Pakistan raises grave concern over UN report on systemic repression in IIOJK
Reiterates support to Kashmiris’ just struggle against Indian occupation
Islamabad: Pakistan has expressed grave concern over a latest United Nations report that observed systemic human rights violations in Indian illegally occupied Kashmir (IIOJK).
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a statement issued today, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said, “Pakistan notes with grave concern the latest findings by the United Nations Special Procedures experts regarding India’s illegal measures in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).”
It said that the report “once again underscores the severe and systematic human rights violations endured by the Kashmiri people under Indian occupation”.
It noted “with alarm” the UN experts’ observations that India’s actions had resulted in the “extensive arbitrary arrest and detention of nearly 2,800 individuals, including journalists, students, and human rights advocates”.
“The persistent application of draconian legislation, such as the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), has facilitated indefinite and unjustifiable detentions,” it added.
“Instances of torture, custodial deaths, incommunicado detention, denial of due legal process and family contact, punitive demolitions and forced evictions, recurring communication blackouts, and suppression of press freedom — including the blocking of 8,000 social media accounts — as well as the rise in hate speech, lynching, and harassment directed at Kashmiris and Muslim communities across India, are equally deplorable and deeply troubling,” the statement said.
It added, “These findings reaffirm Pakistan’s longstanding concerns regarding state-sponsored persecution of Kashmiri Muslims as well as discrimination against minorities across India.”
The FO called upon India to “cease its coercive measures” and to unconditionally release all arbitrarily detained individuals in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. It also urged India to take concrete steps to end the persecution of all religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians.
“Pakistan reiterates its commitment to a peaceful, just, and enduring resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people,” it said.
It urged India to “halt its repressive policies, reverse demographic and legal alterations, restore fundamental freedoms, and engage sincerely in meaningful dialogue”.
“Pakistan will continue to extend moral, political, and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their just struggle against foreign occupation,” it added.
Notably, UN Special Procedures experts on Monday raised the alarm over serious human rights violations in IIOJK by the Indian authorities in the aftermath of Pahalgam attack in April this year. They noted that more than 2,000 Kashmiris were arrested and several homes demolished in a sweeping crackdown following the attack. They highlighted reports of punitive house demolitions, forced evictions and arbitrary displacement, and noted that some detainees were tortured, held incommunicado, and denied access to lawyers and family members. “These measures are disproportionate restrictions on freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly,” the experts said.
