"August 5 was a critical moment in the history of Kashmir when India illegally annexed the state of Jammu and Kashmir," he said this while addressing All-Parties Conference on Kashmir, which was organized by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Punjab, here on Tuesday.
He said that despite political difference the entire nation is united on the Kashmir issue. He further said that the Indian government has linked the Kashmiris' right to self-determination with terrorism and it tried without success to block the Security Council's session.
He said the Kashmiri people were victims of the worst human rights violations and deprived of their rights to worship, social life and freedom of movement. He pointed out that the Indians denied the Kashmiris from observing Youm-e-Ashur and assaulted their Imam bargaghs. "The people of India are divided on Kashmir as voices are being raised within India for the rights of the Kashmiri people," he said. The minister welcomed the Indian court's verdict to allow Indian Opposition Leader's access to the occupied Kashmir and urged the Indian court to also allow access to the foreign media.
The minister talked about the government's efforts to internationalize the Kashmir issue. "After 54 years, the Kashmir was debated in the United Nations Security Council and this is an encouraging sign for the Kashmiris. Also, the Human Rights Commission was apprised of the Indian brutality in the Indian Occupied Kashmir. Moreover, despite an opposition from the Indian government, the Kashmir issue is being discussed in the European Union parliament. However, it was not easy to mobilize the Organisation of Islamic Council on this matter."
He said the UN Secretary General had said that the Kashmir issue was to be resolved as per UN Security Council Resolutions while UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet had also endorsed Pakistan's stance on Kashmir.
"It was a great success of the PTI government on the diplomatic front. Due to the diplomacy of the PTI government, more than 50 British parliamentarians and 27 US Congressmen were supporting the cause of Kashmiris today. "The world has rejected the Indian claim that 'Kashmir is an internal matter and not an international issue," he added.
On the occasion, he urged the participants to formulate future road-map for highlighting Kashmir issue and paving the way for its freedom. "To develop consensus among all political parties, Prime Minister Imran Khan has summoned a joint session of the Parliament to discuss Kashmir issue," he added.
Meanwhile, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, PTI Central Punjab President Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry, former foreign minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and AJK President Sardar Masood Ahmed Khan also addressed the conference.