Leader Expresses Concerns over Kashmir Tensions
As the martyrdom anniversary of former Iranian president and prime minister Mohammad Ali Raja'i and Mohammad Javad Bahonar--which marks the National Government Week-- approaches, President Hassan Rouhani and members of his cabinet met with Ayatollah Khamenei on Wednesday.
In this meeting, the Leader said, “We have good relations with the government of India. However, the government of India is expected to adopt a just policy with regard to the noble people of Kashmir, and prevent the oppression and bullying of the people of this region.”
Ayatollah Khamenei slammed Britain’s colonialist policies in the Indian subcontinent and said: The present situation in Kashmir and the disputes between Pakistan and India regarding it is the result of the vicious British government’s measures while retreating from the Indian subcontinent.
To give rise to an enduring conflict in Kashmir, the British deliberately left this wound open in the region, the Leader said, according to Khamenei.ir.
Kashmir has been the scene of fresh protests and placed under a lockdown ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked the Indian-administered region’s special status.
New Delhi claimed that the decision to strip the disputed Muslim-majority region of its semi-autonomy was necessary for Kashmir’s economic development and to stop “terrorism.”
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their partition and independence from Britain in 1947. The disputed region is claimed in full by both sides, which have fought three wars over it.
