President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Sardar Masood Khan called upon the international community to focus on the Kashmirconflict and warned that continued suppression of Kashmiris could lead togrim consequences
MUZAFFARABAD (Pakistan Point News / Online - 10th May, 2019) President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), SardarMasood Khan called upon the international community to focus on the Kashmirconflict and warned that continued suppression of Kashmiris could lead togrim consequences.In an interview with an international news agency, Khan spoke at length onsecurity issues, humanitarian conditions in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK)and the role of the international community, besides emphasizing to launchhumanitarian diplomacy to ameliorate the sufferings of the people in theoccupied territory.
Against the backdrop of tensions triggered by a suicide attack inIndia-occupied Kashmir's Pulwama district in February this year, SardarMasood Khan said the situation was gloomy and gruesome after the Pulwamaattack followed by military exchanges between India and Pakistan onFebruary 26 and 27.India, he said, has intensified its cordon and search operations (CASOs)in the occupied Kashmir."The political leaders and activists are being persecuted in IOK.
Indianleaders, particularly ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by NarendraModi is using oppression in Kashmir as fodder in their election campaign,showcasing the repression against Kashmiris as a strong point to solicitvotes in the elections," Khan regretted.The Hindu extremists, he maintained, have orchestrated a campaign againstPakistan. In election rallies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has threatenedto use nuclear weapons against Pakistan to wipe out it from the face of theearth, a threat, which Masood Khan called �nuclear terrorism'.
He said the international community did show its interest in the situationof Jammu and Kashmir in February, but unfortunately, it (internationalcommunity) was more concerned about the security of the region than thehumanitarian crisis unfolding every day in Kashmir and the cause of thetensions.When asked what kind of political solution can be applied to resolveKashmir conflict, Sardar Masood Khan said the solution is already on thetable and was given by the UN Security Council (UNSC) when India hadapproached the world body back in the 1950s.
The solution, he added, was that a referendum, or a plebiscite, would beheld under the auspices of the UN to ascertain the wishes of people ofJammu and Kashmir.He said a political solution is possible when all the parties to thedispute come to the negotiating table. Now, the people of Jammu and Kashmirand the state and people of Pakistan were ready for that process but it wasIndia who was obstructing the process by choosing the path of brutalizingthe people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Saying that Kashmir was an international issue with three parties to thedispute, AJK President said it was India's preference to project it as abilateral issue or a border dispute between India and Pakistan, which wasnot a reality.The international community should focus on the Kashmir dispute, not justthrough a security prism and the consequences of a clash between India andPakistan. But it should focus on the root cause -- the denial of the rightto self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and grossviolations of human rights, he emphasized.
Commenting on the prospect of nuclear war between the two South Asian arch-rivals, Khan said the threat of serious confrontation between India andPakistan could not be ruled out until the international community makesserious efforts to resolve the Kashmir dispute."If there is a nuclear exchange or a limited nuclear exchange, it would notremain confined to the region. The consequences will be dangerous not justfor India and Pakistan, but for the entire world", he cautioned.
"There would be massive radiation which would affect 2.5 billion people inSouth Asia. Some 20 million people will die. So, I think it is theresponsibility of the international community to avert such a war byaddressing the root cause, which is the dispute of Kashmir.Regarding the suspension of trade between two dived parts of Kashmir (AJKand IOK) by India, the President said India acts like the judge, the juryand the executioner by making false allegations against Pakistan andsuspending the trade unilaterally without any investigation.
"All of a sudden in the midst of their (2019) elections, they raised thisissue that all these trucks carrying merchandise across the LoC had someweapons and drugs," Khan pointed out."Why were they (Indian authorities) silent all these years? And, what weretheir border officials doing? So, we think this is one of the ploys todemonize Pakistan and this fits into their approach to level allegationswithout any shred of evidence or proof, Masood Khan noted.
