Pakistan strongly condemns killing of five Kashmiris in IIOJK

Islamabad: Pakistan on Sunday strongly condemned the reported extra-judicial killing of five Kashmiris in Pulwama and Budgam in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), reiterating its call for the international accountability of Indian forces.

“We also reiterate our call on the international community, including the United Nations, to hold India accountable for its gross and systematic human rights violations and crimes against humanity in IIOJK, without further delay,” Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said.

The spokesperson said in their unabated reign of terror, the Indian occupation forces had martyred at least 23 Kashmiris in fake “encounters” and so-called cordon-and-search operations in the month of January alone.

Driven by the far-right extremist ‘Hindutva’ ideology that provoked and condoned genocide of Muslims, the Indian forces were relentlessly targeting the Kashmiris, especially youth, in the occupied territory.

“The international community must act to stop this wanton oppression and persecution of the besieged Kashmiris under illegal occupation. We also reject and condemn the Indian officials’ lies insinuating the killing of an alleged “Pakistani” resistance fighter,” it was added.

The Indian occupation forces were known to kill innocent Kashmiris passing them off as “alleged militants”, in the hope of getting monetary rewards or ‘gallantry’ medals.

The spokesperson further said Pakistan saluted the resilience of the Kashmiri people who continued to stand firm in their just and peaceful struggle for their legitimate right to self-determination as pledged to them by the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

According to media reports, the Indian troops martyred four youth during cordon and search operation in Naira area of Pulwama district, one youth was martyred during operation in Chrar-i-Sharief area of Budgam.

The Indian occupational forces were involved in extrajudicial killings of innocent Kashmiris in IIOJK with impunity.

The Indian forces had intensified arbitrary detentions, night raids, coercion, harassment and humiliation of Kashmiris, and the extra-judicial killings in staged encounters and cordon-and-search operations continue unabated.

Burial of the last remains of martyrs at unknown locations since April 2020, without the consent and presence of their families, was yet another abhorrent manifestation of the callous behaviour and moral bankruptcy of the BJP-RSS combine.