Unjust to designate supporters of Kashmiri struggle as terrorists: Pak
The Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) on Tuesday slammed the designation of supporters of the Kashmiri right to self-determination as terrorists, terming it ‘completely unjustified’, the dawn reported.
The statement comes a day after the United States (US) State Department designated Hizbul Mujahideen’s supreme commander Syed Salahuddin as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) and imposed sanctions on him.
The decision drew criticism and condemnation from both sides of the Line of Control (LoC), with Kashmiris chiding the US President Donald Trump’s administration for “equating their legitimate struggle for internationally acknowledged right to self-determination with terrorism.”
“The designation of individuals supporting the Kashmiri right to self-determination as terrorists is completely unjustified,” FO Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria was quoted by media as saying.
The FO reiterated Pakistan’s longstanding commitment to countering terrorism “in all its forms and manifestations”, adding that the Kashmiri struggle “remains legitimate”.
Zakaria asserted that Pakistan would continue to extend “political, diplomatic and moral support for the just struggle of the Kashmiri people for the realisation of the right to self-determination and the peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions.”
KV Correspondent
