Pakistan voices concern over UN report on human rights violations in occupied Kashmir

Pakistan expressed on Wednesday “grave concern” over a United Nations (UN) report that observed human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

The report, issued on November 24, underscored human rights violations endured by the Kashmiri people under Indian occupation.

“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,” the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Pakistan notes with alarm the experts’ observations that India’s actions have resulted in the extensive arbitrary arrest and detention of nearly 2,800 individuals, including journalists, students, and human rights advocates.

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“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,” the FO said.

“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 FO said the findings had reaffirmed Pakistan’s longstanding concerns regarding “state-sponsored persecution of Kashmiri Muslims as well as discrimination against minorities across India”.

Islamabad called upon India to cease its “coercive measures and to unconditionally release all those arbitrarily detained in IIOJK”.

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“We further urge 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. We urge 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,” the FO said.