ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that Pakistan will continue to raise its voice on the continuing grave human rights abuses in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
In her weekly media briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan will also continue to extend unstinted moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their quest for self-determination in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
The Spokesperson said that during the last week, the Indian oppression in IIOJK continued unabated, adding that the Indian forces continued to carry out cordon and search operations in different parts of Rajouri, Poonch and Reasi districts, harassing the local population.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that in a disturbing event, two Kashmiri youth were killed in a fake encounter in Budgam district after they were dislodged by the Indian troops from a vehicle and shot dead on spot.
A 75-year-old under-trial prisoner Mohammed Maqbool Khan died in custody after he was tortured in Kupwara jail. He and his three sons were detained in August last year on ¬¬¬trumped up charges, she told.
Further, she added, for the last one month, a family in Kunan village of Kupwara has been desperately looking for the whereabouts of their son and brother Abdul Rashid Dar.
A mini truck driver Rashid Dar went missing on December 15 after he was whisked away by the Indian army soldiers from 41 Rashtriya Rifles unit. His mother Khera Begum has demanded knowledge on Rashid’s whereabouts or at least a proof of life.
The Spokesperson said that the case of Rashid Dar, though tragic, is not unique. She said that over the last three decades, hundreds have gone missing while in the custody of Indian security forces.
According to credible counts, some 8000 persons have gone missing in IIOJK since 1989, she said.