Pakistan lauds EU Parliament members for calling out Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir

• Foreign Office welcomes European Parliament letter; says it signifies continued censure of Indian human rights violations in occupied Kashmir.
• "India will have to ultimately give in to global conscience, end its unabated human rights violations in parts of Jammu and Kashmir," says FO.
• EU should get honoured the pledge made to the Kashmiris; create an environment conducive to the implementation of the United Nations resolutions: letter
  

Pakistan on Saturday welcomed a letter on the human rights situation in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK) addressed by members of the European Parliament to the president and vice-president of the European Commission.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, responding to media queries, said the letter was yet another demonstration of the continuing global censure of the ongoing human rights violations and humanitarian crisis in the occupied region.

Despite India continuously peddling false propaganda in futile attempts to push the "sham narrative" of so-called "normalcy" in occupied Kashmir, the global censure and condemnation of Indian atrocities in the region continue, Chaudhri said.

The spokesperson said the condemnations have increased in the wake of the egregious violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in occupied Kashmir after India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019.

The spokesperson highlighted that the United Nations Security Council has discussed the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at least three times since 5 August 2019.

"The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has issued two reports in 2018 and 2019, making specific recommendations including the institution of an Independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate the gross and systematic human rights violations by India in the occupied territory," he said.

Global parliaments have debated the issue of Jammu and Kashmir; the international human rights and humanitarian organisations, as well as global media, have consistently raised the issue of human rights violations in occupied Kashmir, he said.

The spokesperson said India must realise that it cannot ignore the international community’s continuing calls to end its grave and systematic human rights violations of the Kashmiri people.

"India will have to ultimately give in to global conscience, end its unabated human rights violations in parts of Jammu and Kashmir under its illegal occupation and take steps for peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people."

The letter

Members of the European Parliament, who wrote the letter, include Fabio Massimo Castaldo, Dino Giarrusso, Javier Nart, Chiara Maria Gemma, Salima Yenbou, Carles Puigdemont I Casamajo, Antoni Comin I Oliveres , Clara Ponsati Obiols, Brando Benifei, Massimiliano Smeriglio, Manuela Ripa, Idoia Villanueva Ruiz, Rosa D’amato, Andrea Cozzolino, Doménec Ruiz Devesa, and Helmut Scholz.

“We, undersigned members of the European Parliament, are writing you to bring your attention to the alarming human rights and humanitarian situation in Jammu and Kashmir,” the members of European Parliament wrote.

The miseries of the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been amply documented in the International Human Rights Watch World Report 2021 as well as the reports of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2018 and 2019, they pointed out.

"A debilitating lockdown" suffered by occupied Kashmir since the revocation of its special status in 2019, and the restraints on the rights to movement, access to information, health care, education as well as free speech, were intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, they said.

“Journalists and human rights defenders have been increasingly targeted for raising their voice in support of the Kashmiri people and denounce their situation. Arbitrary detentions continue, public assembly is still prohibited under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (CrPC) and hundreds, including minors and several elected legislators of Jammu and Kashmir, remain under preventive detention,” they said.

The members of the European Parliament further stated that several legislations introduced by the Indian governments over the years, including the Special Powers Act (SPA), the Armed Forces Special Protection Act (AFSPA), and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), have been often misused against the Kashmiri population.

“In addition to being a humanitarian crisis, the long-standing dispute over Jammu and Kashmir in South Asia also poses a major threat to peace, stability, and security in the region, being a flashpoint between two nuclear-armed countries and we are worried that any miscalculation can lead to unwarranted consequences,” they stressed.

The members of the European Parliament further said the delicate security situation had further deteriorated as the local population was continuously protesting the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, and the controvert Indian Citizenship Amendment Act, causing unrest and strife within the valley, adding to the volatility and tensions between the militaries of India and Pakistan.

They said that the EU should use all its leverage and tools to get honoured the pledge made to the Kashmiris by the international community and create an environment conducive to the implementation of the United Nations resolutions.

“It is extremely important that the voices of Kashmiri people are heard, their aspirations are responded to and they are granted the opportunity to decide their own future,” they added.

The members called on the European Commission president and vice-president to convey their concerns at the violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in occupied Kashmir to the Indian government and to take urgent action to address the alarming human rights situation in the region.