ISLAMABAD – India has been irked by what is believed as a diplomatic defeatat the hands of Pakistan in the UN Human Rights Council over OccupiedKashmir and called it a sponsored and fabricated report.
Pakistan on Wednesday welcomed the UN Human Rights Commission Reportlink>toestablish a Commission of Inquiry (COI) to investigate alleged human rightsviolations in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Foreign Office (FO) in Islamabad said that Pakistan’s PermanentRepresentative at the UN Office at Geneva Ambassador Farukh Amil made thestatement at the UN Human Rights Council.
He stressed that excessive use of force, indiscriminate killing ofcivilians and blindings by pellet guns in Jammu and Kashmir must beinvestigated, the FO said.
Referring to the UN human rights report, he stated that Pakistan had longsought the UN’s sustained focus on Jammu & Kashmir and the latest reportreaffirms Pakistan’s well known position on Jammu & Kashmir.
“The COI is consistent with Pakistan’s several calls to this effect since2016, even as India has continued to ignore legitimate demands for acredible probe mechanism,” Amil said.
He also endorsed the UN’s call for a final political solution of the Jammuand Kashmir dispute through meaningful dialogue in accordance with theaspirations of the Kashmiri people.
He said that the UN had a key role to play in the resolution of the Jammuand Kashmir dispute and within the ambit of peace and security, the UNSecurity Council remains seized of its numerous resolutions on the dispute.
The latest UN report is a reminder of this internationally recogniseddispute and the urgency of its settlement, both to protect human lives andpromote peace, the FO said.
The UN Human Rights Council is holding its 38th session in Geneva.