Sabzar Bhat encounter extra-judicial killing: Sartaj Aziz
Pakistan’s Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, has condemned the killing of 12 Kashmiri youths by Indian forces since Friday and said three of them had been slain “extra-judicially”.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Sartaj Aziz expressed grave concern at the constant ceasefire violations by Indian forces at line of control. mage of Sartaj Aziz. Reuters
The killing of Burhan Wani’s successor Sabzar Ahmad Bhat has been condemned by Pakistan, with Aziz accusing India of conducting “extra-judicial killings.”
Aziz said, “India had killed 12 Kashmiri youth in Kashmir since Friday in Pulwama and Baramulla. Three of them were martyred extra-judicially as has been done on numerous occasions in the recent past.”
Aziz urged the international community, including the United Nations and Human Rights Organisations to step in and ask India to immediately stop the “ruthless killing of defenceless Kashmiris.” He then accused India of making attempts to discredit the Kashmiri indigenous movement. He also alleged that India was trying to change the demography of Kashmir to convert the majority Kashmiri into minority territory, which Pakistan has brought to the attention of the UN.
Furthermore, Aziz reaffirmed Pakistan’s unflinching support for Kashmiris in their struggle for the right to self-determination.
In a statement issued by the Foreign Office, while highlighting the gravity of the situation in the disputed region, he urged the international community — particularly the United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and human rights organisations — to call upon India to immediately stop the “ruthless killings of defenseless Kashmiris.’’
He pointed out that India had placed restrictions on social and other media in an effort to stop them from covering the brutalities being perpetrated in the disputed region. Despite the blackout, however, the atrocities were being reported by the Indian and international media, he said.
India has been heightening tensions along the LoC in order to hide the crimes it has been committing against innocent Kashmiris with impunity, Aziz said.
He expressed grave concerns over the frequent ceasefire violations by Indian forces along the LoC and the targeting of innocent Kashmiris in Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PAK).
“In their desperation to hide the reality of the indigenous uprising of young Kashmiris, including by tens of thousands of girls and boys, he said, India was trying to equate it “with terrorism.”
KV Correspondent
