*KARACHI: **Indian faces a big diplomatic snub from key western ally overOccupied Kashmir lockdown.*
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has conveyed serious concerns over thehuman rights situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K),according the country’s top diplomat in Pakistan.
The rightwing Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modirevoked the semi-autonomous constitutional status of IOJ&K on August 5,2019 and put the disputed region under siege which remains in place eversince.
Speaking to the media at Karachi Press Club during a visit on Tuesday,German Ambassador Dr Bernhard Schlagheck voiced serious concerns over therights situation in IOJ&K while calling for a peaceful settlement of thehistorical dispute between Pakistan and India over the Himalayan region.
The Modi government has also introduced the highly divisive CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA) 2019 which blatantly discriminates against Muslims.
The new law has triggered widespread protests across India in which overtwo dozen protesters have been killed thus far.
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Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly warned the international communitythat Narendra Modi, an RSS ideologue, is following a systematic agenda ofturning India into a Hindu state.
The European Union (EU) Parliament – to which Germany is also a member –has decided to debate and vote on a scathing resolution against therevocation of IOJ&K’s autonomous status in clear violation of the UnitedNations Security Council resolutions.
Of 751 members of the EU Parliament, 626 have moved six resolutions on boththe issues earlier this week in a move that came ahead of Modi’s visit toBrussels for the India-EU summit in March.
