Pakistan assails India for extra-judicial killings, Muharram restrictions in IIOJK

FO says four more Kashmiris martyred in staged encounter in Shopian region of occupied territory

ISLAMABAD:

Islamabad has slammed New Delhi over extra-judicial killing of Kashmiris in “fake encounters” and imposition of restriction on religious gathering and processions in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

Tough question, but needs to be asked: Rath yatra in Odhisa despite 1 lakh cases, ban on Muharram procession in Kashmir when cases are around 30,000. Second, Are pellets only for Kashmiris? pic.twitter.com/4mhGoCMmDk

— Salman Nizami (@SalmanNizami_) August 29, 2020

On Friday, Indian occupation forces sealed off parts of IIOJK’s main city Srinagar to stop mourners from staging processions during the month of Muharram and detained at least 50 attendees.

“Pakistan strongly condemns extra-judicial killing of four more Kashmiris in staged encounter in Shopian region of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK),” the Foreign Office said in a statement on Saturday.

“Equally condemnable are the restrictions imposed on religious processions and gatherings during Muharram,” it added.

Nearly three hundred innocent Kashmiris, including women and children, have been martyred by the Indian occupation forces in fake encounters, so-called “cordon and search” operations, and other instances of use of brutal force including pellet guns during the last one year, the communique said.

“India’s inhuman methods to subjugate the Kashmiri people through killings, torture, forced disappearances and incarcerations have failed in the past and will not succeed in the future.”

The long communications blockade and Indian attempts to muzzle the media, including targeted campaigns against Kashmiri male and female journalists, are further illustration of how the brutalisation of Kashmiris continues to accentuate under the RSS-BJP regime, the FO said.

The perpetuation of India’s state-terrorism cannot break the will of the Kashmiris or quell their efforts to secure their inalienable right to self-determination as enshrined in the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

The official statement demanded the international community to hold India accountable for its serious crimes against the Kashmiri people. “India must be made to comply with its international legal obligations and respect fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people, including the foremost right to life.”

It is also the collective responsibility of the world community, including the United Nations, to work for peaceful and permanent resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant Security Council Resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people for durable peace and stability in South Asia, the statement said.

“Pakistan will continue to expose India for its illegal and unacceptable actions in IIOJK and extend its full support to the Kashmiris in their just struggle for the inalienable right to self-determination.”