ISLAMABAD – Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui says Indian forcesare particularly targeting Kashmiri youth in the Occupied Kashmir under thegarb of so-called cordon and search operations.
In her opening remarks during her weekly media briefing in Islamabad onThursday, she said in April alone 29 innocent Kashmiris were martyred,including seven since the onset of Ramadan.
She said harassment and intimidation of Kashmiri journalists has furtherintensified under the notorious and unlawful acts. She said the Indianoccupied forces are completely allowed to operate with impunity in theOccupied Kashmir under draconian laws such as Public Safety Act and ArmedForces Special Powers Act.
The Spokesperson called upon India to respect the 2003 CeasefireUnderstanding, investigate all acts of deliberate ceasefire violationsalong the Line of Control and the Working Boundary. She also urged theIndian side to allow United Nations Military Observer Group in India andPakistan to play its mandated role as per United Nations Security CouncilResolutions.
Aisha Farooq said Pakistan categorically rejects Indian allegations ofinfiltration attempts and unfounded claims of targeting launch pads acrossthe Line of Control.
She said these repeated Indian allegations are aimed at diverting worldattention from India’s state terrorism and the grave human rights situationin Occupied Kashmir.
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She expressed the hope that the international community will take duecognizance and urge India to reverse about the BJP Government’s systematiccampaign to demonize Muslims by holding them responsible for the spread ofCoronavirus, which is fraught with risks for the safety and security ofIndia’s minorities, particularly Muslims, and for their fundamental rightsand freedoms.
Aisha Farooq said voices from within India and around the world continue tocondemn the increasing wave of BJP-inspired hate crimes against minorities.The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in itsannual report has once again placed India into its list of ‘Country ofParticular Concern’ for engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing andegregious religious freedom violations. The report has highlighted that theIndian government “allowed violence against minorities and their houses ofworship to continue with impunity, and also engaged in and tolerated hatespeech and incitement to violence.
In the face of the challenge posed by the corona virus pandemic, she saidthe Chinese government and the Chinese people have firmly stood by theirPakistani brethren. Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Pakistan, China hasextended tremendous support to Pakistan. It has so far provided 4 millionUS dollars in cash donations, in addition to 390 ventilators, 330,000testing kits, 830,000 N95 masks, 5.8 million surgical masks, 42,000protective suits, and millions of other PPEs.
She said we are immensely grateful to the Government and people of Chinafor extending both moral and material support to Pakistan in the wake ofoutbreak of Covid-19. The compassion, generosity, and thoughtfulness shownby the Chinese Government and the people will be long remembered by thepeople of Pakistan.
