J&K govt: Imran claims at UNGA ‘story of falsehood’

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday termed Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s assertions made during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last week as a “story of falsehood” and alleged that Islamabad by “peddling half truths and deliberate lies” was attempting to divert attention from its own “terror record, including brazen support to militants in the state”.

This is for the first time that the J&K government has deviated from the principle or practice of not reacting to a statement of foreign dignitary. Such statements are normally issued by the Central government or its representative particularly the ministry of external affairs

Contradicting Mr Khan’s claim that blanket curfew was in force in J&K since August 5 when the Centre stripped the state of its special status under Article 370 and split it into two Union Territories, a spokesperson of the government said, “No blanket curfew was ever clamped on any part of the state during this period. Even limited restrictions on the movement of people that had been imposed in some parts to prevent miscreants from fomenting trouble were relaxed in less than one week’s time.”

The spokesperson added, “Prolonged relaxations in restrictions were made in most parts of J&K and Ladakh beginning August 10 and since then the quantum and frequency of these relaxations has been progressively increasing to a point that today almost the entire state is free of restrictions”.

He claimed that J&K is free for any movement and accessible to all, including citizens, outsiders, journalists and all others for free movement.

“It is a myth being propagated that there is a virtual clampdown in J&K. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This is proven by the traffic visible on the roads with traffic jams, the passenger air traffic, the normal functioning of hospitals, the availability of essential civil supplies, and the free access of journalists. Air operations have remained normal throughout with over thirty flights to and from Srinagar everyday functioning at full load.”