Pakistan has strongly rejected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), calling them baseless and misleading.
In a statement on Friday, Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said that such statements represented a deliberate attempt to deflect international attention from the grave and persistent human rights violations being committed in a territory under foreign occupation.
“Pakistan is deeply dismayed that the Indian premier has once again chosen to accuse it of involvement in the Pahalgam attack, without presenting a single piece of credible evidence,” Khan said.
The spokesperson said IIOJK remains an internationally recognised disputed territory, the final status of which was to be determined per the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and the will of the Kashmiri people.
“No amount of rhetoric can change this legal and historical reality,” he added.
The spokesperson said: “Claims of development in IIOJK ring hollow against the backdrop of an unprecedented military presence, suppression of fundamental freedoms, arbitrary arrests, and a concerted effort to alter the region’s demography in violation of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.”
He said Pakistan remains steadfast in its principled support for the people of IIOJK in their just struggle for their rights and dignity.
“We call upon the international community, including the United Nations and human rights organisations, to hold India accountable for its oppression and to ensure that the Kashmiri people are allowed to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” he added.
