Sharif on Monday called for a plebiscite in “occupied” Jammu and Kashmir to let its people decide if they want to be with India or align with Pakistan.
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Pointing out that Pakistan continues to glorify terrorists belonging to proscribed terrorist organisations, Swarup said that this makes it amply clear as to where Pakistan’s sympathies lie.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s envoy to United Nations Maleeha Lodhi raised the matter of ongoing clashes in Kashmir at a UN forum, where he called Wani’s killing by Indian forces “extrajudicial”.
It added that Lodhi briefed Mullet on the “atrocious brutality” by Indian security forces in Kashmir and also raised in her meeting the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, whom she described as “a popular Kashmiri youth leader”.
It was also decided that the government would convene the joint session of parliament to discuss the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Although a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Tuesday, soon after his return from Africa, had made a decision to take steps to limit the diplomatic fallout of the Kashmir situation, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), over the past few days, had largely ignored Pakistan’s rants. It’s not a new thing that Pakistan is fanning terrorism in Kashmir.
About 4,000 people gathered in Pakistan-administered Muzaffarabad, some carrying photos of slain rebel leader Burhan Wani, whose killing last week sparked unrest in which 32 people were killed – the deadliest clashes in Kashmir since 2010, when massive demonstrations were held against Indian rule.
PM said that 0.7 million Indian soldiers deployed in the occupied Kashmir could not suppress the movement of freedom of region’s people.
Sharif in order to appease the West and global community also gave lip service and condemned the recent terrorist attacks in France, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Turkey and Indonesia.
He also directed all the relevant departments to highlight “Indian atrocities” by armed forces in the valley at worldwide fora. In the 1990s when violence was more common, Pakistan-backed militants and groups like the Hizbul Mujahideen often attacked security forces.
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The strongly worded statement from the MEA alleged that Pakistan’s attempts to draw political mileage from the Kashmir protests followed instances of cross-border infiltration and “terrorism aimed at India”.
