‘Indian Human Rights Commission slumbers over brutalities in IoK’

Islamabad : National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR), Pakistan, terms the Human Rights Commission of India ‘very unfortunate’ on its slumber over the actions of Indian forces in Occupied Kashmir.

In a statement issued on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day 2019, the NCHR reiterated that the ongoing human rights violations in Kashmir are against the values of human rights as enriched in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Commission called for a stronger response from the international community.

It says that a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) must be formed on this issue as has been recommended by the UN Human Rights Council’s 2018 report to probe into the human rights violations in Kashmir. “India, who happens to be a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), must be held responsible for its actions.”

The statement says that the struggle of freedom by the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) needs to end peacefully and a political solution should be sort out because the persistent human rights abuses in Kashmir are against the rights acknowledged by the Human Rights Charter and the people of Kashmir must be allowed to decide their fate. It urged the government of Pakistan to continue advocating for the rights of Kashmiris at the international forums.

NCHR also called upon its regional counterparts, the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) to raise voice against the brutalities of Indian forces in the occupied Kashmir. On this occasion, the NCHR Chairman Justice (r) Ali Nawaz Chowhan strongly condemned the blatant use of force by the Indian army which has been targeting civilians with absolutely no regard to the universally accepted human rights principles.

“The actions of Indian forces contribute to frequent episodes of killings and persecution of innocent people of Kashmir which is a flagrant violation of Indian international human rights commitments.”