ISLAMABAD: Foreign Affairs Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry briefed the five permanent members of the UN Security Council in the Foreign Office on Tuesday against the killings and brutality of India’s armed forces in the disputed state of Jammu Kashmir.
The foreign secretary apprised the ambassadors of the permanent member states of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States) over the tense situation in Indian-held Jammu Kashmir and expressed Pakistan’s serious concern over the brutal killings and the violation of other fundamental human rights of civilians by the Indian forces.
The secretary informed the ambassadors that due to the excessive use of force against the civilians protesting the killing of Burhan Wani, more than 30 innocent people have lost their lives and more than 350 have been injured so far. He emphasised that India should conduct a fair and transparent inquiry against the individuals responsible for these killings.
Aizaz urged the international community and particularly the permanent members to take notice of the gravity of the situation in the disputed state and call on India to respect human rights of the Kashmiri people and implement UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu Kashmir.
He rejected Indian attempts to claim that the deteriorating human rights situation in the state was an ‘internal affair’ of India and emphasised that the disputed nature of Jammu Kashmir awaiting the implementation of the UN resolutions. He said that killings of innocent Kashmiri people could not be condoned under the pretext of terrorism.
He observed that the justified struggle of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination cannot be equated with terrorism. The secretary also emphasised that such inhumane and oppressive measures cannot deter the valiant Kashmiri people from their demand for the right to self-determination in accordance with the UN resolutions.
