Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MPA Shoaib Siddiqui on Friday tabled a resolution in the Punjab Assembly condemning a statement by the Indian army chief in which he had described the struggle for freedom in India-held Kashmir (IHK) as ‘futile’.
The resolution pointed out that the Indian general’s statement was an admission that the Kashmiri people are not terrorists but ordinary people who are fighting for freedom.
The resolution urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member states and other international organisations to intervene in the matter and ensure that the Kashmir conflict is resolved in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations.
In an interview to The Indian Express on Thursday, Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat had warned Kashmiri youth that ‘azadi (freedom) is not possible’. “It won’t happen,” he had told the publication. “Don’t get carried away unnecessarily. Why are you picking up weapons? We will always fight those who seek azadi, those who want to secede. (Freedom) is not going to happen, never.”
Published in Daily Times, May 12th 2018.
