ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday said India stands isolated in the international community after a damning report by the United Nations accusing Indian security forces for gross human rights violations in Occupied Kashmir.
“The isolation of India in the international community is complete,” said Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal at a weekly news briefing. “The skeletons in Indian closet are growing in numbers and size. Right-wing governments end up paying a high price,” he added.
In first of its kind report, the office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights accused India of committing atrocities in occupied Kashmir. The UN Human Rights chief said he would recommend establishment of a commission of inquiry to look into the rights abuses in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir state.
India, however, rejected the UN report saying it had no business with its internal matters.
Pakistan, on the other hand, welcomed the UN report and expressed its willingness to give unfettered access to the proposed commission to its part of Kashmir. “We are ready for a commission of inquiry to visit both AJK and IoK. India has again backed out,’ the spokesperson regretted.
Dr Faisal said Pakistan welcomed the OHCHR report’s recommendation for an independent, international commission of inquiry to assess the situation in IoK which was consistent with several calls by Pakistan and the OIC IPHRC to the same effect, since 2016.
The report, which is sharply critical of the human rights atrocities being committed with impunity by Indian occupation forces in IoK, especially the use of pellet guns, draconian laws, including the AFSPA and the SPA, use of rape to gag dissent, communication blockade, including the internet and violation of right to life, health, education and peaceful protests, confirms the humanitarian emergency in IoK.
It also highlights the absence of recourse to justice by the victims. India’s knee-jerk rejection of the report indicates its complete insensitivity to international law and its deplorable intransigence, which has delayed the resolution of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) dispute since the last seven decades and holds the regional peace and development hostage, even now.
The spokesperson said despite hollow Indian assertions, Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognised disputed area, pending on the agenda of the UN Security Council.
“The dissociation of India from reality is alarming. Indian attempts to exploit and cash in on the international environment by labelling the legitimate Kashmiris struggle terrorism makes a mockery of the victims of actual terrorism and is reprehensible,” he added.
“If it really has nothing to hide, India can address its claims of the report being based on unverified information by allowing the COI and OIC IPHRC access to IoK.”
Dr Faisal also denounced “the tragic and brutal killing” of Kashmiri journalist Shujaat Bukhari, editor-in-chief of Rising Kashmir, by gunmen outside his office in Srinagar on 14 June.
His assassination, due to his unremitting efforts for the Kashmiri cause will be remembered forever and is a clear manifestation of Indian state terrorism, the spokesperson said.
“Shujaat Bukhari’s brutal murder by Indian forces is reflection of the intolerance of Indian state apparatus who wants to stifle freedom of speech and expression. The Indian government remains fearful of international exposition of the brutalization of occupied Jammu & Kashmir. India can run, but can it hide? This remains to be seen,” he asked.
He further said Shujaat Bukhari’s targeted killing, within hours of his tweet on the OHCHR’s report on Jammu & Kashmir, raised serious questions about the motivation behind his murder.
“Indian attempts to politicise his death and to deflect attention, not only from the Indian atrocities in IoK, but also the very real threat faced by independent journalists in India, when they differ from the government’s stance, are condemnable.”
Agencies add: Pakistan has said that the so-called Governor’s rule in Occupied Kashmir is one of the ploys adopted by New Delhi from time to time to further suppress the will of the Kashmiri people.
Addressing weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, the FO spokesperson Dr. Muhammad Faisal said imposition of governor rule and the ongoing bloodshed in Occupied Kashmir along with statements emanating from India about the a crackdown on Kashmiris indicate an alarming Indian imperviousness to international opinion.
He said such steps are likely to result in enhanced Indian brutalities and a virtual free hand to Indian security forces against innocent Kashmiris.
He said Pakistan strongly condemns this killing by Indian forces that is a reflection of intolerance of Indian state apparatus that wants to stifle speech and expression.
Meanwhile, Pakistan does not discriminate between good or bad Taliban and would continue to hunt ‘all’ TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban) militants, Foreign Office said Thursday.
