ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan has strongly condemned and rejected the latest Indian action aimed at illegally changing the demographic structure of the Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K), the Dispatch News Desk (DND) news agency reported.
In a statement on Thursday, the Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said that the so-called “Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Order 2020” is another illegal step by India to settle non-Kashmiris in IOJ&K by changing the domicile laws. She said that this is a clear violation of international law including the 4th Geneva Convention.
Aisha Farooqui said that this Indian action, a continuation of India’s illegal and unilateral steps since August 5, 2019, also constitutes a violation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions, bilateral agreements between India and Pakistan, and humanitarian norms.
The Spokesperson said that the Kashmiris in IOJ&K have outrightly rejected the new law as “unacceptable.” Indeed, she added that the Kashmiris will never accept such blatant usurpation of their fundamental rights and attempt to change their demography and distinct identity.
The Foreign Office Spokesperson said that the latest Indian action, at this moment of the 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.
“Pakistan has been consistently sensitizing the international community about the BJP Government’s designs for demographic change in IOJ&K to perpetuate India’s illegal occupation of the disputed territory, manifestly against the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people,” she said.
The Spokesperson said that the United Nations and the international community must take immediate cognizance of this Indian action, prevent India from changing the demography of the occupied territory, and hold India accountable for its persistent violations of international law.
Aisha Farooqui said that on its part, Pakistan will continue to highlight India’s state terrorism in IOJ&K and its denial of the fundamental freedoms and inalienable right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people.
“No matter what its tactics, India will never be able to break the will of the Kashmiri people. Nor will India succeed in its nefarious designs to subjugate the Kashmiris against their wishes,” she concluded.
