Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that the Indian government’s “fascist tactics” in occupied Kashmir “to smother the Kashmiri liberation struggle will fail miserably”.
The premier, who has been tweeting regularly in support of Kashmiris after the Indian government stripped the people of occupied Kashmir of their autonomy, said: “The fascist, Hindu supremacist [Narendra] Modi government should know that while armies, militants and terrorists can be defeated by superior forces, history tells us that when a nation unites in a freedom struggle and does not fear death, no force can stop it from achieving its goal.”
“That is why the Hindutva exclusivist creed of the Modi-led government with its fascist tactics in IoK will fail miserably in its attempt to smother the Kashmiri liberation struggle,” declared the premier in a second tweet.
Meanwhile, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan called on Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa today to discuss the “Indian provocations on the Line of Control”, according to the Army’s chief spokesperson, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor.
“COAS assured him Pakistan Army’s full support and commitment to the Kashmir cause and its people,” he wrote in a statement on Twitter.
A black day was observed across Pakistan on Thursday to coincide with India’s independence day celebrations, to condemn the unilateral move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to strip occupied Kashmir of autonomy and raise voice over continued suppression of the Kashmiri people by Indian security forces.
Under the aegis of various political parties and organisations, rallies were staged in Islamabad and other cities of the country as well in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Jammu Kashmir.
Speakers at the rallies warned India that it could not subjugate the Kashmiris through brute use of force and called on the world community, particularly the United Nations, to intervene and play its role to protect the Kashmiris from India’s state fascism.
Flags on government buildings flew at half-mast. Politicians, including Prime Minister Imran Khan, replaced their social media pictures with black squares.
Thousands of protesters carrying placards gathered outside the Indian High Commission in London, demanding an end to the Indian government’s brutalities in occupied Kashmir and lashing out at Modi’s decision to revoke the disputed territory’s special status.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will hold a consultative meeting today to discuss the Kashmir issue as Pakistan urges the world body to implement its own resolutions on this 70-year-old dispute.
The consultative meeting has been called by China on Pakistan’s request to discuss the prevailing situation in IoK. In the closed door meeting, briefings will be given on the situation and consultations will take place to decide how to proceed further. The meeting may decide to issue a statement or can possibly suggest calling an emergency session of the Security Council.
This marks the first time in over 50 years that the UN Security Council is holding an exclusive meeting on Kashmir, even though consultative.
