NEW DELHI – India gets a blow from the South Asia Human Rights Watch overKashmir atrocities.

Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), hashighlighted the human rights violations taking place in occupied Kashmir.

He has asked Indian government must work with Pakistan to find a solutionthat puts the interests of Kashmiris first.

The rights activist said it is about time leaders in both India andPakistan realised that Kashmiris are living in a conflict zone andsuffering human rights violations.

“They must understand and acknowledge this and ensure that human rights ofthese people are not violated anymore. It needs to happen right now … thisshould be about Kashmiris who are suffering.”

Ganguly regretted the fact that human rights issues are often ignored inPakistan-India peace and not given the importance it deserves. “Whenever westart talking about Kashmiris’ rights the topic turns to militancy whichleads to demands from one side and demands from the other and thewhataboutery of the two parties as they try and justify their actionsbecause of the actions of the other, which does not help,” she said.

Commenting on the current situation in the occupied valley, she said theIndian government has rejected reports by Amnesty International and OHCHR(Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights) recentlyissued on atrocities being committed by the Indian security forces.

“Once again we find out that Kashmiris are the ones having to pay the pricefor the political battle that goes between India and Pakistan,” she added,stressing that the focus should be diverted to protect the human rights ofthe Kashmiris.