Pakistan urges India to stop using pellet guns in IHK

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan says it has taken note of an open letter written by Amnesty International (AI) to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the eve of his visit to India demanding that he should “call on Prime Minister Modi to immediately ban the use of pellet-firing shotguns as a means of policing protests.”

Trudeau is visiting India from February 17 to 23, and he has also been asked by the IA to take up strongly with all his interlocutors, including Modi, demonisation of religious minorities, threatened forced mass expulsion of Rohingya people from India, decriminalization of consensual adult same-sex relations; and criminalization of marital rape asking New Delhi to amend the law to remove the exception to marital rape in the definition of rape in the penal code.

The 1984 Sikh massacre has also been raised as an issue of concern and it urged the Modi government that “all those suspected of involvement in the 1984 killings, including those with command responsibility, are prosecuted.”

The open letter states these shotguns in Kashmir have killed, blinded and injured thousands of people. “People injured by pellet-firing shotguns have faced serious physical and mental health issues, including symptoms of psychological trauma,” the letter reads further.

Speaking to The News, Foreign Office spokesman commented, “The international community should take notice of gross violations in India Occupied Kashmir. We urge India to put an end to them, including the use of pellet-firing shotguns which have blinded hundreds of defenseless Kashmiris”.

The use of pellet shotguns in Held Kashmir violates international standards on the use of force, states Amnesty International. They also urged Trudeau to “work with the state government of Jammu and Kashmir to set up independent investigations into cases of death or serious injuries caused by pellet firing shotguns.”

The AI has demanded justice and accountability for the 1984 Sikh massacre at a time when Trudeau has nominated four Sikhs in his cabinet while the Ontario legislature passed a private member’s motion that called the 1984 Sikh massacre in India an act of genocide.

For some time now relations between Trudeau and his Indian counterpart have been tense especially after Trudeau appeared at the Khalsa Day event last spring, with New Delhi miffed that such practice continues in Canada, a country where many Sikhs are demanding an independent state, living in exile in Canada.

While important world capitals keep silent on different kinds of atrocities in mainland India and in the Valley, Amnesty International minces no words. Hate crimes against Muslims have also been raised as a major concern by the human rights organisation.

According to the letter, in 2017, several hate crimes against Muslims were reported in different parts of India, amid a rising tide of Islamophobia in the country. As such, the organization urges Trudeau to call on PM Modi to “publicly condemn hate crimes and Islamophobia and work with state governments to end impunity for those responsible for hate crimes against Muslims.”

The FO spokesman while pointing to the discriminatory treatment meted out to minorities, especially Muslims in India commented, “These reports from India highlight discriminatory treatment meted out to minorities, especially Muslims in India.

We have seen numerous examples of what’s happening in India in terms of persecution of minorities like Muslims, Christians or Dalits. This has become a matter of concern for the international community. It is being reported widely not only in India, where saner voices are raising concerns, but also in Asian and the Western media. These steps are deplorable and definitely do not serve inter-faith harmony, which is an objective pursued by international community.”