Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned again that anyone crossing the Line of Control (LoC) from Azad Jammu and Kashmir to provide humanitarian aid or support for the Kashmiri struggle against alleged Indian aggression will play into the hands of the Indian narrative.
In a message shared on the social networking platform Twitter, Khan stressed that he understood the anguish of the people of Kashmir, who were seeing their brethren across the LoC, in Indian-administered Kashmir, struggle to deal with the Indian curfew imposed since August.
“I understand the anguish of the Kashmiris in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), seeing their fellow Kashmiris in IOJK (Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir) under an inhumane curfew for over two months. But anyone crossing the LoC from AJK to provide humanitarian aid or support for Kashmiri struggle will play into the hands of the Indian narrative,” he wrote on Twitter.
The prime minister further added that the Indian narrative aimed to divert international attention away from the legitimate political struggle of the Kashmiri people for self-determination, and instead labelled it as militancy emanating from Pakistan.
“A narrative that tries to divert from the indigenous Kashmiris’ struggle against brutal Indian Occupation by trying to label it as ‘Islamic terrorism’ being driven by Pakistan,” he wrote on Twitter, adding that crossing the LoC would give India an excuse to attack Pakistan.
Last month, the prime minister urged United Nations and other international fora to take serious action against the “illegal” and “unilateral” steps taken by India in Indian-administered Kashmir to avoid any human tragedy.
Addressing the Asia Society in New York, Khan had said that more than 8mn Kashmiris had been detained by Indian military forces in the valley for almost two months.
He called for the curfew in Indian-administered Kashmir to be lifted as soon as possible.
Commenting on the possibility of a dialogue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Kashmir, Khan said that his government had tried several times to negotiate with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party government, but dialogue process could not be resumed unless curfew was lifted.
Meanwhile, reports say that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has reiterated his concern over the alarming human rights situation in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Indian-administered Kashmir has been under lock-down since August 5, when Modi scrapped the constitutional autonomy of the territory and imposed a military curfew.
In a statement made to the press, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that the situation in Kashmir was worsening.
The spokesman added that the UN chief remained concerned over the situation and again urged India and Pakistan to hold a dialogue to resolve the crisis.
The spokesman further added that the UN chief had underscored the need for addressing the human rights of the Kashmiri people in order to resolve the crisis.
UN spokesman clarified that the UN secretary-general’s position on Kashmir has not changed, adding that human rights issues needed to be addressed, and to be placed at the forefront when easing tensions.