India fulfilled hegemonic designs under label of constitutional amendment

OSLO, August 11: The AJK President, Sardar Masood Khan has appealed to the international community not to leave the Kashmiri people stranded in the tsunami of barbarity unleashed by India in the held region. Their only fault is that they are demanding their right to live in dignity, but India which had first occupied their territory, has now turned it into its colony and has trifurcated the territory thereby depriving the Kashmiri people of their entity.

He expressed these views while addressing a joint press conference with former Norwegian Prime Minister and the chief of Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights Kjell Bondevik here on Sunday.

The AJK president said that India, under the label of constitutional amendments, had done away with even semi-autonomous status of occupied Kashmir declaring it a part of the Indian Union to be controlled by a military general from now on. “This aggressive action by India has deprived the people of occupied Kashmir of all their rights,” he added.

On the other hand, Sardar Masood Khan maintained, India had been constantly targeting the civilian people of Azad Kashmir, and is using cluster bombs killing even women and children. “India has not only created a grave crisis in the region, but it is also threatening to impose a war on Pakistan though any minor clash between the two nuclear powers may cause the worst human disaster in the region,” he warned.

Paying tributes to the former Norwegian prime minister for his political and diplomatic efforts for the peaceful settlement of Kashmir conflict, the AJK president said that Mr. Bondevik had been frequently visiting Pakistan, Azad Kashmir and occupied Kashmir to find some practicable solution to the issue. “We fully hope that his active role to resolve the ongoing crisis in Kashmir will bear fruits,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Kjell Bondevik said that the recent steps related to Kashmir taken by the Indian government have further complicated the situation, and it has become inevitable to normalize it. “It would be my best endeavor that Kashmir remains on the top of international agenda so that a peaceful political and diplomatic solution could be found to the issue,” he vowed.

He said that the latest happenings in occupied Kashmir have necessitated the UN Security Council to hold its emergency session and discuss the Kashmir conflict because serious dangers are looming over peace and security of the region.

Earlier addressing a function of Pakistan and Kashmiri community on the eve of Pakistan Day, the AJK president said that Pakistan believed in regional and global peace and development, and it has been playing an active role in this regarding.

Touching upon the situation prevailing in occupied Kashmir, Sardar Masood Khan asserted that 800,000 Indian troops have besieged the Kashmiri people and imposed a complete media blackout to conceal realities from the world. “India has turned occupied Kashmir into a big military garrison, and has cut it off from the rest of the world, ” he said adding that in these circumstances, the government and the parliament of Pakistan have decided to observe Pakistan Day as the day of solidarity with the Kashmiri people this year.