India’s imposition of sanctions on Kashmiri leaders is an affront to international norms: Foreign Office

Pakistan has strongly condemned the decision of the Indian authorities to ban the Muslim League in Jammu and Kashmir under the leadership of Musrat Alam Butt for five years.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at the weekly press briefing here on Thursday that imposing restrictions on Kashmiri leaders is an affront to international norms by India.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch condemned the serious violations of human rights in the region and said that the Indian occupying forces have imposed restrictions on the citizens and Kashmiri leaders in Jammu and Kashmir. Asked if there were any prospects of reviving ties with India in the coming year, the spokesperson said India needs to take steps to create an environment conducive to dialogue.

However, he made it clear that the dialogue with India can only be on the basis of equality, respect and discussing the Jammu and Kashmir dispute as a priority issue. Regarding relations with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, he said that Pakistan and GCC will soon sign a free trade agreement, which will be the first of its kind with any GCC country. . He said that discussions are going on in this regard, the agreement will be signed soon.

A Foreign Office spokesperson rejected a report claiming that India has demanded Pakistan to hand over Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed. “This is speculative reporting,” he said. The Foreign Office spokesperson termed the comments made by some foreign missions in Pakistan regarding the Baloch protesters as interference and expressed regret saying that the country is fully capable of managing its internal affairs.

The spokesperson said that the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees freedom of expression to its citizens and there are laws to deal with such matters internally. The spokesperson’s statement came in response to a question on recent tweets by the Norwegian embassy and the EU ambassador to Pakistan expressing concern over the alleged ill-treatment of Baloch protesters in Islamabad.

The spokesperson said that the interference of foreign embassies in Pakistan is regrettable, adding that Pakistan is committed to protecting the rights of its people. The spokesman further said that the courts of the country are independent and have given decisions in this regard on several occasions. The spokesperson of the Foreign Office also presented the annual review of the achievements of Pakistan at the international level and the efforts made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the field of diplomacy in the press briefing.