Pakistan fully supports people of Kashmir's freedom movement, Mazari tells APHC delegation

ISLAMABAD: A Delegation of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) led by Convenor, Ghulam Muhammad Safi on Firday called on the Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari in Islamabad, ARY News reported.

According to a statement released from Ministry of Human Rights,  the APHC delegation discussed the prevailing human rights situation in India-Occupied Kashmir especially the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Report on Kashmir and how best they can proceed further on conflict resolution.

Matters related to the human rights violations in India-Occupied Kashmir and protracted rights of people of Kashmir also came under discussion.

Shireen Mazari Informed the APHC delegation that Pakistan is well aware of the continuing brutalities of Indian Occupation forces and violations of human rights in India-Occupied Kashmir, adding that Pakistan will move beyond rhetoric to finding a conflict resolution solution premised on plebiscite.

“Innocent people of Kashmir valley are denied to the fundamental right to self determination which is guaranteed by the International resolutions,” Mazari said.

She said people suffering in India-Occupied Kashmir who are under the Indian occupation for the last seven decades are striving for their right to self determination adding that international community should come forward to resolve the longstanding issue of Kashmir.

Shireen Mazari maintained that the Kashmir issue is the question of right to self-determination adding that International conventions guarantee the right of self-determination of Kashmiri people.

She said that human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir are crimes against humanity and the situation of human rights was very deploring in occupied Kashmir.

“India is committing serious violations of human rights in Occupied Kashmir. Pakistan fully supports the freedom movement of the people of Kashmir and will continue its support for the freedom fighters,” said the minister.

The APHC Delegation comprised of Sayyed Faiz Naqshbandi, Mehmood Ahmad Saghar, Abdul Hameed Lone, Raja Khadim Hussain and Ms Shamim Shawal

It is pertinent to note here that earlier in June this year, a United Nations Human Rights Commission report said that Indian security forces used excessive force that led to unlawful killings and a very high number of injuries in Kashmir.

Citing civil society estimates, the report said that up to 145 civilians were killed by the security forces between mid-July 2016 and the end of March 2018.

One of the most dangerous weapons used against protesters in 2016 – and which is still being employed by India security forces – was the pellet-firing shotgun.

According to official figures, 17 people were killed by shotgun pellets between July 2016 and August 2017, and 6,221 people were injured by the metal pellets between 2016 and March 2017. Civil society organizations believe that many of them have been partially or completely blinded.