Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday called upon the international community to request India to allow Pakistan to help in the treatment of the injured persons in the valley, Dawn online reported citing a prime ministerial statement.
At least 55 persons have been killed and hundreds injured in the present unrest in the Kashmir Valley since the killing of Hizbul militant Burhan Wani in a gunfight with the Indian security forces.
Sharif said Pakistan wanted to provide medical treatment to the injured, particularly those injured by pellets.
Pakistan wants to get the best possible medical facilities available in the world for the Kashmiris, he said.
The statement comes days after a war of words erupted between Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Pakistan’s Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan over Kashmir, prompting Singh to leave a Saarc meeting halfway through in Islamabad.
“The magnitude of the humanitarian crisis in Kashmir has compelled us to immediately pool our material and human resources for the victims’ [treatment],” Sharif said.
“Being blinded has severe consequences for the victims and their families. Some victims of the pellet guns may never see light again. Still, they are resolute; they are guided by the light of freedom for the realisation of their right to self-determination. The world should realise this. Pakistan will continue to support them morally, politically and diplomatically,” Sharif maintained.
According to the statement, Sharif has directed Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to mobilise support from the international community, humanitarian organisations and civil society through Pakistani missions abroad to exert pressure on India to allow Pakistan to arrange for the treatment of Kashmiris on humanitarian grounds.
The Pakistani government will provide for the boarding, lodging and medical expenses of the victims, he said.
On Friday Adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz requested Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) – commonly known as “Doctors Without Borders” – to immediately provide medical assistance to thousands of people injured in the Kashmir Valley due to “state aggression by Indian forces”.
Aziz made the formal request by writing a letter to the international president of MSF, highlighting the state of medical emergency in Jammu and Kashmir, said a statement issued by the foreign ministry.
It further notified MSF that the emergency situation in the Kashmir developed as a “result of the atrocious Indian brutalities against unarmed and defenceless civilians”.
Aziz particularly emphasised the urgent need of eye surgeons, as hundreds of people were suffering from severe eye injuries caused by the use of pellet guns on peaceful protesters.
Main hospitals in the impoverished valley are struggling to treat hundreds of patients wounded in clashes by security forces, and many injured people have lost their eyesight from shotgun injuries.