European Parliament Asks India to Stop Human Rights Violations in Kashmir
Pakistan’s Ambassador at the UN in New York Maleeha Lodhi met the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to discuss Kashmir issue.
By Rakesh Raman
Members of European Parliament, according to Pakistan Government, has urged India to stop human rights violations in Kashmir, which is a disputed territory between India and Pakistan.
“Members of European Parliament called on India to immediately put a halt to its atrocities in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) and carry out investigations into the incidents of grave human rights violations,” the Government of Pakistan stated today.
Reports suggest that the European Union’s Sub Committee on Human Rights hosted an official exchange of views on situation of human rights in “Occupied Kashmir” at the European Parliament in Brussels. It was discussed that the Kashmir issue was the longest unresolved issue on the agenda of United Nations (UN).
Members of European Parliament called on India to immediately put a halt to its atrocities in Indian Occupied Kashmir and carry out investigations into the incidents of grave human rights violations. pic.twitter.com/MIbrRULsqJ
— Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) February 20, 2019
The hostility between India and Pakistan has spiraled after last week’s terror attack on CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) men in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
While the Indian government has not explicitly blamed Pakistan for the attack because of the absence of evidence, some unruly politicians and irresponsible media people instantly claimed that Pakistan was behind the attack.
Pakistan has strongly refuted the allegations. Pakistan Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain termed the Indian allegation regarding Pulwama incident as totally “false and baseless.” He said Pakistan is promoting peace and tolerance in the region.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Ambassador at the UN in New York Maleeha Lodhi today met the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to brief him about latest developments and the situation in “occupied Jammu and Kashmir” and asked him to play a role in helping to deescalate tensions.
I met the UN SG Antonio Guterres today to brief him about latest developments and the situation in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and asked him to play a role in helping to deescalate tensions pic.twitter.com/9wIEZBXZds
— Maleeha Lodhi (@LodhiMaleeha) February 20, 2019
Last year, the UN Human Rights Office had released a report on Kashmir. It suggests that there is an urgent need to address past and ongoing human rights violations and deliver justice for all the people in Kashmir, who for seven decades have suffered a conflict that has claimed or ruined numerous lives.
Kashmir has always been a conflict area between India and Pakistan since 1947 when both these countries got freedom from the British rule. In order to stake their claims over Kashmir, India and Pakistan have fought two aggressive wars in 1965 and 1971, besides incessant skirmishes between the rival armies.
Now, it is a political compulsion for both the countries to blame each other without sufficient evidence for local violence because there is a large number of irresponsible voters in India and Pakistan who expect their leaders to issue reckless, explosive statements when attacks on innocent people take place.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications on different subjects.
Photo courtesy: Maleeha Lodhi / Twitter
