India’s LoC ceasefire breaches a serious threat to regional trade

FPCC president Anjum Nisar calls on world community to hold India accountable for HR abuses in IHK 

ISLAMABAD (DNA) -The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Mian Anjum Nisar has raised serious concerns over continuing human rights abuses and curfew in Indian Held Kashmir for the last more than 9 months, saying successive ceasefire breaches along the Line of Control by the Indian Forces is a serious threat to regional trade and economic prosperity, especially at a time when the whole world economies are highlighting gloomy forecasts.

He urged the United Nations to accord serious attention to blatant violation of human rights in IHK, constituting a high powered human rights committee to visit the valley to see and report the facts. “These egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to bilateral trade and regional peace. He added that by raising tensions along the LoC and the Working Boundary, India cannot divert attention from the grave human rights situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

He said that the international community must hold India accountable for its human rights abuses in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

FPCCI President appreciated the government, which has summoned senior Indian diplomat to register strong protest over the ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control, killing and seriously injuring several innocent civilians.

Expressing solidarity with the armed forces, struggling against terrorism, he said that operations of Pak Army and security forces against terrorism have made the situation stable in the country.

Mian Anjum Nisar, condemning the militant attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange, which was foiled by police within a few minutes, lauded the efforts of the law enforcement agencies and paid tributes to security personnel who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

“The FPCCI pays tribute to the security guards of the PSX, who laid down their lives to thwart the attack and the whole trade and industry is proud of its security personnel, who bravely fought off militants to avert massive casualties.”

The leader of Apex trade body said that the whole Pakistani nation was supporting the Pak army in their struggle against terrorism so that terrorism was fully extirpated from the soil. He said that when there was peace in the region, socio-economic development and prosperity would automatically come.

He said the atrocities by Indian occupation forces were well documented by the United Nations, human rights organizations as well as international media. And a continuing silence in the face of such blatant abuse is against international human rights and humanitarian laws and must be unacceptable, he remarked.

FPCCI, on behalf of the whole business community of Pakistan, calls on the international community to hold India accountable for its human rights abuses in IoJK where women, men and children have faced pellet guns, sexual assault, electrocution, and physical & mental torture, he added.

Mian Anjum Nisar said that the Indian occupation forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary had continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars and automatic weapons.

In 2020, India has so far committed 1487 ceasefire violations resulting in 13 Shahadats and serious injuries to 106 innocent civilians, he said.

Condemning the deplorable targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, he underscored that such senseless acts were in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, and are also against all established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct.

Unfortunately, soon after formal identification of India as a violator of Human Rights in IHK, in an act of gross disregard, intimidated the UN and the world, revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 in August 2019 and instantly poured in thousands of State Security Forces troops who imposed an instant Curfew, closed down telecommunications and internet services, and indiscriminately arrested innocent political leaders and activists.