Iftikhar Ahmad has said that we also call upon the international community, international human rights organizations and particularly the United Nations and its human rights machinery to take cognizance of the dire humanitarian situation in IIOJK, hold India accountable for its shameless violations of international law and norms, and to play their role in ensuring a just resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.