‘Pakistanis back Army to counter Indian aggression’

Islamabad, Sep 16 (IANS) Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the whole nation of 220 million people stand behind the armed forces, who are fully prepared to counter "any aggression" by India.

Qureshi made the comments on Sunday night while addressing a public meeting at Rangeel Pur in Pakistan's Punjab province.

"Pakistan has an army of 220 million people, including the youth, students, labourers, farmers and others, who are at the back of their forces," the Minister said, according to Geo News.

After India scrapped its Constitution's Articles 370 and 35A, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and divided the state into two union territories, Islamabad has been crying foul over New Delhi's move and continuously trying to highlight the issue on a global level.

However, Pakistan has failed to get the international community to censure India.

Talking about the situation in Kashmir, Qureshi claimed that India had on many occasions promised at the UN that it would hold a referendum in "the occupied valley", but never delivered.

Qureshi said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "even lost the support of pro-government leaders of occupied Kashmir".

"If the Modi government has courage, it should lift curfew and see how the people of held Kashmir would respond by coming into the streets."

The Minister said that irrespective of the fact that whether the other countries supported the Kashmiris or not, Pakistan would continue to raise its voice for their "right to self-determination" and extend them its full support.