Connect with us

News

Pakistan urges UNSC to hold accountable Indian officials responsible for crimes against civilians in Kashmir

Avatar

Published

2 years ago

on

A top Pakistani diplomat Tuesday cataloged a series of crimes committed by India against civilians in occupied Kashmir and fervently urged the UN Security Council to take cognizance of the “compelling evidence” on those atrocities and to hold accountable those responsible for them.

Speaking in the Security Council debate on “Protection of civilians in armed conflict”, Ambassador Munir Akram also said that India was financing, sponsoring and supporting terrorist attacks against Pakistan, including from the territory of Afghanistan.

“India is not a victim of terrorism; It is the mothership of terrorism in South Asia,” the Pakistani envoy told the 15-member Council.

Ambassador Akram’s pointed comments evoked a response from the Indian representative, R Madhusudan, who made oft-repeated allegations against Pakistan about harbouring and supporting terrorists and claiming that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India.
The Pakistani envoy effectively countered the Indian accusations.

He said terrorism in South Asia originated in India, a country that has also sponsored such actions in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and in other neighbouring countries. As regards Jammu and Kashmir, it is a territory whose destiny the Security Council has stated should be decided by its people through a free and fair plebiscite conducted under United Nations auspices.

“It is not an integral part of India,” the Pakistani envoy asserted. “If you look at any United Nations map, it is stamped on that [as] disputed territory.”

Ambassador Akram also asked India’s representative whether his country subscribed to the United Nations Charter’s Article 25 which states that UN members agree to accept and carry out the Security Council decisions, and whether its leaders would denounce the call for genocide against Muslims, issued on December 17, 2021 in Haridwar, Uttarakhand Province.

There were no response to those particular points raised by the Pakistani envoy.

In his main speech, Ambassador Akram asked how civilians can be protected in situations where their suppression is “the very object of a military’s operations”, as is the case when foreign occupation forces forcibly deny the right of peoples to self-determination in perpetuating their illegal occupation.

He said such a situation is taking place in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where, since January 1989, Indian forces have killed 96,000 Kashmiris, widowed 23,000 women, raped over 11,250 women and girls, and destroyed over 100,000 dwellings, including schools and houses.

The Pakistani envoy pointed out that, since 5 August 2019, 900,000 Indian troops have been stationed in the region to impose “what India’s leaders have themselves ominously called a “final solution for Jammu and Kashmir”, carrying out extrajudicial killings of innocent Kashmiri youth, and destroying Kashmiri neighbourhoods and villages.

Accusing India of being a terrorism sponsor, Ambassador Akram said with the active support of Indian intelligence agencies, TTP ( Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan) and JUA (Jamaat-ul-Ahrar) were involved in over 1000 cross-border terrorist attacks against Pakistani military and civilian targets in 2020 alone.

India, he said, has funded and supported UN Security Council-listed terrorist entities to carry out cross-border terrorist attacks against Pakistani military and civilian targets, including on the Karachi Stock Exchange on 29 June 2020; in Lahore on 23 June 2021; and the killing of Chinese and Pakistani engineers in Dasu on 14 July 2021.

As for Genocide, he drew attention to the anti-Muslim pogrom in New Delhi in February 2020; the almost daily cow-lynching and targeted killing of Muslims; the 400 attacks against Christian churches in India last year and the open calls for genocide against the Muslims of India issued by extremist Hindutva two weeks ago.

Further, he called on the Council to take note of the words of the head of Genocide Watch, Gregory Stanton, who said last week that “genocide can happen in India”.

Opening the. debate on how to protect civilians caught up in urban conflict, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that more than 50 million people are currently impacted by fighting inside towns and cities.

In fact, he added, when explosive weapons are used in populated areas, around 90 per cent of those killed and injured, play no part in instigating the violence.

“Civilians can suffer devastating harm both in the immediate aftermath, and in the long-term”, the UN chief said.

According to him, many victims face lifelong disabilities and grave psychological trauma. Water, electricity and sanitation infrastructure are often damaged, and healthcare services are severely disrupted.”

 

Source: APP

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

News

Islamic Minister discusses expanding Zakat House

FI

Published

51 mins ago

on

27/04/2024

By

Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has met with the Director General of Zakat House Director Dr. Majid Sulaiman Al-Azimi to discuss upgrading the Maldives Zakat House.

