PM condemns Indian govt’s plans to change IoK demography

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday condemned the Modi’s government’s attempts to change the demographic structure of Indian-Occupied Kashmir.

Khan said that Hindu nationalist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attempts to change Kashmir’s demography were illegal and he was violating all international laws and accords in the occupied territory. He said the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Order was a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Also, Prime Minister Imran Khan has convened a meeting of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s core committee on Friday to discuss the coronavirus outbreak in the country and a strategy to control spread of the disease.

In a related, Pakistan rejected the latest Indian decision to amend the domicile laws in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The laws are aimed at illegally changing the demographic structure of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir by allowing non-Kashmiris to settle there.

The Foreign Office spokesperson in a statement said, “The so-called ‘Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Order 2020’ is another illegal step by India to settle non-Kashmiris in IOJ&K by changing the domicile laws. This is a clear violation of international law, including the 4th Geneva Convention.”

FO Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said the Indian action, a continuation of India’s illegal and unilateral steps since August 5, 2019, also constituted a violation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions, bilateral agreements between India and Pakistan and humanitarian norms.

The spokesperson said that Kashmiris in IOJK had outright rejected the new law as “unacceptable.” Kashmiris will never accept such blatant usurpation of their fundamental rights and attempts to change their demography and distinct identity, she added.

“The latest Indian action, at this moment of global health crisis, is particularly reprehensible as it seeks to take advantage of the international community’s focus on the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and further advance BJP’s sinister “Hindutva” agenda,” the spokesperson remarked. She said Pakistan had been consistently sensitizing the international community about the BJP government’s designs for demographic change in IOJK to perpetuate India’s illegal occupation of the disputed territory, manifestly against the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

The FO spokesperson urged the United Nations and the international community to take immediate cognizance of the Indian action, prevent India from changing the demography of the occupied territory and hold India accountable for its persistent violations of international law. She reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to continue highlighting India’s state terrorism in IOJK and its denial of the fundamental freedoms and inalienable right of self-determination to Kashmiri people.

“No matter what its tactics, India will never be able to break the will of Kashmiri people. Nor will India succeed in its nefarious designs to subjugate the Kashmiris against their wishes,” the FO spokesperson remarked.