ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday said that the ugly face of India, which flaunted itself as the world’s largest democracy, but at the same time engaged in massive human rights abuses, would have to be exposed.

The foreign minister said this while briefing the parliamentary Kashmir Commi­ttee on the government’s efforts for highlighting the struggle of Kashmiris for freedom from Indian occupation and barbarities committed by Indian security forces to suppress the uprising.

“In view of the developing situation, we have decided to raise the Kashmir issue at every forum with full force,” Mr Qureshi said, adding that the support for the Kashmiri freedom movement would continue till the issue was resolved in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiris.

The year 2018, he recalled, was one of the bloodiest in the Kashmiris’ quest for freedom in which around 500 Kashmiris were martyred by the occupation troops for demanding freedom and protesting against abuses by security forces.

Till May 2019, he said, nearly 9,500 Kashmiris had suffered injuries from pellet guns, which blind or impair the vision of the victims.

The reports by UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UK Parliamentary Caucus on the situation of human rights in occupied Kashmir, he said, vindicated Pakistan’s position on the human rights violations committed by Indian security forces.

He also recalled the Kashmir Conference that was hosted in the UK Parliament on Feb 5 and said that all political parties of Pakistan stood united on the issue.

The EU leaders, he said, in a statement on Feb 19 had demanded resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with wishes of the people of the region.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2019