Kashmiris most courageous people on earth: Masood Khan
The AJK President said that India is trying to project a false image of normalcy
ISLAMABAD (APP) – President of Azad Jammu Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan has said the Azad Jammu Kashmir government in collaboration with the Hurriyat leadership would continue to highlight the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity.
The President expressed these views during his visit to office of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), said a press release.
While talking to the Hurriyat leaders, the President said that the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir was passing through the darkest period of its history but the valiant people under Indian occupation had resolved to plough ahead despite India’s brutalization.
In its frantic obsession with irredentism, India had once again invaded, occupied and bifurcated a State that does not belong to it. It is a clear case of Settler-Colonialism and lebensraum, he asserted.
The AJK President said that India is trying to project a false image of normalcy and is trying to create and foist a fake political class on the Kashmiris to suppress their aspirations and subjugate Kashmiris.
He said that India would not succeed in its malicious designs because the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the past 72 years and especially after the illegal steps, taken by India on August 5 and October 31, have spurned India’s illegitimate writ, rule and occupation. India chalks up its failures in the occupied territory to terrorism, whereas the fact, is that Indian soldiers are the terrorists victimizing the people of Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
“India must countermand its decisions taken on August 5 and retrocede the occupied territory to its natives and owners; the Kashmiris”, said President Masood.
President Khan lauded the efforts of the Hurriyat leadership in IOJK for their political activism and their unnerving struggle for freedom from Indian occupation.
He said that Syed Ali Gillani had very effectively created a Joint Resistance Leadership, thereby, refuting the India’s narrative that Kashmiris are not united within.
Masood Khan said that the special status and privileges of the Kashmiris mentioned in Articles 370 and 35-A has been revoked through constitutional amendments in Article 267 by empowering the Governor. Jammu and Kashmir, he said, has now been brought under the direct control of the centre.
The AJK President said that Kashmiris are the most courageous people on earth. They are resisting the Indian occupation unarmed and the movement has acquired a purely indigenous character. India’s Police Chief to Jammu and Kashmir has acknowledged that there are only 200 to 250 ‘militants’ active in the region.
The question arises as to why India has deployed 900,000 troops in Kashmir. The reality is that the whole population of Kashmir resists India’s illegal writ and occupation.
“India now due to its Citizenship Amendment Act is facing resistance all over India. The aggression they have unleashed in Kashmir has now come to haunt them through uprisings all over the country”, he said.
A new window has been provided to us by the factual reporting witnessed in the international media, he said. Previously, he said, speaking against India was considered a taboo but now questions are being raised on the secularist status of India by Parliaments and media worldwide.
The AJK President has said that the reality of the situation is that Kashmiris are not only fighting their war for freedom but are fighting for Pakistan’s existence and also to maintain world order. The Kashmiris have taken up the responsibility of implementing the UN resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir which had been passed almost 70 years ago.
Speaking on the UN resolutions, Masood Khan said that the Kashmir dispute according to the UN resolutions is tripartite, in spirit, as it has clearly spelt out that the future of the State will be decided according to the will of the people, who are the key party to the dispute, through a plebiscite.
Addressing the misconceptions related to the withdrawal of forces from Kashmir, he said that India continues to accuse Pakistan of not withdrawing forces. In reality, he said, resolution 98 of the UN Security Council clearly says that proportional withdrawal of troops will be made simultaneously by both India and Pakistan. India did not cooperate and instead wanted Pakistan to withdraw its troops first and this lead to a deadlock, he said.
Syed Abdullah Gillani while lauding the efforts of the President said that this interaction provides a great opportunity for us to listen and seek advice on advancing the Jammu and Kashmir issue. He said that the whole leadership of Kashmir stands united and will continue to fight against India’s tyrannical rule.
While welcoming the President to the APHC office, Syed Faiz Naqshbandi appreciated the efforts of the President for raising his voice for the Kashmiri people.
He said that Masood Khan during his long diplomatic career had always prioritized the Kashmir issue and fully exploited every opportunity for safeguarding the rights of the people of Kashmir.
