ISLAMABAD, Aug 21 (APP): Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday said Pakistan stands with international community to eliminate terrorism and commit to support to the victims of terrorism.
In his message on “International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism”, the Foreign Minister expressed solidarity with the victims of terrorism and their families.
He said for last two decades, the people of Pakistan suffered the most from terrorism and lost over 70,000 lives and suffered economic loss of over $120 billion.
He said thousands of valiant soldiers and law enforcement officials laid down their lives in defending the motherland.
“I would like to thank and honour Pakistani citizens and families of martyrs of our law enforcement agencies and armed forces who have rendered immense sacrifices for the freedom, safety and security of Pakistan and its people,” he said.
The government and people of Pakistan will never forget their sacrifice, he added.
He said Pakistan’s resolve to fight terrorism remained unwavering.
“In the face of every tragedy, the resilient Pakistani nation has shown that the values of enlightenment, compassion and empathy that bind us together are much stronger than the forces of intolerance, hatred, and violence that aim to divide,” he said.
He said, “As we commemorate this day, we must also remember and venerate the victims of the worst form of state terrorism perpetrated by India against innocent people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).”
He mentioned that since 1990, India’s occupation army had martyred over 100,000 Kashmiris, widowed 22,000 women, orphaned 108,000 children and raped more than 11,000 women.
Also, he said, India’s state terrorism intensified since August 5, 2019 military siege of 8 million Kashmiris in the Valley, with imprisonment of political leaders, the abduction and torture of 13,000 Kashmiri youth, brutal use of force against peaceful protestors, collective punishments and extra-judicial killings.
“The international community should seek to prosecute the Indian civil and military personnel involved in the state terrorism and serious crimes against humanity,” he said.
