Pakistan acuses India of changing Kashmir's demography

Pakistan Wednesday acused India of deliberately altering the demographic makeup of Jammu and Kashmir by settling non-state citizens in Kashmir.

Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry accused the Indian government of turning Kashmir's Muslim majority into a minority by dividing the population on ethnic, religious and communal lines, Dawn reported.

"No elections in Indian-held Kashmir could be a substitute to the plebiscite under the auspices of the UN," Chaudhry told ambassadors posted in Pakistan of countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Briefing the envoys on the eve of "Kashmir Day", the foreign secretary referred to the actions taken by Indian security forces to suppress what he called the indigenous Kashmiri movement against Indian rule.

He stressed that peace in the region would remain elusive without the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN resolutions that call for a free and fair election to determine the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The foreign secretary emphasised that the OIC, a body of 57 countries with the world's one-fifth population, could influence India to fulfill its "obligations" under UN resolutions and de-militarise Kashmir.