The minister confirmed this via X (formerly Twitter), highligting that the two discussed about expanding the services of the Zakat House, including staff and Sharia Board training, and the legal requirements of Zakat recipients.

Earlier, the minister announced the administration’s plan to introduce a financial aid system to extend aid to orphans permanently. Dr. Shaheem said orphans will receive financial support annually until adulthood.

However, the minister did not specify how much the government intended to provide as financial support each year.

The current administration established the Maldives Zakat House with the objectives of increasing public awareness on the importance of paying Zakat, and foster love among the public towards the Islamic sacred act.

Under the Zakat Fund, government provided financial support to 52 individuals earlier in March 2024.

Statistics recently provided by the Zakat House showed the fund had been disbursed mainly in four areas, which are;

For Cancer Treatment – MVR 190,822.50
Brain Surgery – MVR 180,407.19
Heart Surgery – MVR 8,482.00
Transplants – MVR 25,443.00

Additionally, another MVR 227,872.50 was disbursed for various other areas.

Source(s): sun.mv

Continue Reading

World

Talks between Israel, Egyptian delegation over Gaza ceasefire reportedly ‘very good’

FI

Published

13 hours ago

on

27/04/2024

By

Negotiations over Israel’s upcoming offensive in the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city of Rafah and efforts to achieve a ceasefire deal with Hamas were “very good” between Israeli officials and a high-level Egyptian delegation, media and sources said Friday.

The negotiations were “very good, focused, held in good spirits and progressed in all parameters,” a senior Israeli official told Israeli media Ynet.

“In the background, there are very serious intentions from Israel to move ahead in Rafah,” and the Egyptians are willing to exert pressure on Hamas to achieve a deal, the official was quoted as saying.

According to the Israeli official, Israel made a warning that it would not agree to foot-dragging by Hamas on the hostage deal to delay the military operation in Rafah, and he also mentioned that Israel had deployed reserve soldiers to the Gaza Strip.

According to Channel 12, the official added that Israel is prepared to make more “significant compromises,” such as permitting the evacuation of Gazan civilians in northern Gaza and removing its troops from a crucial corridor that divides Gaza.

Meanwhile, Egypt reportedly sent a high-level delegation, led by senior intelligence official Abbas Kamel, to Israel on Friday with the hope of brokering a ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza.

Considerable progress has been achieved in bringing the views of the Egyptian and Israeli delegations closer together regarding reaching a truce in Gaza, Egypt’s Al-Qahera News TV reported.

In addition, two high-ranking Egyptian security officials confirmed to Xinhua news agency that the talks discussed Egypt’s “rescue initiative,” which aims to prevent any more escalations in the Strip and avoid the invasion of Rafah.

On Thursday, Israeli media reported that the country is expected to “soon” begin evacuating civilians from Rafah ahead of a planned ground attack.

Earlier Thursday, Israel’s wartime cabinet and security cabinet convened to discuss a possible assault on Rafah, a city previously considered a “safe zone” from the relentless Israeli bombardments, where about 1.4 million displaced Palestinians have found refuge.

Source(s): CGTN

Continue Reading

News

Third ‘Ahaa’ forum on Monday; opportunity open to send questions

FI

Published

1 day ago

on

26/04/2024

By

The third session of the public forum of ministers, ‘Ahaa’, which translates to ‘Ask’, is slated for Monday night.

The President’s Office said the next session of “Ahaa’ forum, organized by the office in collaboration with state media, PSM, will be held at 8:30pm on Monday night.

This session will feature Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen, Home Minister Ali Ihusan, Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam, Higher Education Minister Dr. Mariyam Mariya and Youth Ministry Ibrahim Waheed.

Members of the public can send the questions they wish to ask these ministers to 300 with the keyword ‘AH’.

The current administration launched and held the first session of ‘Ahaa’ forum on January 25th which featured Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed; Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed; Minister of Social and Family Development, Dr. Aishath Shiham; Minister of Sports, Fitness and Recreation, Abdulla Rafiu; and Minister of Construction and Infrastructure, Dr. Abdulla Muththalib.

The second session of the forum, held on February 23rd, featured President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

A direct portal was launched during the session to allow the public to send their questions and concerns to the President.

Source(s): sun.mv

Continue Reading

Trending