Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday, following his speech at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), referred to Kashmir as an “Indian state”.
“India has given an impression to the world that life has returned to normalcy (in Jammu and Kashmir). If the life has returned to normalcy, then I say why don’t they allow you, international media, why don’t they allow international organizations, the NGOs, civil society organizations to go into the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and see for themselves what the reality is,” he said while speaking to reporters in Geneva.
His involuntary “admission” comes after the Pakistan Foreign Minister levelled allegations and made unsubstantiated claims about the situation prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir.
In his address, Qureshi said that Jammu and Kashmir had been converted into the “largest prison” with people being denied access to basic amenities following the abrogation of Article 370.
He further spoke about the detention of political leaders in Kashmir and said the people have been “caged” there over the past six weeks.
At the UNHRC today, Pakistan asked it to conduct an international investigation, urging the world rights body not to remain “indifferent” over India’s move on Kashmir.
Pakistan has raked up the issue at the UN Human Rights Council after failing to garner support even from its staunch allies on J-K.
Pakistan has been desperate since the Centre decided to abolish the special status of Jammu and Kashmir granted under Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated the state on August 5.
Meanwhile, India is all set to thwart attempts by Pakistan to internationalise the Kashmir issue.
The Indian side, led by Secretary (East) in the External Affairs Ministry Vijay Thakur Singh and expelled Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria will counter Pakistan’s propaganda and block any adverse comments by the UNHRC.
India is expected to assert its well-articulated position that restrictions were imposed to save human lives and cite the record that not a single civilian has died there in the last one month in any police action.
India is also likely to highlight how cross-border terrorism sponsored and nurtured by Pakistan has caused bloodshed and hampered development in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan has knocked the doors of the UNHRC after it failed to gain global attention on Kashmir issue at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
The rare closed-door consultations on Kashmir by the UN Security Council ended without any outcome or statement from the powerful 15-nation UN organ, dealing a huge snub to Pakistan and its all-weather ally China to internationalise the issue, which an overwhelming majority stressed is a bilateral matter between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Majority of the 15 members said there should not be any statement or outcome issued after the consultations and their will prevailed, leaving China to come out and make a statement in its national capacity followed by Pakistan.
France, UK, Russia, the US — four of the five permanent members of the UN security council — have endorsed India’s line.
India had categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was an internal matter and also advised Pakistan to accept the reality.