Mubashar Naqvi
MUZAFFARABAD: The conference of governors convened by President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi at the presidency in Islamabad on Monday vociferously condemned the firing by Indian occupation forces at the civilian population residing along the Line of Control, which resulted in the martyrdom of a four years old innocent child besides causing injuries to three people and destroying infrastructure in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
The conference attended besides the governors of all four provinces as well as Gilgit-Baltistan, by the AJK President Sardar Masood Khan took serious exception to the unprovoked Indian artillery and mortar shelling from across the LoC targeting the civilian population in different sectors of the liberated territory.
Participants of the conference also expressed serious concern over the decision of the Indian government to move its troops into the civilian areas in Occupied Kashmir and to use the innocent Kashmir people as human shields.
Terming moving of the artillery to civilian-populated areas in Kupwara district close to the LoC, using civilians as a shield and firing on Pakistani civilians in AJK as a shameful act by the Indian Occupation army, the conference called upon the international community to intervene and stop India from aggression against the innocent civilians.
Describing the unprovoked Indian firing as a cowardly act and an attempt to divert attention of the international community from the ever-worsening situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK), the governors’ conference observed that New Delhi’s war hysteria is threatening peace and security in the region.
Participants of the conference also expressed concern that India had paid no heed to the call given by six international human rights organizations to release political prisoners in IOJK and restore internet connectivity to save the lives of the local populace from the novel coronavirus pandemic.
They called upon human rights organizations and the international community to continue to raise their voice for the release of thousands of locked up Kashmiri prisoners.
The conference further condemned India for using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to trample human rights and to clamp further curbs on civil liberties in IOJK, impose notorious domicile laws in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, the Fourth Geneva Convention and other humanitarian laws.
While addressing the governors’ conference through video link, the AJK President Sardar Masood Khan said that the Azad Kashmir government was round the clock busy in preventing the spread of coronavirus, but the uncalled for and unprovoked firing by the Indian forces on the civilian population of the liberated territory in violation of the ceasefire agreement was adversely affecting the anti-coronavirus campaign.
He told participants of the conference that the situation was still under full control because of the timely efforts of the state government in the liberated territory. Most of the 40 people affected by the infectious disease were out of danger, and several others were recovering, he added.
He asserted that lockdown has been in force and the citizens were, on the whole, cooperating with the government in Azad Kashmir. Besides, ulema and religious figures are extending full cooperation to the government and the administration.
The AJK president said that the state government within its resource was striving hard to contain the spread of coronavirus, but we are highly concerned about the security of 500,000 members of 80,000 families living along the LoC, as they are faced with both the Indian aggression and the coronavirus simultaneously.