Pakistan urges UN chief to appoint special envoy for Indian Kashmir

Kashmiri protesters throw stones and bricks at Indian paramilitary soldiers on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir on April 3, 2018. (AP)

• Pakistan demands end to New Delhi’s ‘shameful culture of impunity’
• Islamabad observes April 6 as Kashmir Solidarity Day

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has urged the UN secretary-general to appoint a special envoy for Indian-administered Kashmir who can record human rights violations in the disputed region, including the killing of civilians by India’s military.
“We urge the international community to take cognizance of the gross and systematic violations of fundamental human rights — including the most basic human right to life — that are taking place in Indian-occupied Kashmir,” Dr. Mohammed Faisal, spokesman for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, told Arab News on Tuesday.
“The international community should use its influence with India to bring an end to the shameful culture of impunity that has been fostered there for several decades.”
Pakistan on Monday condemned the killing of at least 20 Kashmiri civilians by Indian forces over the weekend.
More than 520 Kashmiris have been killed and at least 9,000 injured in the past two years by India’s military, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Mohammed Asif said on Monday.
He warned the international community that repeated cease-fire violations by Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC) could lead to a “major war” between the nuclear-armed countries.
Shamshad Ahmad, former Pakistani ambassador to India, said the issue of Kashmir has remained unresolved for the last 70 years due to New Delhi’s “intransigence.” The issue “can easily be resolved by acting on UN resolutions,” he told Arab News.
“The confrontational standoff between the two countries may continue, but there’s no chance of a full-fledged war due to their nuclear capability.” It is in India’s interest to resolve the Kashmir issue as per UN resolutions, Ahmad said.
To highlight Indian violations in Kashmir at international forums, Islamabad decided on Monday to send special envoys, including the president of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, to important world capitals.
Former Pakistani diplomat Aziz Ahmad Khan said it is a challenge for countries that champion human rights worldwide to force India to the negotiating table and end its violations in Kashmir.
“Pakistan has been doing its part by highlighting the issue at international forums, and this decades-old dispute between Islamabad and New Delhi must be resolved via diplomatic means,” he told Arab News.
Indian forces have blinded thousands of Kashmiris through pellet guns, and have killed tens of thousands over the years, but “it seems like the international community has become insensitive to these atrocities,” Khan said.
Tahir Malik, professor of international relations at a public-sector university, said: “India must be held accountable by the international community for trampling on human rights and violating international law in Kashmir. Only a peaceful resolution to the issue is a permanent solution.”
Pakistan has decided to observe April 6 as Kashmir Solidarity Day.