Qureshi bemoans 'Indian genocide of Kashmiris'

LONDON: Stressing that the right to self-determination is a basic right of the Kashmiri people, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Monday India which claims to be the world’s biggest democracy has been involved in human rights violations in held Kashmir.  

Addressing the International Kashmir Conference here, he thanked the All-Party Parliamentary Kashmir Group (APPKG) for raising voice against atrocities being committed by the Indian forces in occupied Kashmir. “The group brought to the fore human rights violations in held Kashmir.”

“Human blood is being spilled in occupied Kashmir. The Kashmir valley is burning as the people are scared,” the foreign minister said. “Everyday reports of rape and killings come from held Kashmir.”

He said India has held the Kashmiri people hostage and occupied the area which didn’t belong to it. “Why India is carrying out genocide against the entire Kashmiri generation? Why the country claiming to be the world’s biggest democracy has imposed censorship?”

Qureshi said the right to self-determination is a fundamental right of everyone. “The entire Kashmiri generation is being oppressed,” he lamented.

Earlier today, the Corps Commanders of the Pakistan Army expressed solidarity with resilient Kashmiri brethren on the eve of Kashmir Day, said the military’s media wing.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the 218th Corps Commanders’ Conference presided by General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the General Headquarters reviewed the geo-strategic environment and security situation of the country.