Taking on Sharif for his comments that his good wishes are with the people of Kashmir, Swaraj said, “Sadly, it’s not Pakistan’s good wishes or moral or diplomatic support but its weapons and terrorism that it has exported to Jammu and Kashmir”.
Advertisement
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan who have fought two wars over its control since 1947 when British rule of the subcontinent ended.
Pakistan on Sunday said that India had no right to decide the future of Kashmir.
Kashmir is engulfed in a renewed phase of violence, many see as the most serious once since the 1989, after Indian security forces killed Burhan Wani, a charismatic 22-year-old freedom fighter on July 8, the editorial said.
Calling for a “political solution”, it asked the governments of Pakistan and India to resolve the bilateral issues amicably, saying, “they must compromise in the larger national, regional and global interest”, it added.
New Delhi accuses Islamabad of arming and training militants fighting to secede Jammu and Kashmir from India.
The lawyers’ body said that it feels that reference to settle their “differences” in peaceful means through bilateral negotiations or by any other peaceful means mutually agreed upon by them is not also applicable to Kashmir because Kashmir is internationally accepted dispute and not a difference between the two countries which can be resolved trough bilateral negotiations. Since then, most parts of the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been under security lockdown.
Thanking the people for their support in the wake of the PML-N achieving a majority win in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Sharif lashed out at those engaging in “negative politics” against his party.
Indian authorities have imposed a curfew, suspended mobile networks and internet in large parts of the territory and seized newspapers in a bid to quell protests.
The death toll in the unrest in Kashmir rose to 44 with a youth, injured in clashes a few days ago, succumbing today.
In his first public address following his return from London after open heart surgery in May, Sharif urged Kashmiris in Pakistan “not to forget those in (Indian) held Kashmir who are sacrificing their lives to their movement for freedom”.
Advertisement
More than 68,000 people have been killed in the armed uprising against Indian rule and the subsequent Indian military crackdown.
