Kashmiris are being subjected to torture by Indian forces: FM

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Kashmiris are being subjected to torture by Indian forces.

While chairing a consultative meeting of former foreign secretaries at his office he said “India has turned 8 million Kashmiris into prisoners in their own land through the deployment of over 900,000 occupation troops”.

During the meeting, they discussed the COVID-19 epidemic and its economic implications, Indian aggression in occupied Kashmir and the regional situation, according to the FO statement.

Speaking on the occasion, FM Qureshi said 10 months had passed since eight million unarmed citizens of occupied Jammu and Kashmir faced Indian tyranny in the name of curfew. The oppressed Kashmiris were braving a double lockdown after the outbreak, he added.

“Ceasefire violations by India on the Line of Control (LoC) have continued unabated. Innocent civilians are being targeted by India deliberately. India wants to disrupt peace and order in the region,” FM told the consultative session.

Qureshi pointed out that moves to alter the demography of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir by amending the domicile laws were a clear violation of the UN Security Council resolutions and international laws.

“The international community should take immediate notice of India’s aggressive behaviour,” Qureshi added.

The foreign minister briefed the former foreign secretaries on the contents of his recent letters to the UN secretary-general and the Security Council president. “I have informed them of India’s intentions,” he added.

FM Qureshi described the pandemic as a global challenge and warned that its effects on the developing economies like Pakistan were very severe. In this regard, he said, Prime Minister Imran Khan had proposed debt relief initiative.