Pakistan Thursday vehemently rejected ‘protest’ by India over the bus service initiated between China and Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative, according to a Foreign Office statement.
“We reject the Indian Ministry of External Affairs purported protest and statement regarding bus service under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),” the Foreign Office said. “India’s repeated regurgitation of claims over Indian-held Kashmir can neither change the facts of history nor the legality of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute,” it said.
The Foreign Office noted that as per the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is disputed, the final status of which is to be determined through a democratic and impartial plebiscite to be held under the auspices of the UN.”In complete violation of the UNSC resolutions and against the wishes of the Kashmiri people, India continues to maintain its illegal hold over Indian-held Kashmir through brutal use of force,” the Foreign Office lamented, reminding New Delhi that its leaders had committed to hold the plebiscite. The Indian-held Kashmir remains the most militarised zone in the world, where the occupying forces are killing and maiming people on a daily basis, it noted.
The gross and systematic violations of human rights in the occupied valley at the hands of Indian forces have been extensively documented in a report issued by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in June 2018.
“By raising frivolous issues, India cannot mislead the international community or hide its state terrorism against people engaged in a legitimate struggle for their inalienable right to self-determination,” the Foreign Office maintained.
Demanding New Delhi to end its illegal occupation of the Kashmir, the Foreign Office said, “We also call upon India to allow the Commission of Inquiry recommended by the OHCHR to investigate human rights violations, and resolve the Jammu & Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UNSC resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people.”
Published in Daily Times, November 2nd 2018.
