The Upper House of Pakistan Parliament was informed yesterday that Pakistan had decided to approach the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to investigate human rights violations and the recent wave of violence against civilians in Kashmir by forces.
“We have requested the UNHRC to send a fact-finding mission to India-held Kashmir and probe the recent killings of innocent Kashmiris,” Adviser to Pak Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz told the Senate while giving a policy statement over an adjournment motion moved by opposition and ruling senators.
The adviser urged the international community to take notice of the situation in Kashmir and extend its support to the Kashmiri people.
He said that shelling innocent Kashmiri protesters was not acceptable under any circumstances, as its “amounts to violation of fundamental human rights”. The largest street protests in recent years erupted in Kashmir after troops killed Commander Burhan Wani on July 8. During the recent protests, clashes between the forces and protesters left 49 people, mostly teenagers and young men, dead and more than 3000 others critically wounded.
