PoK president forced to eat words on US

In a piquant situation, Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) president Sardar Mohammad Masood Khan, a former career diplomat was forced to retract his statement he had issued on the US declaring the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) chief Syed Salahuddin a global terrorist.

He had warned that a 'Trump-Modi nexus' could spell disaster to regional peace. Former spokesperson of Pakistan Foreign Office had even decried the US, saying, "It had always deceived Pakistan, and its latest decision was yet another example of it." He said the US has never acknowledged Pakistan's sacrifices despite the latter being a frontline state in the war against terrorism," Dawn quoted him as saying.

Within hours of issuing the statement, his office sent an advisory to the media organisations to neither air nor publish the statement.

Khan had questioned the justification of the US decision to brand Salahuddin a global terrorist, saying the Hizbul Mujahideen was struggling solely for freedom from India and was neither linked to any terrorist group nor had resorted to any action outside India. "In fact, it's the Indian army committing terrorism in occupied Kashmir. Ignoring the genocide of Kashmiris by Indian army and declaring freedom fighters as terrorists is a criminal departure from international humanitarian and democratic norms by the US," he claimed.

Later Pakistan Foreign Office in a detailed statement described India-US joint statement unhelpful in achieving the objective of strategic stability and durable peace in the South Asian region. "By failing to address key sources of tension and instability in the region, the statement aggravates an already tense situation," it said.

Pakistan called a meeting between US President Trump and Prime Minister Modi a missed opportunity to induce India to alter its policies inimical to peace in the region. "Equally unacceptable is the willful disregard of the atrocities being committed by Indian security forces against innocent Kashimiri civilians. This undermines the ideals and principles of the UN Charter. It endangers peace and security in the region," the statement added. The statement blamed India for supporting the Tehrek-Taleban as a proxy against Pakistan from across the border. It also expressed concerned on the sale of advanced military technologies to India.