NEW DELHI: India has asked the UN human rights body when it would issue a report seeking answers from Pakistan on steps taken to address concerns over the situation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including investigations into killings and restrictions on internet access.First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of India, Anuj Swarup, delivered the statement during an interactive dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee on Wednesday.“When can we expect OHCHR to issue a report on the steps taken by the Government of Pakistan on this? Pakistan would do well to look inwards and reflect on how such rights are not being enjoyed in its large part, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and for that matter, in Rawalakot, which is under its illegal occupation,” Swarup said.Swarup referred to detailed statements by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the High Commissioner on the situation in PoK. The statements called for prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into killings allegedly carried out by armed and security forces.They also urged authorities to ensure that detained leaders of the Joint Awami Action Committee had access to legal representation and their families, and were afforded due process and a fair trial. The statements further called for lifting internet restrictions across Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and holding meaningful political dialogue to address the grievances of the local population.The High Commissioner had also noted that dozens of people, mostly protesters but also law enforcement personnel, had reportedly been killed since June, ahead of the July 27 Legislative Assembly elections. Swarup said the OHCHR had adopted an approach of “extreme selectivity” in addressing such incidents.“Violent responses to protests in our neighbourhood as well as in the west have gone uncommented. Needless to say, such double standards contribute to loss of trust in multilateralism and the work of OHCHR,” he said.Swarup said India’s freedom movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi, championed non-violence and equality, values that also shaped the Constitution, which guarantees fundamental rights to every citizen.“Indian citizens exercise rights subject to maintenance of public order and safety. Our law enforcement authorities act strictly in accordance with the law, and our courts remain available for redressal of any grievance,” he said.Swarup said India, as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, had contributed constructively to discussions on contemporary issues and would continue to engage with the High Commissioner and OHCHR in a “spirit of trust and partnership without selectivity and double standards”.He also stressed that the Indian Constitution guarantees people in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh the same fundamental rights as citizens in other parts of the country, adding that both regions are integral and inalienable parts of India.India’s remarks came days after New Delhi described comments by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on protests in the national capital as “unwarranted” and “unacceptable interference” in the country’s internal affairs.Last week, the UN Human Rights Office expressed concern over “reports of mass detentions of demonstrators, protest leaders, members of civil society organisations, lawyers and journalists, before and during today’s large-scale demonstrations in Delhi.”
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In a statement, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said, “India is the world’s largest democracy, where the right to peaceful assembly is guaranteed by our Constitution and safeguarded by robust institutions, an independent judiciary and a free media.”“As in every democracy, Indian citizens exercise this right subject to the maintenance of public order and safety. Our law enforcement authorities act strictly in accordance with the law, and our courts remain available to all for the redressal of any grievances,” the ministry said.The MEA also accused the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of selectivity in its public statements, alleging that it had remained silent on violent responses to protests in neighbouring countries and law enforcement actions closer to its own headquarters.
