HR abuses in IHK: FO thanks MEPs for open letter to India

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday expressed its gratitude to all the Members of European Parliament (MEPs) who undertook a critical initiative to write an open letter to Prime Minister Modi to remind the Indian government that it cannot detract the international community from its reprehensible acts of terrorism in Indian Held Jammu and Kashmir.

“On its part, Pakistan will continue to extend moral, political and diplomatic support to its Kashmiri brothers and sisters in Indian Held Jammu and Kashmir until the realisation of the legitimate right to self-determination”, said the Foreign Office.

The letter first reported by The News on Thursday was released by the Foreign Office on Friday saying that this was “ a landmark initiative by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to express their grave concern on the continued human rights violations in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK).

“The European Parliamentarians have conveyed particular concern over the blatant use of pellet shotguns which continue to mass blind innocent civilians, women and children, including 19-month old Hiba Nisar. The MEPs have also communicated concerns over the use of draconian laws, such as Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA) which accord virtual impunity to the Indian occupation forces in IHK”, said the statement.

In their letter, the MEPs have called upon the Indian government to:

-·Immediately end the use of pellet-firing shotguns in Jammu and Kashmir and bring all relevant Indian laws in compliance with international human rights standards;

- Urgently repeal the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990 and amend the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 to ensure its compliance with international human rights law;

- Provide full and effective reparation and rehabilitation to those who have been injured by pellet-firing shotguns, and to the families of those killed;

- Establish independent and impartial investigations into all accidents where the use of pellet-firing shotguns led to deaths or serious injuries;

The Foreign Office says that this significant development follows on the heels of the historic exchange of views on the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir organised by the European Committee on Human Rights, which was held for the first time in more than a decade, where concerns of Pakistan as well as the people of Jammu and Kashmir regarding India's human rights abuses in IHK were discussed.

Earlier the reports on Jammu and Kashmir by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UK Parliament’s All Parties Parliamentary Kashmir Group (APPKG) had publicly called out India over its gross human rights violations in IHK and called upon the Indian government to carry out a comprehensive investigation into its abuses in IHK.