INDIA REJECTS UN REPORT ON KASHMIR, CALLS IT ‘FALLACIOUS’
The United Nations on Thursday released its first-ever report on alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, as it demanded an international inquiry. India reacted sharply to the report, terming it “fallacious, tendentious and motivated”, and lodged a protest with the UN. It said the government was “deeply concerned that individual prejudices were being allowed to undermine the credibility of a UN institution”.
The United Nations (UN) on Thursday released the first-ever report on alleged human rights violation in Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and demanded an international probe into it, evoking a sharp reaction from India, which termed the document “fallacious and motivated”.
New Delhi also lodged a strong protest with the UN, saying the government is “deeply concerned that individual prejudices are being allowed to undermine the credibility of a UN institution.” “The report violates India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. Pakistan is in illegal and forcible occupation of a part of the Indian state through aggression,” the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said.
In its 49-page report, the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights focused on both Jammu and Kashmir (consisting of the Kashmir Valley, the Jammu and Ladakh regions) and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir (Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan).
The MEA took objected to the use of terms like ‘Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan’ by the UN for PoK and said, “The incorrect description of Indian territory in the report is mischievous, misleading and unacceptable. There are no entities such as ‘Azad Jammu and Kashmir’ and ‘Gilgit-Baltistan. We are deeply concerned that individual prejudices are being allowed to undermine the credibility of a UN institution,” the ministry said.
The UN also asked Pakistan to end its “misuse” of anti-terror legislation to persecute peaceful activists and quash dissent. “Impunity for human rights violations and lack of access to justice are key human rights challenges in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir,” the report said. It said special laws, which are in force in the state, such as the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990 (AFSPA) and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 (PSA), have created structures that obstruct the normal course of law, impede accountability and jeopardise the right to remedy for victims of human rights violations.
“Impunity for enforced or involuntary disappearances in Kashmir continues as there has been little movement towards credibly investigating complaints including into alleged sites of mass graves in the Kashmir Valley and Jammu region,” it said.
The report has given a detailed account of protests and incidents of alleged excesses by the security forces since 2016.
The UN body said that based on the findings in its report, a commission of inquiry should be established to conduct a comprehensive independent international investigation into the allegations mentioned. It also asked India to set up an “independent, impartial and credible investigations to probe all civilian killings which have occurred since July 2016 and incidents of excessive use of force by security forces including serious injuries caused by the use of the pellet-firing shotguns”.
The UN body asked Pakistan to fully respect international human rights law obligations in Pakistan-Administered Kashmir.
It also asked Islamabad to end the misuse of anti-terror legislation to persecute those engaging in peaceful political and civil activities and expressions of dissent, and amend the anti-terrorism act to bring it in line with international human rights standards. The External Affairs Ministry called the report a selective compilation of largely unverified information and that it is “overtly prejudiced” and seeks to build a false narrative.