PM Nawaz Sharif responds to Indian allegations
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NEW YORK (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Thursday deplored India's attempts to shift the blame on Pakistan for the sharply deteriorating situation in Indian occupied Kashmir, suggesting that New Delhi should instead engage with Islamabad and address the underlying issues through dialogue.
Speaking to Pakistani journalists, the prime minister said he had handed over to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon a dossier and the UN chief appeared deeply moved when he leafed through the document containing photographs of the brutalities unleashed by Indian security forces that have resulted in 107 deaths and
injuries to thousands more, with 150 blinded by deadly pellet guns.
READ MORE: PM Nawaz Sharif hands over dossier on Indian atrocities to UN Chief
He said it appeared the UN chief had not seen those photographs.
He said that the dossier would also be shared with the permanent members of UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- and Pakistani diplomats around the world were under instructions to apprise the governments they were accredited to of the human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir. The campaign to expose Indian atrocities on the Kashmiri people would be taken forward.
Elaborating Pakistan's UN Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, who was seated next to the prime minister, he said that the dossier was going through a process at the UN before deciding its course of action.
he said before his meeting with the UN Secretary General on Wednesday, the prime minister had written two letters to him in which he called for the implementation of U.N. resolutions on the decades-old Kashmir dispute and the dispatch of a fact-finding mission to Indian occupied Kashmir.
The prime minister, who was responding to reporters' questions, said he appreciated the UN chief's offer of his good offices to resolve the issues between India and Pakistan, but emphasized that the Kashmir resolutions were UN's own resolutions and that the world has the duty and responsibility to implement its decisions. "I told him (Ban) that it was in the interest of U.N.' s credibility to implement its resolutions."
READ MORE: Pakistan-India could slip into nuclear war over Kashmir: New York Times
PM Sharif said the Kashmiri people have been oppressed for decades by the strong-arm tactics of Indian occupation forces and it was but natural that they would react ultimately. But India was campaigning to divert attention to the popular uprising in Kashmir by blaming Pakistan. That tactic won't succeed.
He said he had raised the Kashmir issue in every meeting he had with leaders from around the world attending the 71st session of the UN General Assembly and his message was getting through.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had offered to send a fact-finding team to Indian Occupied Kashmir -- a move rejected by India -- and Turkey had proposed sending a similar OIC mission.
On its part, Pakistan would continue its moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir.
The prime minister dispelled the impression that Pakistan was isolated as claimed by some quarters, and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, who was present at the press conference, added that it was not the case. "That is a wrong impression," Chaudhry said.
As times move on, alignments change-- yesterday's enemies become friends and so on. CPEC had given new importance to Pakistan and there was excitement over the mega projects in which all regional countries want to participate. The reason: the corridor was the shortest route to trade with China.
PM Sharif said connectivity projects were recognized as vital to the progress of the region. In particular, he said the Iranian President Hasan Rouhani had stressed the complimentarity between Gwadar and Chabahar sea ports, saying it could boost regional trade exponentially in the decades ahead.
READ MORE: Pakistan would not allow externally sponsored terrorism on its land: PM Nawaz Sharif
During the prime minister's meeting with the world leaders, the foreign secretary said that every one praised Pakistan's performance in economic revival, energy deficit and counterterrorism. There were no two views about it.
Elaborating, the prime minister said that Pakistan's spectacular economic revival was for every one to see; international financial institutions and rating agencies had fully recognized it.
He paid tributes to Pakistan's armed for their role in improving security that led to a spike in economic activities and some prosperity.
Also present at the press conference were: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Tariq Fatemi, and Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Jalil Jillani.
