ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has strongly condemned the Indian occupation forces’ relentless killing spree resulting in the martyrdom of four more Kashmiri youths during this week in staged “cordon and search” operation in Shopian district of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

According to a statement of the Foreign Office, more than 576 innocent Kashmiris have so far been martyred by the Indian occupation forces since India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019.

“Pakistan reiterates its call for investigation of extra-judicial killings in IIOJK by the Commission of Inquiry as recommended by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in its Kashmir reports of 2018 and 2019,” it stated.

Through the statement, Pakistan also called upon the international community to play its due role for a just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Notably, it added that Kashmiri youth has been a specific target of the 900,000 strong Indian military force and thousands of Kashmiri youth are living in a perpetual environment of terror, harassment and intimidation.

It stated that the Indian forces continue to perpetrate egregious violations of human rights in the occupied territory with shameless impunity under draconian laws such as the Public Safety Act (PSA) and Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA).

It further state that the pattern of ongoing atrocities in the IIOJK, which has been intensified during the holy month of Ramazan, reflects India’s despicable policy of terrorizing the population in a bid to perpetuate its systemic persecution of the Kashmiris. The valiant Kashmiri youth is, however, resolutely committed to their just cause and no amount of brutalities can dampen their unbreakable resolve, it added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022