Pakistan condemns unabated extra-judicial killings in IOK

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday strongly condemned the unabated extra-judicial killings of Kashmiri youth by the Indian occupation forces in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K). It again called upon the international community to take immediate cognizance of the persistent reports of arbitrary and extra-judicial killings in IOJ&K, falsely labeled as having been the result of ‘encounters’ or as having occurred in ‘cross-fire.’ “The virtual impunity of the Indian occupation forces must end and the perpetrators must be held accountable for such heinous crimes against the Kashmiri people," the Foreign Office spokesperson in a press release said. More than 110 innocent Kashmiris had been martyred by the Indian occupation forces during the past five months in fake ‘encounters’ and so-called ‘cordon-and-search’ operations. In the last two days alone, another eight Kashmiris have been martyred in Pulwama and Shopian. "The BJP leadership must realize that it is directly responsible for these politically-motivated, arbitrary killings of Kashmiris by the Indian security forces. The international law prohibits the arbitrary deprivation of life and extra-judicial killings. This norm is codified in every major human rights treaty and convention. No illegal Act, such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), can sanctify or provide legal cover to a crime recognized as such by international law" the spokesperson further added.