In statement, Foreign Office slams Delhi’s attempts to attribute indigenous resistance to alleged ‘infiltration’
Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Tuesday slammed as a ‘travesty’ India’s attempts to blame ‘infiltration’ over the Line of Control for a recent increase in instances of indigenous resistance efforts by residents of India-held Kashmir.
In a statement, the Foreign Office said that the residents of India-held Jammu and Kashmir had been suffering under an inhuman lockdown for over nine months. “The entire region has been turned into a prison, with unprecedented restrictions, which continue despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” it said.
According to the Foreign Office, since India revoked the special status of Kashmir on Aug. 5, 2019, “every single right of the Kashmiri people has been trampled upon by the Indian occupation forces acting with complete impunity under draconian laws such as Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Public Safety Act, and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.”
It said that Pakistan had been repeatedly highlighting the human rights violations of Indian forces at various international forums, and had been apprising the global community about the consequences of India’s brutalization of Kashmiris and the imminence of their resistance as a result of this repression.
“The recent incidents in IOJ&K [India-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir] are reflective of the inescapable reality that India’s brutal campaign of violence and repression is meeting its logical consequences,” it said. “India’s typical allegations of ‘infiltration’ ring hollow also because all these incidents have taken place deep inside the Valley, several miles behind Indian military’s extensive Infiltration grid, comprising several layers of security,” it added.
India has, in recent weeks, accused Pakistan of infiltrating militants over the Line of Control dividing the two countries to instigate unrest in Kashmir. It has even accused Pakistan of sending people infected with COVID-19 into India to boost its spread in the neighboring nation. Islamabad has vociferously denied all such claims.
“Across the Line of Control, using the pretext of so-called ‘infiltration’ and ‘launch pads,’ Indian forces are deliberately targeting unarmed Pakistani civilians, including women and children,” continued the Foreign Office statement, adding that Delhi had instigated 975 unprovoked ceasefire violations since Jan. 1. “Six innocent civilians have lost their lives and another 69 have been critically injured. This inhuman war tactic cannot be condemned enough,” it said.
Calling upon the international community to recognize the threat posed by India’s “irresponsible rhetoric and belligerent posture” to peace and stability in South Asia, the statement urged the world to unite in restraining India before its actions cause grievous harm to regional peace.
“India cannot mislead the international community with its unfounded allegations and aggressive actions on the ground,” it said. “Indian insinuations against Pakistan are patently designed to divert international as well as domestic attention from India’s grave human rights violations in IOJ&K, the treatment of Indian minorities, and mismanagement by the BJP government of COVID-19-related challenges.”