Pakistan Foreign Office. PHOTO: FILE
In a statement, the Foreign Office termed the latest public hearing of US House of Representative’s Sub-Committee on Asia and the Pacific on human rights in South Asia “timely”, as it underscored the need for addressing the Kashmir dispute urgently.
“The latest hearing … is timely and shows the world community’s continued concern over the unacceptable situation in IOJ&K and the need to address it urgently. Pakistan appreciates the efforts of the members of US Congress, “who raised their voice,” said the statement.
The hearing focused on the human rights and humanitarian situation in the IOJ&K. The members noted that India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5 and subsequent lockdown of the occupied valley have created a humanitarian crisis with security implications for the entire region.
At the hearing, senior officials of the State Department expressed concern over the human rights situation. The members of the Congress also expressed their indignation and shock over the refusal by the Indian authorities to allow US lawmakers and journalists to travel to occupied Kashmir.
The Foreign Office statement said that so far, more than 70 members of the US Congress and several prominent political figures, including those intending to join the American presidential election race, have publicly spoken on the Kashmir issue.
“Pakistan has welcomed the US President’s [mediation] offer as we believe that the international community has a role to play in averting risks to peace and stability in the region and facilitating a just and lasting solution to the Jammu & Kashmir dispute,” the statement added.
The Congressional hearing, the statement noted, “has brought out three key elements: Kashmir is a disputed territory; the current human rights situation is alarming; and US leadership and lawmakers are cognisant of the potential threats to peace and stability in the region and willing to play their due role to help resolve the dispute”.
Several governments, the United Nations, and myriad international civil society and human rights organisations, and the international media have raised alarm over the ongoing situation in the occupied Kashmir.
Two separate reports by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) were released in June 2018 and July 2019, which highlighted the gross and systematic violations of human rights in the occupied territory.
A report on Kashmir by the UK Parliament’s All Parties Parliamentary Kashmir Group (APPKG) in October last year and the hearings of the European Parliament’s Sub-committee on human rights in February and September 2019 have also noted the dire situation in the occupied Kashmir.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