Pakistan must stop patronising terror
Re: “India must stop misleading world and heed Kashmir independence calls”, Have Your Say, March 14
The Pakistan embassy letter reflects the diversionary approach taken by Pakistan whenever the international community confronts it with irrefutable evidence of terrorism emanating from its soil.
On the issue of sovereignty and territorial integrity, the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. It is Pakistan which is illegally occupying part of this Indian state through aggression. India has repeatedly called on Pakistan to vacate the occupied territories. Terrorism, supported and sponsored by the Pakistani state, is the most egregious violation of human rights. Jammu and Kashmir is ethnically, religiously and geographically a diverse state – as is the rest of India. This pluralistic character is protected and nurtured by the Indian constitution, which guarantees to every Indian citizen, including those in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, fundamental rights and freedoms which are protected by an independent judiciary, human rights commissions, free and vibrant media and an active civil society.
Cross-border terrorist attacks on India have continued unabated from Pakistan. Since the 1990s, the lives of nearly 14,000 innocent civilians and over 5,000 security personnel have been lost to cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Following the recent dastardly terrorist attack in Pulwana by Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad, India gave Pakistan sufficient time to act against the perpetrators who claimed responsibility. India also handed over irrefutable evidence of Jaish-e-Mohammad’s involvement, but instead of taking this seriously, Pakistan denied any knowledge of the attack and dismissed the claims of responsibility by Jaish-e-Mohammad. Pakistan’s lack of seriousness on the issue of terrorism is also evident from contradictory statements of admissions and denials by the Pakistani leadership.
Apart from persistently violating human rights of Indians in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan also continues to blatantly violate the human rights of Indian national Shri Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was arrested and sentenced to death on concocted charges through a farcical process by a Pakistani military court. India responded by applying to the International Court of Justice over an egregious violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by Pakistan. India urges Pakistan to fulfil its international obligations, whether on consular relations or UN Security Council resolutions on terrorism and to desist from continuing violations of human rights of Indian nationals.
India desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an atmosphere free from terror. India calls upon Pakistan to accord seriousness to the issue of terrorism and to urgently take credible, verifiable and sustained action against terrorist outfits in territories under its control, dismantle terrorist infrastructure and to fulfil its obligations under the various international bodies including the UNSC. The international community stands together with India in this demand.
Sudhi Choudhary
First secretary, Indian Embassy
