ISLAMABAD: President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Sardar Masood Khan said on Monday that India had taken a leaf from Israel’s book while dealing with the lingering Kashmir conflict, adding that there was also a similarity between United States President Donald Trump’s Middle East plan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy in the disputed Himalayan territory.
“India is doing the same thing in occupied Jammu and Kashmir what Israel has done in Palestine. In fact, people are drawing parallels between the two, saying the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories is now being legitimized by President Trump in his plan,” he said.
The AJK president noted that India wanted to establish illegal settlements, import Hindu population and mount intense pressure on the people of Kashmir. The idea, he added, was to force them to migrate or become refugees in their own land.
“Last year, India invaded the territory, reoccupied and bifurcated it. It also announced to colonize the area. In fact, Indians have taken a leaf from Israel’s book: They want to construct illegal settlements to bring Hindus from all over the country and settle them in Kashmir on one pretext or another to outnumber the area’s indigenous Muslim population. India wants to reduce Kashmiri majority to minority in the occupied territory,” he said.
“These are some of the similarities between the Israeli model in Palestine and one implemented by Prime Minister Modi in Kashmir. I think this new plan [presented by the US president] might further tempt Indian rulers to intensify their repression in the occupied territory and consolidate their colonial rule. We think that the principle of might is right is dominating here and it has become the new normal,” Khan said.
Khan demanded the US president to reverse his decision on Palestine, saying: “Parallels are there between Kashmir and Palestine but we hope that things will not be done in a similar way in case of Kashmir and the American decision regarding Palestine will also be reversed. The president of Palestine has already rejected the deal which was made in Washington DC.”
Asked about the international community’s response to the Kashmir issue, he said that one segment of the world community had responded very strongly against the Indian move in August last year.
“The international media published plenty of stories while some parliaments, like European Union, French and British parliaments along with the US Congress, held special sessions on Kashmir for the first time in their history. They used to be strongholds of Indian influence, but the taboo that India could not be criticized in western capitals has now been broken,” Khan said, adding that the other part of the international community, especially officials in Washington and Brussels, were reticent to comment on the issue.
“They haven’t criticized India openly or moved to the United Nations Security Council to take decision on the Kashmir issue. As in Palestine’s case, there are also resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir which were passed decades ago but have not been implemented. The powers that matter in the UN and outside the UN haven’t acted against India,” he said.
The AJK president expressed gratitude to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for its strong support through its communiques.
“We are grateful to the OIC for adopting a very strong communique wherein it has criticized India openly. They [the OIC member states] have condemned Indian actions, their [Indian] aggression and human rights violations in Kashmir. The OIC underscored the need for implementation of the UNSC resolutions and ending repression in Kashmir,” he said.
“In that sense it is a strong and robust response by the OIC, but the OIC member states have not been that vocal. The resolutions of the OIC can extend the moral support but the real legal and political actions have to be taken in New York by the UN Security Council.”
Asked about Pakistan’s decision to retain AJK’s current status, he said it was written in Article 257 of the country’s constitution that any change could only be made after the resolution of the protracted dispute under the UNSC resolutions.
“After the resolution of the Kashmir issue under the UNSC resolutions, Islamabad can move to determine the relationship between Pakistan and the people of the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir. But in the occupied territory and Azad Kashmir, there is a groundswell of support for accession to Pakistan,” Khan said.
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