PAT for renewed support of Kashmir cause, not APCs

In a joint statement on the APC, senior PAT leaders have said that the whole nation stands united on the end of the Indian occupation of Kashmir and the Kashmiris’ unassailable right to self-determination through the last 68 years. They asked what new consensus the government has taken pride in. They said that the Kashmiris have been forced to remain confined within their homes for last 87 days, adding that had the Prime Minister had a plan, he would have highlighted their plight at the UN Security Council and toured the South Asian region to win support for the beleaguered Kashmiris. They said that the situation on the Line of Control is politically beneficial for the government.

The statement was issued by PAT Secretary General Khurram Nawaz Gandapur, Core Committee members SM Zameer and Sajid Bhatti. He said that the PM uses APCs to shore up his weakening legitimacy, and give the lollypop of rehashed resolutions and statements to the nation. They said if all the political parties had succeeded in getting the full-fledged foreign minister appointed, the conclave could have been said to be successful. They said that a country which does not have a full-time foreign minister is not expected to have an effective foreign policy.

Khurram Nawaz Gandapur said that if the government were serious, it would have made a sincere effort at convening the meeting of OIC member countries on Kashmir issue and the Prime Minister would have used the kind of tone and tenor employed by Modi to give a befitting response to India in its own language. He said that the recent APC would not benefit the cause of Kashmir nor would it bring the pressure to bear upon India.

SM Zameer said that the biggest problem facing the Kashmiris at the moment is curfew imposed on the valley which has brought life to a standstill there. He said that the whole valley has been transformed into a jail. He said that APC is a façade resorted to by the government every now and then to mask their incompetence and failure.

Sajid Mahmood Bhatti said that it has been two and half months since Intifada started in IHK and asked the government to list the steps it took during this period to extend diplomatic support to the Kashmiris. He asked whether tackling foreign policy challenges are confined to one APC or an occasional statement here and there. He said that it is the government which got the mandate, not the APC. He asked the government to stop putting up facades and extend help to the Kashmiris.