“Pakistan will continue to hunt ‘all’ the TTP persons, if need be,” Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal said when asked to clarify whether the chase would limit to the Pakistan’s territory only or extend to the Afghanistan’s soil as well.
Speaking at a media briefing at the Foreign Office, the spokesman said the ceasefire truce between the Afghan government and Taliban on the eve of Eid was a “step in right direction, which Pakistan supported and welcomed”.
He said Pakistan’s position on Afghanistan’s stability was clear and it believed that the only viable solution lied in an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.
The spokesman officially confirmed the killing of terrorist Moulvi Fazlullah in Afghanistan and said the news was received in Pakistan with relief especially among the families of the innocent who were killed including the martyrs of Army Public School.
On the recent report by Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights, the Spokesman said Pakistan was ready to facilitate the visit of international observers to the areas of Kashmir linked with Pakistan provided India offered to do the same.
He said Pakistan had nothing to hide from the world while India was shying away and was trying to cover its blatant human rights violations.
“If India really has nothing to hide, it can address its claims of the report being based on unverified information by allowing the COI and OIC IPHRC access to IoK,” he said.
He said Pakistan welcomed the OHCHR Report’s recommendation for an independent, international Commission of Inquiry to assess the situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir which was consistent with several calls by Pakistan since 2016.
The spokesman mentioned the Report, which was sharply critical of the human rights atrocities including the use of pellet guns, draconian laws including the AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) and the SPA, use of rape to subjugate dissent, communication blockade and violation of right to life, health, education and peaceful protests.
“India’s knee jerk rejection of the report indicates its complete insensitivity to international law and its deplorable intransigence, which has delayed the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute since the last seven decades and holds the regional peace and development hostage,” he said.
To a question on a statement by Chief Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan that GB was not a disputed territory for its people paying taxes to the government of Pakistan, the spokesman rejected the notion and said GB was part of Jammu and Kashmir, which was a disputed territory.
“The GB Chief Secretary’s remarks are categorically wrong and there should not be any doubt about it,” the spokesman said, adding that the territories including Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Occupied Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Laddakh remained in the disputed category of the United Nations.
When asked about the meeting of Pakistan Consul General in Houston, USA Ayesha Farooqi with the detained Pakistani Aafia Siddiqui, the Spokesman said the meeting took place on May 23rd where Aafia Siddiqui complained about the mistreatment meted out to her.
He said Aafia Siddiqui had handed over the Consul General a private letter addressed to her mother.
To a query about sending special envoys to world capitals to convince on Kashmir issue, the spokesman said it was carried out under the directive of the parliament in line with its resolution. He said it was now up to the next parliament to decide on continuation of the same practice.
He expressed gratitude to the UAE government for granting royal pardon to 442 Pakistani prisoners among the 2,000 on Eid and said the Consulate General of Pakistan, Dubai helped 350 prisoners with flight tickets, and financial and legal assistance.
The spokesman mentioned that Pakistan released 299 Indian prisoners in six months on humanitarian grounds and stressed that India needed to come out of its Chanakya mindset.
The Spokesman condemned the targeted killing of Kashmiri journalist Shujaat Bukhari within hours of his tweet on the OHCHR’s report on Jammu and Kashmir, raised serious questions about the motivation behind his murder.
“Shujaat Bukhari has joined the ranks of thousands of Kashmiri martyrs who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of peace and justice for the people of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir. Pakistan reiterates it call on the Government of India to conduct an independent, transparent and credible investigation into his murder and to bring the perpetrators to justice,” he said.
He mentioned that during past two weeks, the Indian occupation forces had martyred 16 innocent Kashmiris including Qaiser Amin Bhat, 22, Wikas Ahmad Rathor, 15, Nisar Ahmad Bhat, 27, Aiaz Ahmad Bhat, Sheeraz Ahmad Naikoo, Danish Khaliq Dar and Adil AkramLonein Srinagar, Pulwama, Tral, Kulgam, Bandipore and Kupwara areas. Also, India, again, did not allow the APHC Chairman Syed Ali Gilani to offer Eidul Fitr and Friday prayers, which is deplorable, he added. – NNI