Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday boycotted the speech of his Indian counterpart at the meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) being held on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York
In a statement, Qureshi said he walked out from the ministerial conference of the SAARC – regional intergovernmental organisation and geopolitical union of states in South Asia – in protest against India’s scrapping of special rights of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) region and a consistent clampdown there.
“India has to ensure the fundamental human rights of Kashmiris”.
There will be no talks until India lifts the curfew and stop human rights violations in occupied Kashmir,” Qureshi said.
Tensions between the two South Asian nuclear neighbours have mounted following the Indian government’s move on Aug 5 to scrap the special status of IOK.
IOK has been under a near-complete lockdown since then, with the Indian government blocking communication access and imposing restrictions on movement to thwart any protests in the region.=
Several rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have repeatedly called on India to lift restrictions and release political detainees.
India claims that 93% of the restrictions have been eased in the conflict-ridden region, a claim that Anadolu Agency could not independently verify.
From 1954 until Aug. 5, 2019, IOK enjoyed a special status under the Indian constitution which allowed it to enact its own laws. The provisions also protected the region’s citizenship law, which barred outsiders from settling in and owning land in the territory.
Also, the Indian government further downgraded and divided the disputed region into two centrally controlled “union territories.”
India and Pakistan both hold Kashmir in parts and claim it in full. China also controls part of the contested region, but it is India and Pakistan who have fought two wars over Kashmir.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed clear of mentioning prevailing situation in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in his address to UN General Assembly in New York on Friday, choosing instead to focus on domestic policies such as development and sanitation.
He did however make an oblique reference to arch-rivals Pakistan, saying, “We belong to a country that has given the world, not war, but Buddha’s message of peace.
“And that is the reason why our voice against terrorism, to alert the world about this evil rings with seriousness and outrage,” remarked the Hindu nationalist leader.
Harping on his terror mantra, Modi said the world needs to unite in the fight against terrorism, adding that it was the greatest threat to humanity and the biggest global challenge.
If war imposed by India, we will fight till the end: PM Imran says in UNGA speech
While Modi was delivering his speech, thousands of Pakistanis, Sikhs and members of human rights organisations protested against India’s human rights violations in IoK outside the UN headquarters.New Delhi imposed draconian measures including use of brute force, detentions, curfew and a communications blackout after revoking the disputed valley’s semi-autonomous status in a rushed presidential decree on August 5.
In comparison to Modi’s low-key address, Prime Minister Imran Khan came down hard on India, saying Pakistan would fight till the end if New Delhi imposed a war in case of any Pulwama-like situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir.
“If a conventional war starts between the two countries, anything could happen. But supposing a country seven times smaller than its neighbour is faced with the choice: either you surrender, or you fight for your freedom till death?” he said.
“What will we do? I ask myself these questions. We will fight… and when a nuclear-armed country fights to the end, it will have consequences far beyond the borders.”
He said there will be bloodbath once curfew is lifted in IOK.
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