Pakistan will continue to support separatists in Kashmir: Nawaz Sharif after surgical strikes

Islamabad: Islamabad wants peace in the region but “we will not allow anyone to cast an evil eye on Pakistan”, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared on Friday. Pakistan will also never end its moral, political and diplomatic support to the separatist campaign in Jammu and Kashmir, Sharif told a cabinet meeting. [caption id=“attachment_3028608” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. CNN-News18[/caption] The meeting was called to discuss the situation on the Line of Control (LoC), which divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, and in the Indian part of Jammu and Kashmir. Sharif said Pakistan wanted peace to pursue its development agenda “we will not allow anyone to cast an evil eye on Pakistan”. Sharif’s comments came a day after India said it had carried out surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads across the LoC. Sharif insisted that Kashmir – Pakistan holds the northern third of the state and India the southern two-third – was an “unfinished agenda of the partition of the sub-continent”. “Indian atrocities cannot suppress the passions of the Kashmiri people,” Sharif told the cabinet. The Pakistani cabinet joined the Prime Minister in rejecting the Indian claims of carrying out “surgical strikes”, an official statement said. It said the Indian military had resorted to unprovoked firing on the LoC, leading to the death of two Pakistani soldiers. The cabinet expressed deep concern over the “continued killings and grave human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.” “The cabinet appreciated the courage, valour and commitment of the Kashmiri people who continue their just struggle for the right to self-determination in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions.” The cabinet expressed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to provide moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The cabinet also accused India of lying by claiming that terrorists from Pakistan raided an army camp in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 killing 19 soldiers. “Pakistan’s commitment for peace must not be construed as weakness,” Sharif said. “In case of any aggression or violation of LoC, Pakistan will take all necessary steps to protect its people and territorial integrity.”