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Pakistan seeks international support over Kashmir
Pakistani Ambassador to Indonesia Abdul Salik Khan said that foreign countries, including Indonesia, can play a larger role in mediating peace and engaging India to find a lasting solution.
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Demonstrators ride bikes during a rally in support of Kashmiris in the Indian-controlled Kashmir during a protest in Karachi on Sept. 22. Tensions have spiked over Kashmir, parts of which are administered by both India and Pakistan, since Delhi moved on Aug. 5 to revoke the autonomy of the portion it controls. (AFP/Asif Hassan)
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fter weeks of India’s lockdown on the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan is calling for more international attention to alleged human rights violations taking place in the most militarized zone in the world.
Pakistani Ambassador to Indonesia Abdul Salik Khan said that foreign countries, including Indonesia, can play a larger role in mediating peace and engaging India to find a lasting solution.
“Since Indonesia is a nonpermanent member of United Nations Security Council, as a brotherly country of Indonesia, Pakistan would like Indonesia's support on the Jammu and Kashmir issue,” he said during a visit to The Jakarta Post on Monday.
India and Pakistan have been fighting over Kashmir since 1947 when they gained independence from Britain.
At the time of the partition, Kashmir was expected to become part of Pakistan, like other Muslim-majority regions. However, Kashmir's Hindu ruler wanted to stay independent. Following an invasion by Muslim tribesmen from Pakistan, he hastily acceded to India in return for help against the invaders, sparking war. Since then, India and Pakistan have fought two other wars.
Under India’s constitution, Jammu and Kashmir state has a special status that allows it to have its their own laws, but on Aug. 5, India scrapped that status, splitting the state into the two directly administered territories, one formed by Jammu and Kashmir and the other consisting of the Buddhist-dominated enclave of Ladakh.
Since then, India has clamped down on communications and freedom of movement in a way to stop protests. Authorities in Indian Kashmir have arrested nearly 4,000 people, according to government data as reported by Reuters.
