ISLAMABAD, Nov 14 (APP):Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari Thursday said the government presented a cohesive, encompassing and effective narrative on Kashmir in the global capitals and now the world was criticizing India for besieging Kashmiris and perpetrating ethnic cleansing in Indian Occupied Kashmir.
While wrapping discussion on Kashmir issue in the Senate, she said the Kashmir issue was taken up by Pakistan in the United Nations Security Council, the United States Congress, British Parliament and European Union.
She said Kashmir issue came into limelight in the European Union and a week was observed there on the atrocities in Occupied Kashmir.
She said her ministry wrote letters to the forums of United Nations to highlight atrocities in Kashmir.
Black day was observed on October 27 against the Indian Occupation of Kashmir, she said and noted that the world duly recognized the speech of Prime Minister Imran Khan in the UN General Assembly on Kashmir.
She said 50 US congressmen took notice of the situation in Kashmir and the world human rights bodies pointed out human rights violations in IOK.
She said there was a need to take a legal approach as India had violated the international law. The UN laws legitimize the Kashmiris’ right to self determination, she said adding India had also signed declarations accepting the Kashmiris right to self determination.
“It is wrong to say that after 9/11, the concept of right to self determination is weakened.”
The minister said India took the matter of Kashmir to the UN Security Council under chapter six recognizing Kashmir as a dispute.
The UN resolutions say that local elections in IHK could not be a substitute for plebiscite, she said adding it was important to get advisory opinion from International Court of Justice as it had earlier accepted the principle of right to self determination and expressed his opinions in cases of western Sahara and Palestine.
She said the government would seek advisory opinion of ICJ through UN General Assembly on the Kashmir issue. The minister said India was doing ethnic cleansing not only in Kashmir but also against Muslims by denying them citizenship.
India was using rape as a weapon of war in villages of Kunam and Pushpara in Indian Occupied Kashmir by separating women from children and men, she added.
She said her ministry would write a letter to UNICEF and other international organizations about India’s denial of schooling to children of Kashmir.
India’s surgical strike in Balakot failed and it escalated the tension with Pakistan. India used cluster bombs and violated the Line of Control (LoC). Pakistan’s air force gave a limited and restricted response to India sending a message that it would give a response on its own time and place and as per our choice, she continued.
She said if a war would start then it could not be contained due to its unintended consequences.
Shireen Mazari urged the nation to be united on the Kashmir issue as it was about future of people of Pakistan and Kashmir.