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ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) of Pakistan today (Thursday) has asserted that India was trying to mislead the world on the situation in occupied Kashmir by taking foreign diplomats on a tour of the Valley.
Addressing the weekly news briefing, FO Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri has said that said as part of its propaganda, India recently took another selected group of New Delhi-based diplomats on a guided tour to Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
“Such guided tours are a smokescreen, aimed at diverting international attention from India’s egregious human rights violations in IIOJK and creating a false impression of normalcy,” he added.
The spokesperson further said that the visit means nothing in the absence of access to all the areas and free interaction with the Kashmiri people and the civil society in an atmosphere free of intimidation.
In this regard, he urged India to allow the UN observers, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission, and the international media to visit IIOK and assess the situation on the ground.
In response to a question about India’s barring of Sikh pilgrims from Pakistan, Zahid Hafeez said India should facilitate the Sikh pilgrims desiring to visit their religious sites in Pakistan.
He also pointed out Pakistan’s initiative of opening the Kartarpur Corridor. “We have always welcomed and facilitated Sikh brothers to visit their religious places,” the spokesperson added.
Talking about the AMAN-21 exercise, Zahid Hafeez said the participation of 42 nations in Multinational Maritime Exercise Aman-21 reflects Pakistan’s global engagement. “This manifests Pakistan’s commitment and efforts with regional as well as global peace,” he added.
Commenting on the Afghan peace process, the spokesperson said that Pakistan desires that the developments made so far toward durable peace in Afghanistan should be preserved and built upon.
