Pakistan on Thursday said that “distorted facts” were shared with Secretary of State Antony Binken by the US congressmen, adding that all actions taken in connection with May 9 events were in line with the Constitution.
More than 60 members of the US Congress had asked Blinken to exert pressure on the Pakistani government in order to address the human rights situation in the country. The letter, coauthored by Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, was signed by 65 other lawmakers “deeply troubled by the democratic backsliding and human rights abuses” in Pakistan following the tragic events of May 9 during which protesters attacked military and government installations.
The deadly protests triggered by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest, took the lives of at least 10 people and injured several others, with the authorities not only arresting the party leaders but thousands of party workers as well.
“The letter sent by the US congressmen to Antony Blinken contained distorted facts,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zehra Baloch said, and added that the rights and properties of all citizens are being protected in Pakistan. “All actions regarding the events of May 9 are being taken in accordance with the Constitution and laws.” Speaking about the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Baloch said that Pakistan hasn’t sent any letter to its missions regarding the moot. She said that the Indian failure was demonstrated by low-level representation and the absence of a number of important invitees at the Srinagar meeting. Rejecting the Indian move to hold the G-20 Tourism Working Group in Srinagar held on May 22-24, the spokesperson said Jammu and Kashmir was an internationally recognized disputed territory.
Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that the Kashmir dispute had remained on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council for over seven decades. In that backdrop, India hosted this Meeting in IIOJK in complete disregard of the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, principles of the UN Charter and international law.
“Holding the G-20 meeting in disputed territory is a betrayal of the people of IIOJK. For the last seven decades, they have been waiting for the international community to pay attention to their plight and to bring an end to the occupation and human rights violations,” the spokesperson added.
She said tourism and development could not be promoted by holding the local population hostage and denying them their rights and freedoms.
The spokesperson said that by holding the G-20 meeting in Srinagar, India could not hide the reality of its illegal occupation of IIOJK and the oppression of the Kashmiri people.
“India’s facade of normalcy in Kashmir is met by the harsh reality that IIOJK remains one of the most militarized zones on the planet. The extreme security measures, arbitrary arrests and harassment of the local population around the Srinagar meeting refute the claims of normalcy in the colonized territory,” she highlighted.
