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AA (17 January 2020)

Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi used an event Thursday hosted by a think tank in Washington, D.C. to call attention to the plight of the Kashmiri people, who have been under severe restrictions for the past several months.

Speaking at a discussion held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Qureshi said India has been seeking to break the will of Kashmiris by imprisoning them in their homes and imposing a communications blockade.

"Thousands of Kashmiris, particularly young boys, have been imprisoned, tortured. Even children as young as nine have not been spared," he said.

Earlier in the day, Qureshi met with the leadership of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee at Capitol Hill, including Senators James Risch, Bob Menendez, Mitt Romney and Chris Murphy.

They discussed the U.S.-Pakistan bilateral relationship, the situation in South Asia, the Afghan peace process and recent developments in the Middle East.

During the talks, Qureshi briefed the U.S. lawmakers on India's lockdown in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and its implications for regional security.

In his address at the panel, he said if the Kashmir issue is not addressed, the crisis in Kashmir has the potential to become a flashpoint between the two countries with strategic capabilities.

He said the Indian narrative that Kashmir is an internal part of India is firmly refuted by being on the UN Security Council agenda.

Read more at: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/pakistani-fm-highlights-plight-of-kashmiris-at-dc-event/1705331