Indian campaign of attacking, seizing Kashmiris’ properties destined to fail: FO

Celina Ali

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday reiterated that the ongoing Indian campaign of attacking and seizing the properties of Kashmiris in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) was destined to fail, just like its colonial strategies and harsh statements.

“Pakistan strongly condemns India’s continued campaign of attacking and seizing the properties of Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The reality is that the harsh statements and colonial strategies have been unsuccessful in quelling the determination of Kashmiris for freedom, and these measures are destined to face similar outcomes in the future,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at her weekly press briefing.

She reiterated Pakistan’s determination to continue to extending political, diplomatic, and moral support to the Kashmiris for the just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions.

As different parts of the IIOJK recently witnessed heavy rains, flash floods, and landslides, resulting in loss of life and property, the spokesperson expressed sympathies with the victims of the national calamities and prayed for the eternal peace of the deceased and wished speedy recovery to the injured.

Apprising the media of the ongoing visit of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to The Gambia to attend the Council of Foreign Ministers and the OIC Summit, the spokesperson said that at the Summit, Pakistan would highlight the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the right to self-determination of Kashmiri people, the imperatives of solidarity and unity of the Muslim Ummah, rising Islamophobia, issues of climate change, terrorism, and other contemporary global challenges.

On the sidelines, she aid, the deputy prime minister would hold bilateral meetings with leaders and foreign ministers participating in the Summit.

Pakistan would also underline the need to find collective solutions to challenges confronting the Muslim Ummah, she added.

Highlighting other diplomatic engagements during the previous week, she informed the media of the visit of US Under Secretary for Political Affairs John Bass and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst to Pakistan and their meeting with Acting Foreign Secretary Ambassador Rahim Hayat Qureshi. Two sides discussed various aspects of bilateral cooperation and underscored the importance of sustained engagement through various dialogue processes, including areas of trade, investment, energy, health, education, agriculture, and climate change.

Pakistan would continue to engage with the United States to enhance bilateral cooperation and understanding, the spokesperson remarked.

Coming to Gaza, Spokesperson Baloch said the Israeli occupation forces continued to take illegal steps in the West Bank in violation of international law.

“Pakistan strongly condemns the rising violations of human rights by Israel and the increasing number of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Israel’s actions constitute a breach of international law, including humanitarian laws and United Nations and OIC resolutions. These acts also undermine any prospects of a two-state solution,” she remarked.

She called for the international community’s efforts to prevent Israel from committing the egregious crimes in Palestine and the UN Security Council to impose an immediate prominent ceasefire, urge Israel to lift the siege of Gaza, facilitate humanitarian assistance, protect the civilians, and hold the perpetrators of the genocide accountable.

Reiterating Pakistan’s full support to the people of Palestine, she called for the establishment of an independent, viable, and contiguous Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders and Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Responding to a question, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan condemned terrorist acts wherever they took place including inside Afghanistan and “we express sympathy for the victims and their families”.

As far as terrorist incidents in Pakistan are concerned, she said in cases where law enforcement authorities had been able to identify the links with elements inside Afghanistan, “we have conveyed our concerns to the Afghan authorities and we have urged them to take effective action against these individuals and groups which continue to target Pakistan and support terrorist incidents inside Pakistan”.

To another question, the spokesperson said Pakistan, Iran, and China trilateral dialogue was an important mechanism.

“I would like to underline that Pakistan and Iran have important channels of communication. These are bilateral channels of communication to discuss counter-terrorism and security matters. These channels of communication have been further strengthened in recent months in order to ensure that the border between Pakistan and Iran is peaceful, free of terror activities, and is a border of peace, prosperity and friendship,” she said.

“We will continue to engage with Iran in further strengthening cooperation in this domain and any further details and agreements, if and when finalized, will be announced by the relevant departments.”

As regards Pakistan’s dialogues with Saudi Arabia with respect to investment, she said Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had a robust dialogue in the energy domain and the two countries were engaged in consultations with each other in terms of increased Saudi investments in Pakistan, including in the energy domain.

Replying to a query regarding Pakistan’s relations with Malaysia, she said both countries had very close historic relations and “we have emphasized enhanced high level engagement between the two countries, especially at the leadership level”.