Speaking at a photography and cultural exhibition held at the Foreign Office as part of Kashmir Solidarity Day activities, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged the Biden administration not to overlook the ground realities in occupied Kashmir.
“I expect the new Biden administration that has always talked of fundamental human rights to stop ignoring the ground realities in held Kashmir,” the Qureshi asserted.
Qureshi’s assertion came after a controversy that initiated with a tweet by the US State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in which it referred to Occupied Jammu and Kashmir as India’s Jammu and Kashmir.
“We welcome the resumption of 4G mobile internet in India’s Jammu & Kashmir. This marks an important step for local residents and we look forward to continued political & economic progress to restore normalcy in J&K,” the tweet read.
We welcome the resumption of 4G mobile internet in India's Jammu & Kashmir. This marks an important step for local residents and we look forward to continued political & economic progress to restore normalcy in J&K.
— State_SCA (@State_SCA) February 10, 2021
However, spokesman of the State Department, Ned Price later put an end to the controversy at a media briefing reiterating that USA’s policy on Kashmir had not changed and it still considered Kashmir as a disputed territory.
“I want to be very clear, there has been no change in US policy in the region [Kashmir],” Mr Price said.
Regardless of the clarification by the State Department spokesman, corrections were not made to the tweet nor has it been deleted.
This prompted Pakistan Foreign Office’s Qureshi to express its reservations about the tweet.
Spokesman of the Foreign Office, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said Pakistan was “disappointed” about the reference to Jammu and Kashmir in the State Department’s tweet regarding the resumption of mobile internet in Occupied Kashmir.
“The reference is inconsistent with the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir as recognised by numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions and the international community,” he reserved.
At the photography exhibition, Mr Qureshi once again took a shot at the Arab-led Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) by asking it to respect and acknowledge its members’ sentiments about Kashmir.
“I expect the OIC to not overlook the sentiments of the people in their countries. Priorities of governments could be different, but the sentiment of the people is somewhat different. Recognise it, see for yourself how things are moving,” Qureshi said as he recalled and reinforced that Pakistan was the founding member of the 57-member bloc of Muslim countries.
Although the OIC has passed several resolutions on Kashmir, Pakistan however, has been unhappy with some of the alliance members for not actively raising the issue with India. Qureshi emphasised the need for its resolution because instead some of the countries, especially Arab monarchies, are promoting their ties with India.
“We all have to sit down and find a way out,” Qureshi urged.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi reminded the world that it could be sucked into the conflict if peace and stability were to be affected in the disputed territory.
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