UPDATES WITH NEW DEATH TOLL, CONDEMNATION OF PAKISTAN'S FOREIGN AFFAIRS ADVISOR
By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan Sunday condemned the killing of eight youths who were protesting by-elections in Jammu and Kashmir, urging the international community to act to stop crime against humanity in the disputed valley by Indian forces.
“We call upon the international community to urge India to put an immediate end to the ongoing bloodshed of innocent Kashmiris and behave as a responsible member of the international community by honoring its commitments to hold a transparent, free and fair plebiscite under the auspices of the UN in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions to ascertain the wishes of the Kashmiri people,” Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs advisor Sartaj Aziz, who effectively serves as foreign minister, said in a statement.
The abysmally low voter turnout of below 6%, the lowest in 30 years, is a tangible indication that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have categorically rejected the “sham elections”, which cannot be an alternative to the right to self determination promised to them under numerous UNSC resolutions, Aziz stated.
“India continues to deny fundamental human rights to the people of IoK [Indian-occupied Kashmir], with scant respect for life or person. The continuing Indian brutalities and unprecedented violence by Indian occupation forces in IoK since July 2016 are crimes against humanity. Indian barbarities are a cause of deep anguish and pain for the Kashmiris and a slur on respect for human rights globally,” he maintained.
The condemnation follows the death of eight Kashmiri youths, including a 12-grade student, and injuries to over a dozen others Sunday after police fired at anti-elections protesters during a by-election in Srinagar, the capital of Indian-held part of the disputed Himalayan valley.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), a conglomerate of pro-freedom political groups, has already announced a boycott of the vote.
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full.
The two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.
Since 1989, Kashmiri resistance groups in Indian-held Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.
More than 70,000 Kashmiris have been killed so far in the violence, most of them by Indian forces. India maintains over half a million soldiers in the region.