Islamabad, March 17, 2023 (PPI-OT): Foreign Office Spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, has said that Pakistan will continue to raise its voice against the grave human rights violations being perpetrated by Indian troops in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

At her weekly press briefing in Islamabad, today, the Spokesperson deplored that the human rights abuse in IIOJK continue unabated. “Last week, in their so-called ‘cordon-and-search’ operations in Baramulla district, the Indian forces arbitrarily arrested two Kashmiri youth, Khurshid Ahmad Khan and Reyaz Ahmad Khan. They also raided the houses of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Muhammad Iqbal Mir, religious leader Qazi Yasir, and jailed Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement Chairman, Zaffar Akber Butt. This intimidation and harassment of Kashmiris and their leadership must end,” she said.

The Spokesperson said, we will also continue to extend political, diplomatic and moral support to our Kashmiri brothers and sisters for the just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions. Mumtaz Zahra Baloch also condemned the recent remarks made by a BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Karnataka, K S Eshwarappa, about Islam and closing 600 religious seminaries in India. She said these assertions are yet another manifestation of the rising Islamophobia in India.

She said Pakistan is deeply concerned at the alarming rise in communal violence and hatred directed against Muslims in India, who are being systematically stigmatized and marginalized on account of their faith. She called upon India to take immediate steps to ensure safety, security, and well-being of minorities and allow them to profess and practice their faith in peace.

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