- Title: Sanctions on Kashmiri militant group unjustified: Pakistan
- Date: 17th August 2017
- Summary: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (AUGUST 17, 2017) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF PAKISTAN FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING PAKISTAN FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESMAN NAFEES ZAKARIA ARRIVING FOR WEEKLY BRIEFING ZAKARIA BEHIND STANDING PODIUM REPORTERS SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAKISTAN FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESMAN, NAFEES ZAKARIA, SAYING: "We are disappointed at the U.S. decision, in view of the fact that Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute with the U.N. Security Council resolutions pending implementation for the last 70 years. Neither Indian presence in IoK - or Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir - nor its brutal actions against defenceless Kashmiris are lawful. The 70-year-old indigenous struggle of Kashmiris in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir remains legitimate. The designation of individuals or groups supporting the Kashmiri right to self-determination as terrorists is completely unjustified." REPORTER TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAKISTAN FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESMAN, NAFEES ZAKARIA, SAYING: "Overlooking killing and deliberate blinding of hundreds of Kashmiri children and teenagers is painful and not understandable. It is India that deserves to be held accountable for brutal use of force against Kashmiris, and for committing gross human rights violations over there." REPORTER TAKING NOTES ON MOBILE PHONE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAKISTAN FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESMAN, NAFEES ZAKARIA, SAYING: "Pakistan has consistently maintained that the only solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is through a transparent, free and fair plebiscite for the realisation of the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people in line with the U.N. Security Council resolutions. Prime Minister Modi's statement actually validates our stance that armed subjugation and oppression cannot wish away the struggle of the Kashmiris. However, verbal rhetoric needs to be accompanied with actions to be meaningful, and unfortunately we do not see that in India where Indian atrocities and genocide of Kashmiris by Indian occupation forces continues unabated even as we speak." REPORTER TAKING NOTES ON MOBILE PHONE
- Embargoed: 31st August 2017 16:41
- Keywords: Pakistan's Foreign Ministry U.S. sanctioning Hizbul Mujahideen anti-Indian Kashmiri militant groups fighting in Himalayan territory
- Location: ISLAMABAD AND RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN
- City: ISLAMABAD AND RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0016UJQ98N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Pakistan's Foreign Ministry on Thursday (August 17) said Islamabad was disappointed over what it termed the unjustified imposition of sanctions by the United States on Kashmiri militant group Hizbul Mujahideen.
The U.S. took the action on Wednesday (August 16) against the largest of the anti-Indian Kashmiri militant organizations fighting in the Himalayan territory, which is divided between Pakistan and India, saying the group had claimed responsibility for several attacks, including one in 2014 in Jammu and Kashmir that left 17 people injured.
The move against Hizbul Mujahideen comes after last month's U.S. designation of militant commander Syed Salahuddin as a terrorist - a label he has denounced.
At a media briefing in Islamabad, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria said it was India which should be held to account for what he said was its brutal use of force and human rights violations in Kashmir.
In his Independence Day speech on Tuesday (August 15), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conciliatory towards Muslims in Kashmir, where violent protests against Indian rule have erupted over the past year. He said neither abuses nor bullets would be enough to pacify the region and that the Kashmiris needed to be embraced instead. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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