Unending sufferings of Kashmiri women, children continue in IIOJK: FO 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday said that with over 22,000 women widowed and 107,000 children orphaned, the sufferings of the families in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) remained unended due to the unabated occupation and oppression of the Indian forces.

 Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, at her weekly press briefing, expressed solidarity with the Kashmiri families that remained divided and continued to suffer due to Indian oppression for the last several decades.

“The estimates of widowed women and orphaned children exceed 22,000 and 107,000 respectively. Thousands of half-widows are awaiting the return of their husbands who have presumably been killed by Indian forces. 

The plight of the families of the victims of enforced disappearance is equally lamentable,” the spokesperson remarked, referring to the annual International Day of Families observed on May 15. 

Calling the ruthless Indian oppression the root cause of the suffering of Kashmiri families, the spokesperson urged India to allow Kashmiris to practice their right to self-determination as guaranteed by the UN Security Council’s resolutions.

 Highlighting the diplomatic engagements that took place during the last week, the spokesperson started with the visit of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar to China to co-chair the Fifth Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, where he also met with Chinese vice premier, and ministers for IDCPC and finance and others.

The two sides agreed to accelerate progress on major connectivity projects including the upgradation of ML-1, the Gwadar Port, realignment of Karakoram Highway Phase II, and strengthen cooperation in agriculture, industrial parks, mining, information technology, and other fields.

China reiterated its position on IIOJK calling for its peaceful resolution by the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and bilateral agreements. She also apprised the media of the 6th Round of Pakistan-Latvia Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) held here wherein two sides agreed to expand bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, energy, education and technology, and labor mobility. 

At the Pakistan-U.S. Counterterrorism Dialogue held on May 10, 2024, in Washington DC, she said both countries underscored the cooperation in addressing the most pressing challenges to regional and global security, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and ISIS-Khorasan. 

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