Pakistan welcomes new OHCHR report on Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday welcomed the second report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Jammu and Kashmir urging respect for the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination as protected under international law.

“We again welcome the OHCHR’s recommendation for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry (COI) to investigate the gross and systematic human rights violations in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” a Foreign Office statement said.

As in its first report, the OHCHR’s second report has again called for respect of the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir as protected under international law.

Appreciating the efforts to document human rights violations in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoK), the Foreign Office said there was no parallel between the horrendous human rights situation in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the prevailing environment in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

“Unlike IoK, which is the most militarised zone in the world, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan remain open to foreign visitors,” the Foreign Office statement mentioned.“The only solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is to grant the people of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoK) the legitimate right to self-determination as recognised by the numerous United Nations Security Council Resolutions, which is essential for the security and stability of South Asia and beyond,” it said.

The report once again recognised human rights violations in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoK). The report documents in detail the excessive use of force by the Indian occupation forces, continued use of pellet guns to kill and maim defenseless civilians, extra-judicial killings in the garb of so-called cordon and search operations, use of various forms of arbitrary arrests and detentions to target protestors and political dissidents.

It also highlights the impunity from accountability enjoyed by the Indian occupation forces under the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA), use of torture, lack of credible investigation into human rights violations perpetrated by the Indian occupation forces, restrictions on expression and movement of independent journalists.

The UN rights office shared the report with both countries last month. According to the UN, India requested the report not be published and dismissed the findings as “fallacious, tendentious and [politically] motivated”—similar wording to New Delhi’s rejection of the 2018 report. Pakistan again “welcomed the report,” the rights office said.