Pakistan Urges World To Hold India Accountable For Rights Violations In Kashmir

Pakistan urged the international community Thursday to hold India accountable for human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

In a message on the eve of the second anniversary of India's annexation of the disputed region, Prime Minister Imran Khan said New Delhi has failed to break the will of the Kashmiri people.

"Today marks two years since India's illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). These actions were followed by an unprecedented military siege and restrictions on fundamental rights and freedoms of the Kashmiri people to perpetuate Indian occupation in the occupied territory," Khan said.

He added that Kashmiris face unabated extrajudicial killings, custodial torture and death, arbitrary detentions, burning and looting of houses to inflict collective punishment and other worst forms of human rights abuses.

On Aug. 5, 2019, the Indian government annulled two laws of the Indian Constitution -- Article 370 and Article 35A -- which loosely governed India's relationship with the disputed Muslim-majority region of Jammu and Kashmir.

Khan accused India of bringing demographic changes to the disputed territory through domicile and land ownership laws."India's illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 and subsequent measures particularly pertaining to domicile rules and land ownership laws are aimed at changing the demographic structure of IIOJK and converting the Kashmiris into a minority in their own land," he said, terming these measures a blatant violation of international law, including the UN Charter, United Nations Security Council resolutions, and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

"Pakistan, the Kashmiris and the international community forcefully rejected these steps."

Khan reaffirmed his country's abiding commitment to the Kashmir cause and gave assurances of extending all possible assistance to Kashmiris until the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination and a just resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

in a separate message, President Arif Alvi lamented over the human rights violations in Kashmir and said the people of Kashmir are being subjected to collective punishment by Indian occupation forces, which have turned the territory into the world's largest militarized zone.

"For the past 24 months, Kashmiris have suffered the worst human rights violations inflicted by Indian occupation forces, including a military siege and unprecedented restrictions on fundamental freedoms of Kashmiris," he said.

"To this day, the senior Kashmiri leadership remains incarcerated under trumped-up charges. Extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests and detentions also continue unabated."

"The people of Pakistan stand solidly by the Kashmiri brothers and sisters in their just struggle and will continue to highlight the Jammu and Kashmir dispute to the international community. Our ultimate objective remains the peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute as per relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people," Alvi added. -