India has worked assiduously in global forums, including at the United Nations, to urge the isolation of Pakistan for allegedly generating terrorism, and has succeeded to some level despite China backing Pakistan for strategic reasons. But the recently released first report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Kashmir took India by surprise.
The June 14 report covering both sides of the India-Pakistan Line of Control (LoC) focuses mainly on serious violations in Jammu and Kashmir between July 2016 and April this year, alleging that some 145 civilians were killed by security forces and up to 20 civilians killed by armed groups. But Pakistan-based terrorist organizations such as Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Hizbul Mujahideem were mischievously referred to as “civilians” and “armed groups.”
It also refers to Pakistan-administered Kashmir, or what India terms as “Pakistan Occupied Kashmir” (PoK), as “Azad Kashmir” despite a 1949 UN resolution on Kashmir acknowledging accession of the entire state of Jammu Kashmir to India, and asking Pakistan to withdraw its forces from PoK before its demand for plebiscite could be acted upon.
The issue of holding a plebiscite on Kashmir’s future was killed by Pakistan, since it did not abide by the UN directive to withdraw its forces from the portion of Kashmir it administers and had drastically altered the demography of the region by bringing in large numbers of settlers from the plains. Even the proportion of Shiites in the Gilgit-Baltistan area has been brought down from 70% to 50% in recent years.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein has denounced the lack of prosecutions of Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir and the failure to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act as the cause for the critical report. Yet India has an active National Human Rights Commission, where any violation of human rights is investigated and prosecuted. Zeid called for an inquiry by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which opened a three-week session in Geneva on June 18, and the investigation of “mass graves.”
India on June 14 rejected the OHCHR report, terming it “fallacious, tendentious and motivated,” questioning the intent in bringing out a selective compilation of largely unverified information to build a false narrative, violating India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It also slammed the report for terming UN-proscribed terrorist entities as “armed groups” and terrorists as “leaders,” and the undermining of UN-led consensus on zero tolerance to terrorism.
The galling part is that references in the report to Pakistan and the parts of Kashmir that it administers are almost perfunctory. No figures are mentioned as in the case of India. There is also no mention of Balochistan, where there are reports of systemic persecution of the local population. There is no mention of Pakistan’s support to terror groups, recognized by the UN and several countries for more than a decade. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) periodically mentions Pakistan-based terrorist groups undertaking attacks in Afghanistan.
It stands to reason that a UN report on Kashmir should have named Pakistan-based terrorist groups attacking targets in Jammu and Kashmir. But the report doesn’t even mention extrajudicial killings and unconstitutional Pakistani military courts operating in Gilgit-Baltistan. The OHCHR report possibly also aimed at deflecting attention from Pakistan being “gray-listed” by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
On July 17, the UNHRC dismissed India’s criticism of the June report, also denying that contents of the report were influenced by Zafar Bangash, a Canada-based imam of Pakistani descent. But Bangash has admitted that he was in constant touch with Zeid, who was behind the report. There are credible reports that he had lobbied the OHCHR.
It is significant to note that while India had slammed the OHCHR report released on June 14, the UNHRC dismissed India’s criticism more than a month later. The Council issued its denials after the exposé by Bangash. Obviously the UNHRC is now trying to save its credibility against charges of biased reporting and protecting Pakistan while vilifying India.
The report goes against the basic facts of history, and the UN’s historical position that has recognized the instrument of accession. The core problem in the Kashmir conflict is Pakistan’s refusal to accept a fact of history. By ignoring Pakistan’s role in both parts of Kashmir, the UNHRC and its commissioner have harmed their credibility irreparably.
The Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir is as illegal as Pakistan’s but the thing is that to solve the Kashmir we have to accept it as a disputed territory and invite the UN to hold a plebiscite in the territory after demilitarisation by both the states! If India wants only Pakistan to demilitarise Kashmir, according to the UN resolutions then she should know that the Kashmiris will never allow the Indian army to enter their land because of what they’re doing in Indian administered Kashmir! Kashmir was always thought of being a part of Pakistan, even Patel himself offered it to Pakistan but things changed after the junagadh issue and the killing of muslims in Kashmir in October 1947, because of which the maharajah signed a provisional agreement with India which had to be followed by a plebiscite, but it hasn’t been held till today! So please don’t blame Pakistan because of your own greed and your own fault! Lastly, India should also accept the fact that hari singh’s so-called instrument of accession was a provisional agreement between him and india, and it was signed because the mahraja wanted military help to crush the rebellion and defeat the Pakhtuns. This whole situation was acknowledged by the United Nations and their second UN resolutions of Kashmir allowed Pakistan to maintain 3000 to 6000 troops and India to maintain 12000 to 18000 troops in Kashmir, which had to be followed by a UN supervised plebiscite. I guess the tri-colour flag is quite selective in remembering certain things… India herself distorts history, why blame others? Kashmir only belongs to the Kashmiris…
A biased and rubish article by a radicalist Hindu, distorting the historical facts about Kashmir, which is an integral part of Pakistan as per the partition formula of the British rule, which clearly states that the Muslim majority areas will be annexed to Pakistan and Hindu majority areas will be annexed to India.
Kashmir issue is the English vexing finger up Indian behind for ever, a punishment for asking for freedom.
Departing Raj could have solved Kashmir but intentionally chose not to. Divide and Rule, then Divide and Leave. English specialty par excellence. They divided India (Ireland, ME) to perpetuate their influence. Dimwit Indians and Pakistanis do not know that they have been had.
Kashmir will always keep India pre-occupied with security, and poor. Those with internal conflict only think of survival, not of growth.
At least Pakistan via a civil war is solving its internal problems and building bridges with China and the rest, but Modi divides India more and more along caste, religion, language, race, region … to the delight of the English.
Kashmir is neither for India nor Pakistan, but Kashmiris. India rightly fears that an Independent Kashmir will be in China’s influence as was under the old Silk Road. Unless China can think of a win-win-win for India, Pakistan, the Kashmir cauldron will keep on boiling – a lose-lose for the 2.
But China will a winner no matter what. Ethnically, Kashmir does not belong to South Asia. Gilgitis, Baltistanis, Ladakhis are all Sinic race. Even religiously, large number of them have nothing in common with Pakistan or India. Gilgitis, Baltistanis (like Hazaras) are Shia whom Sunnis consider not Muslims. Ladakhis are Buddhist, not Hindu.
India and Pakistan, make Kashmir free, and invest the military savings into health and education and prosper.
after many kiilings and genocide of kashmiris , the UN did write something against Indian operations in Indian Occupied Kashmir. Facts are that accession was false and India has continued to perpetuate violence against defenceless people of Kashmir
Indian writers and think tanks do write long articles to high light Indian point of view and blam Pakistan. But they should not forget that Kashmiries have not accepted Kashmir as Integral Part of India. Indian betrayed Shaikh Abdullah vis-a-vis Kashmiries. Indian employed all tactics of oppressing Kashmiries in last 70 years but even today Kashmiries are in streets and saying Go India Go.
Indian writers and think tanks do write long articles to high light Indian point of view and blam Pakistan. But they should not forget that Kashmiries have not accepted Kashmir as Integral Part of India. Indian betrayed Shaikh Abdullah vis-a-vis Kashmiries. Indian employed all tactics of oppressing Kashmiries in last 70 years but even today Kashmiries are in streets and saying Go India Go.