ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi and members of the United Kingdom’s Parliament on Thursday expressed deep concern over the human rights violations in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (lIOJK) and the persecution of the minorities in India.
They urged the world to put pressure on New Delhi to stop its human rights abuses in the IIOJK.
The issue was discussed during a meeting between President Alvi and a delegation of the members of the UK Parliament and the representatives of the Pakistani and Kashmiri diaspora in the UK.
The delegation was led by the Chairman of Labour Friends of Kashmir UK and Shadow Minister Andrew Gwynne.
While talking about the human rights situation in the IIOJK, President Alvi said that India was involved in a genocide of Muslims, suppression and persecution of minorities, destroying and burning churches in Manipur, and the extra-judicial killings of the minority communities’ leaders regionally and internationally.
He said that the psyche of India was changing as it had been influenced by the extremist Hindutva ideology which wanted to marginalize minorities, especially Muslims.
He further said that Pakistan was committed to safeguarding the rights of its minorities, and acted promptly if any injustice was being done to them.
The president said that India was trying to change the demographic structure of the IIOJK to transform Kashmiris into a minority in their own land.
صدر مملکت ڈاکٹر عارف علوی سے برطانوی اراکین پارلیمنٹ اور برطانیہ میں پاکستانی اور کشمیری نژاد شہریوں کے وفد کی ملاقات
وفد کی قیادت لیبر فرینڈز آف کشمیر یو کے کے چیئرمین اینڈریو گیوین نے کی pic.twitter.com/OeJWHRHmjG
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) September 28, 2023
President urges for pressure on India
He urged the world to put pressure on New Delhi to reverse its illegal demographic changes in the valley.
Expressing serious concern over the human rights violations and denial of rights to Kashmiris, the head of the delegation Andrew Gwynne said that the brutalities and torture being committed by India were unacceptable.
He added that they had been supporting the Kashmiri cause in the UK parliament. He also highlighted the need to put pressure on New Delhi to hold a plebiscite in IIOJK to grant Kashmiris their right to self-determination.
He said that revoking the special status of IIOJK was allowing New Delhi to change the demography of the region.
He further said that Pakistan and the United Kingdom enjoyed excellent ties in the fields of education and business that required to be further improved for the betterment of the two nations.
