Quraishi: India whipping up hatred, violence against Kashmiris

Islamabad: Pakistan’s foreign minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmoud Quraishi said the human rights situation in Indian-administered Kashmir in particular, and in India as a whole, was deteriorating in the aftermath of the Pulwama incident.

“As if the use of pellet guns against Kashmiri protesters, the outright refusal by India to initiate political dialogue with the Kashmiris and Pakistan, ongoing ‘shoot to kill’ orders against Kashmiris, were not enough, there is now a concerted campaign to whip up hatred and violence against Kashmiris and discrimination against them across India,” the foreign minister said in a letter addressed to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“The troubling situation in Jammu and Kashmir also warrants attention from the international humanitarian law perspective, especially the four Geneva Conventions. Given the active nature of armed conflict in Indian [administered] Jammu and Kashmir, it is imperative to impress upon India to faithfully adhere to its obligations under the Conventions to which it is a party,” he added.

The foreign minister urged the UN High Commissioner to call on India to allow unhindered access to UN mechanisms in Kashmir, adding that India must also be obliged to comply with its international humanitarian law obligations with respect Kashmir.

The foreign minister wrote the letter as a follow up on an earlier letter dated December 16, 2018, regarding the deteriorating human rights situation in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, the Foreign office on Saturday said while sharing the text of the letter with media.

He said the attack on Indian paramilitary personnel on February 14 needed to be seen in an objective manner.

“That [the] Indian government chose to immediately externalise blame for this attack, without investigations, fits a known policy approach. Such an approach is clearly manifest in its attempts to divert global attention from the continuing grave human rights and international humanitarian law violations in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir and brand those seeking to safeguard their legitimate political and human rights including the right to self-determination as ‘terrorists’,” he added.

Quraishi mentioned that Jammu and Kashmir was internationally recognised disputed territory, which India continued to occupy in violation of international law. He said the issue of Jammu and Kashmir remained an outstanding item on the agenda of UN Security Council.

India continues to demonstrate its non-compliance with several Security Council resolutions on this subject, he said.