KARACHI: First Muslim member appointed in the House of Lords for life, Lord Nazir has thanked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for refusing visas to those Indian army generals and brigadiers who had served as intelligence officers in Kashmir.
“Thank you @JustinTrudeau for your brave stance,” Lord Nazir, who is also President All Parties Parliamentary Group on Kashmir, tweeted.
According to an Indian news channel, two retired lieutenant generals, three brigadiers and two senior officers of the intelligence bureau of India had been denied visas on ground that their organisations were engaged in violence. New Delhi is furious over this report.
Lieutenant general (retd) Amreet Singh, former director general military operations, former quarters master general, DIG (retd) of the Central Reserve Police Force RS Gill and incumbent member of the armed forces tribunal have been denied visas to Canada for abetting violence in Kashmir. The Canadian high commission said the Indian military had hands in 70,000 deaths of innocent people of the valley.
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The Indian government on August 5 repealed the special status given to the occupied Kashmir under the constitution’s Article 370 and Section 35 A, and bifurcated the region into two Union Territories – Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The arbitrary move is feared to spark unrest in the disputed territory.
The decades-old conflict of Kashmir has resulted in horrific wars and continuous border tensions between Pakistan and India. The issue has strained the bilateral relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours as it is at core of their foreign and security policies.
India’s brutal occupational forces have committed a plethora of inhuman grave felonies in the Himalayan valley, but Kashmiris’ resilience has throughout been remarkable.
The world powers on August 16 discussed the long-standing Kashmir dispute after 50 years at the United Nations Security Council.
The UNSC met for a consultation on Pakistan and India’s dialogue on Kashmir in the wake of the Indian government’s act of abolishing the special status of the disputed territory.
The in-camera meeting was convened on Pakistan and China’s request. Media persons were would not be allowed to attend the meeting.
