AJK PM writes to world leaders, seeks help to settle Kashmir dispute

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan on Wednesday urged the heads of a number of states to play their role to settle the festering Kashmir dispute on a humanitarian basis to bring peace in South Asia.

The AJK prime minister wrote letters to the heads of China, Russia, Indonesia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Norway, and other countries to stop Indian forces from committing grave human rights abuses in held Kashmir.

He said the Kashmiri people were in a great deal of pain because of India’s Aug 5 move to annex the disputed territory.

Mr Khan lamented the Kashmiris have been deprived of their identity as a result of India’s constitutional terrorism.

He said New Delhi was trying to alter the demographic composition of the held territory by allowing non-residents to purchase land and get jobs there. It would play havoc with the identity of Kashmiris, he added.

India has strengthened its military presence in the area which has been turned into the world’s biggest military zone, the AJK prime minister said.

New Delhi has imposed a day and night curfew for an indefinite period, due to which over eight million people were confined to their homes, he said, adding there are fears of a humanitarian crisis, a shortage of food and medicines.