India, Pakistan to square off on J&K in Geneva today

PAK FOREIGN MINISTER WILL REPRESENT HIS COUNTRY IN THE UNHRC, WHILE INDIAN SIDE WILL BE LED BY A SECRETARY FROM FOREIGN MINISTRY

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan are expected to square off on the issue of Kashmir at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Tuesday, against the backdrop of international pressure on New Delhi to ease restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi left for Switzerland on Monday to represent his country at the 42nd session of the UNHRC. He tweeted that Pakistan will “speak definitively” at the session on alleged “atrocities in Kashmir”.

Qureshi will make a country statement at noon Geneva time that is expected to focus on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir following India’s decision on August 5 to revoke the state’s special status and reorganise it into two Union territories.

The Indian delegation will make its statement some hours later and will have the “right of reply”, people familiar with the developments said. The Indian side will be led by a secretary from the external affairs ministry and will include Ajay Bisaria, till recently the high commissioner in Islamabad.

India opted not to send a minister to Geneva as it didn’t want to give too much importance to Pakistan’s efforts to internationalise the Kashmir issue, the people said. Pakistan has sought to do so since August 5 when India’s Parliament passed resolutions and laws to bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories and scrapped provisions giving special status to the region. India also imposed restrictions on movement and communication in the region to ensure there is no violence.

In her opening address at the UNHRC session on Monday, UN high commissioner for human rights Michelle Bachelet said she had appealed to India to “ease the current lockdowns” in J&K, “ensure people’s access to basic services; and that all due process rights are respected for those who have been detained”.

She said her office was receiving reports on the human rights situation on both sides of the Line of Control and she was “deeply concerned about the impact of recent actions by the Government of India on the human rights of Kashmiris, including restrictions on internet communications and peaceful assembly.