India has also been angered by several recent steps taken by Pakistan on Kashmir-specifically, Islamabad deciding to commemorate 20 July as a Black Day to mark India’s alleged human rights violations in Kashmir; appointing 22 envoys to go around the world talking about these alleged violations; writing to United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon to draw his attention to the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir; and briefing the ambassadors of countries with diplomatic missions in Pakistan.
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Amid continuing unrest in Kashmir, the UN Human Rights chief has said it is crucial that an independent, impartial and worldwide mission be given free access to Indian as well as Pakistan-administered Kashmir to assess the situation on both sides of the border. “And that it should be given free and complete access to establish an objective assessment of the claims made by the two sides”.
On September 11, Mr. Sharif’s envoy Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari had met with the Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein calling for an enquiry into Burhan Wani’s killing and the allegations of human rights violations under the United Nations charter, as well as an end to the use of pellet guns in Kashmir.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said Pakistan has already handed over a letter formally inviting a team to the Pakistani side of the line of control, but in tandem with a mission to the Indian side.
The unrest in Kashmir is one instigated by Pakistani outfits while Pakistan government is actively involved in human rights violations in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Balochistan, India’s external affairs ministry stated in a release issued to counter Pakistan’s allegations of India’s high handedness in Kashmir.
In his opening statement at the Human Rights Council in Geneva’s annual session, that precedes the UN General Assembly in September each year, Mr. Zeid Al Hussein called for an “independent, impartial and global mission” into reports “claiming the Indian authorities had used force excessively against the civilian population under its administration”.
It said while Jammu and Kashmir has a democratically elected government, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir “has seen a Pakistani diplomat arbitrarily appointed as its head”.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has responded to the request of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday in the form of an official statement. “It was unanimously felt that Indian democracy has all that is required to address legitimate grievances”, Swarup said.
“We note the High Commissioner’s statement that he awaits a formal letter from India for access to Kashmir. Despite cross-border terrorist infiltration that saw an encounter only yesterday, government remains fully engaged in normalising the situation as soon as possible”.
Nafees Zakaria said the visit by the UN human rights team would help end the culture of impunity which is prevailing for more than 68 years in Indian-held Kashmir, in violation of worldwide law and UN Security Council resolutions.
“We have shared evidence of terrorists who came across the border with instructions to target our security forces by mingling with protesting crowds and using human shields”, he said.
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Pakistan’s foreign ministry said it “welcomes” Hussein’s statement, and supported his request for fact-finding teams to either side of the Line of Control.
