Qureshi terms 2018 as 'year of Indian barbarism' for Kashmiris

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has termed 2018 as the ‘Year of Indian Barbarism’ for Kashmiris as more than 500 innocent people were martyred by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir, ARY News reported on Friday.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi while briefing the parliamentary committee on Kashmir at the Parliament House further detailed that 9426 Kashmiris were affected by bullets of pellet guns till 2019.

The foreign minister urged that Kashmir dispute is an international issue which needed to be resolved as per expectations of Kashmiris.

“Pakistan will support self-determination right of Kashmiris. We were standing alongside with Kashmiris in past and will stand beside them in future as well,” vowed Qureshi.

Earlier in the day, Qureshi has said India wants to escalate the matters with Pakistan. The foreign minister, while responding to the call attention notice in the National Assembly, said that India tried to escalate the situation in the wake of Pulwama incident, despite the fact that Pakistan had no connection with it and this has been recognised by the world as well.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan’s strategy has remained to defuse the tension with India through goodwill gesture such as the release of Indian pilot Abhinandan as well as their 360 fishermen.

The FM said, Pakistan is actively taking up the issue of release of its prisoners suffering in the jails of India. He urged New Delhi to take practical steps for the release of the Pakistani fishermen jailed in India.

In the latest act of state terrorism, a Kashmiri youth was martyred by Indian troops during the holy month of Ramadan.

According to Kashmir Media Service (KMS), the Indian forces shot dead a Kashmiri young man in Shopian district of occupied Kashmir on Friday (today).

The incident took place during a cordon and search operation in Amishpora area of the district.