UNHRC: Kashmiri writer opposes CPEC, says J-K is not for sale

Kashmiri writer and director Junaid Qureshi on Friday told the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) the state of Jammu and Kashmir was not for sale while voicing apprehension towards the multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Qureshi said that the Valley of Jammu and Kashmir also included Jammu, Ladakh, Pakistan Administered Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and that China's presence in GB was an extension of its ambitions of reconstructing the ancient Silk Road, while pointing out that a part of the 3,000-kilometer long corridor will pass through GB, which did not fall within the jurisdiction of the constitution of Pakistan.

"The construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, at a cost of 54 billion dollars, is an important pawn in this New Great Game," he said while rejecting "the construction of this corridor of exploitation."

"Gilgit Baltistan is an integral part of Jammu and Kashmir State. Pakistan has no right to divide Jammu and Kashmir further and sell its resources under the false rubric of infrastructural development. My homeland Jammu and Kashmir is not for sale," he added.

Pakistan's move to illegally annex Gilgit-Baltistan, change the fundamentals of the actual Kashmir-issue and cement China's stake in this dispute, totally negated the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and their future, while jeopardising any kind of solution to this long-standing conflict, said Qureshi.

Terming the CPEC illegal and in contravention of international law, the Kashmiri writer called upon urgent attention and intervention of the international community.