Our Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan has said that nuclear clash between Pakistan and India on the Kashmir is not merely an apprehension but a visible reality.
“If the international community does not come forward to resolve the Kashmir issue and end human rights violations, not only South Asia but the entire world will have to pay a heavy cast,” he said.
In a first-ever interactive session with the UK MP and Chairman Labor Friends of Kashmir Andrew Gwynne through video link, he said that the human rights violations in occupied Kashmir and the frequent Indian aggression at the Line of Control were further aggravating the already deteriorated situation of the region which would have adverse effects on the peace and security of the whole world.
Sardar Masood Khan warned that the war hysteria created by extremist Indian rulers and the oppression in occupied Kashmir was swiftly pushing the region towards a devastating war.
The state president appealed to the UK to come forward as an important member of the UN Security Council, and pave the way for a peaceful political and diplomatic solution to the Kashmir conflict- a sole root cause of tension between India and Pakistan.
“The UN Security Council owes the responsibility of maintaining peace and security in the world, it can intervene despite India’s opposition, and take any measure including holding of a referendum to resolve the Kashmir conflict,” he added.
He maintained that the responsibility of the Security Council to resolve the Kashmir issue further grows because the presence of UN Military Observers deployed in both parts of the Jammu and Kashmir.
Sardar Masood Khan said that India has been creating hurdles in the resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN resolutions. The people Pakistan, as well as Jammu and Kashmir, want a peaceful political and the diplomatic solution to the issue but India is adamant to resolve it through military means that is a war between the two countries.
Rejecting the bilateral talks with India, President Khan said that the question of Kashmir and the UNSC resolutions on Kashmir revolves around the people of Kashmir who are fundamental party to the Kashmir as only they will decide their political future through an UN-sponsored referendum.
Drawing a comparison between Azad Kashmir and occupied Kashmir, the state president said that the Occupied territory had virtually become a big military garrison and open prison for its inhabitants while the people of Azad Kashmir enjoying freedom, civil liberties and all fundamental rights and they are struggling for a prosperous life.
The speakers called for an immediate halt of human rights violations in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and pointed out that rights abuses in IIOJK are a matter of concern and the international community must speak out collectively against it.
They said that two senior UN officials have written letters to the Indian government on human rights violations which is a welcome step but now merely drawing attention to the Indian government would not work and India cannot be compelled to end rights violations in occupied Kashmir until the world community takes some decisive action.