Pakistan Lawmaker Warns of  Nuclear War Over Kashmir

A Pakistani lawmaker urged the international community_ including the UN_ to swiftly act to stop the atrocities of Kashmiris by Indian Government forces. Addressing a seminar in the capital Islamabad_ Shehryar Khan Afridi_ chairman of parliament s Kashmir committee_ claimed New Delhi was using backdoor channels to resume talks to Pakistan_ however Pakistan would not talk to India unless Kashmir issue was on the agenda_ he said. Kashmir_ he further said_ became a key issue in the global digital space and that Pakistan would not allow India to mislead the world on the ongoing  genocide there.  We are reaching out to all the global platforms to raise Kashmir_ he said adding that the parliament s committee was engaging with 22 global forums to sensitize the world on the lingering dispute. Sardar Masood Khan_ president of Pakistani-administered Kashmir_ also known as Azad Kashmir_ charged that extrajudicial killings have become a norm in disputed Jammu and Kashmir. Indian forces_ Khan went on to argue_ arrest youth and later gun them down in fake police  encounters.  The world knows well about the Indian atrocities being committed by the occupational forces in occupied Kashmir but commercial interests are major hurdle in taking action against India_ he added. Kashmir_ a Muslim-majority Himalayan region_ is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China. Since were partitioned in 1947_ India and pakistan have fought three wars -- in 1948_ 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir. Also_ in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir_ Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003. Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence_ or for unification with neighboring Pakistan. According to several human rights organizations_ thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989. -Source: Anadolu Agency