We continue to urge India to lift the curfew and release all prisoners as a first step: US senators visiting Azad kashmir
Islamabad: President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan has called upon the US Administration to save Kashmir and people of Kashmir by mounting pressure on India to cease ongoing massacre and repression and withdraw unilateral actions taken on August 5 in occupied Kashmir.
He expressed these views during a conversation with a high level US delegation that called on him at Aiwan-e-Sadr here on Sunday. The AJK president while welcoming the US delegation for visiting liberated territory to get first hand information about the situation erupted out of the actions by India, reaction of Kashmiri people and to examine the ground realities and said that it was essential for the US Administration, Congress and the Senate to save occupied Kashmir and its people from the designs of Indian fanatic rulers.
He went on to say that it was the responsibility of the international community including United States to take notice of Indian threats of war on Azad Kashmir and Pakistan as well as the use of nuclear weapons, and play its role in preventing possible war in the region.
Sardar Masood Khan said that the United States and the international community must not ignore Hindutva philosophy because this so-called philosophy was designed to fan hatred besides Muslims against all other religious minorities. “The hate philosophy of the Indian rulers will not only adversely affect the lives of Muslims and the followers of other religions in India but it will also affect occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and other countries of South Asia,” he added.
Welcoming US President Donald Trump’s offer of mediation on Kashmir, Sardar Masood Khan said that the US president without waiting for India’s willingness, should take all steps including mediation to prevent the worst human rights violations in occupied Kashmir. However, he said that for a peaceful solution of Kashmir conflict, it was imperative to involve the Kashmiri people in any mediation or talks’ process or otherwise, their wishes should be kept in view.
He warned that if the international community did not play its role, and keeping in view its economic and political interests, continued to appease India, a major global human tragedy like the one in the last century, could once again take place.
The AJK president particularly thanked chairman subcommittee of the house on Asia Brad Sherman who had demanded a debate on the Indian brutalities and the human rights situation in occupied Kashmir.
This debate will be held on October 22. He suggested that such debates should also be held in the house of representative foreign relations committee and senate’s foreign relations committee.
While rejecting the Indian allegations that 500 terrorists were set to intrude occupied Kashmir from the liberated territory, Sardar Masood Khan stated in unequivocal terms that the people of liberated territory supported the struggle of their brethren in occupied Kashmir through peaceful and political means.
“Neither there is any terrorism nor is any kind of terrorist training being provided to anyone in Azad Kashmir,” he said, adding that India had sealed off the Line of Control with modern electronic equipment and the barbed wire, and what to talk of human, even animals and birds cannot cross this line dividing Azad Kashmir and the occupied territory.
Responding to questions from the members of US delegation, the AJK president said that at present the number of refugees who had quit occupied Kashmir due to Indian repression, has reached 40,000, and the youth among them wanted to cross the Line of Control to help their brethren. If India continued to perpetrate repression, it would not be possible for the government to prevent these youth and those from the liberated territory
The delegation led by Senator Chris Hollen and Senator Maggie Hassan held out assurance to continue their efforts to highlight the issue of human rights violation in Indian Ocuupied Kashmir.
The US senators said that a US senate committee had already expressed its grave concern over human rights trampling, communication blackout and the arrests of political leaders and workers in occupied Kashmir. In this connection, they maintained that a comprehensive debate would be initiated in the US senate.
The delegation also assured to apprise the American senate of the latest situation of occupied Kashmir, and to highlight that the situation directly concerns the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people.
