Pakistan urges UN rights body to act on Kashmir

–Law minister says Pakistan is party to Kashmir issue as per UN resolutions

Federal Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid has said that the Indian claim that the situation in Jammu Kashmir is about ‘terrorism’ is a false narrative and a desperate attempt to divert the attention of the international community from grave human rights violations being committed in the disputed state.

He urged the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to act before it is too late. Calling for the council’s intervention in Kashmir, he said that the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Kashmiri people were being trampled upon. He denied that there was a ‘terrorism’ problem in the disputed state and said that Islamabad’s involvement was only in providing political, moral and diplomatic support.

“The Indian claim that the deteriorating human rights situation in Jammu Kashmir is an ‘internal affair’ of India is factually incorrect, legally untenable and in violation of the UN Security Council resolution,” Zahid Hamid said while speaking at the high-level segment of the ongoing 34th HRC session.

Referring to India as an occupying power, the minister said that the situation in Jammu Kashmir about the tragedy of a people being brutalised… so that they can give up their just struggle for the inherent right to self-determination. He said that Pakistan was a recognised party to this internationally-recognised issue under the UN resolutions.

“This is contrary to the Indian government’s stand that the Kashmir issue is an ‘internal matter’ of the country and that Pakistan has ‘no locus standi’ in the matter. He said that the Pakistani government would continue to extend the unflinching political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people. Pakistan also called on all the mechanisms of the council and the Indian community to remain seized of the grave and systematic violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Jammu Kashmir and urged India to end its oppression.

“The right to self-determination is an inalienable right of the Kashmiri people, and the issue is pending final settlement through a free and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices as enunciated in numerous Security Council resolutions, Hamid said. Pakistan said that it supports the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stand that a UN human rights team should visit the disputed state to independently and impartially investigate the grave human rights violations being perpetrated by Indian forces.

However, UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein had asked for access to visit both Indian-held Jammu Kashmir as well as Azad Jammu Kashmir in the 33rd session of the UNHRC held in September 2016.