Pakistan demands world's attention to sexual violence by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir

Pakistan drew the world’s attention to the plight of Kashmiri women — who have been frequent targets of sexual violence by Indian occupation forces — on the International day of 'Elimination of Sexual Violence in conflict' observed worldwide on Friday.

According to a statement from the Foreign Office: "In the past three decades, more than 11,000 women have been victims of rape or gang-rape at the hands of Indian occupation forces in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. We reaffirm our complete solidarity with these Kashmiri women and their families."

The statement highlighted that women in occupied Kashmir have "frequently been targets of violence" and aggression as a means to punishing their families and communities for standing up against illegal and forcible Indian occupation.

"Abduction and molestation of young women during so-called cordon-and-search operations has been used as a punitive tool by Indian occupation forces to punish entire communities," the statement added.

Separately, Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari called out the Indian government for its inhumane policies and brutal clampdown in occupied Kashmir.

Taking to Twitter, the federal minister censured the occupant Indian state that has "used rape as a weapon of war" in occupied Kashmir.

She said one may recall the mass rape by Indian occupation forces in the villages of Kunan and Poshpora on February 23, 1991, a crime which is "internationally documented.

She deplored that Modi's Hindutva Supremacist government has carried on with this state-sponsored crime in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The minister said that it is condemnable when states indulge in such crimes "as as a matter of policy".

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Furthermore, a top twitter trend #SexualViolenceInIOK highlighted the plight of the Kashmiris, with users demanding an end to the continued violence in the region.

"On the International Day of Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, the world needs to heed attention towards the constant plight of Kashmiri women," a Twitter user, Shahid Bhatti wrote.

"They're facing the same torture at the hands of Indian Army," he added.

Another user, Asim Khan, said that the Kashmir matter had become a humanitarian matter now and demanded that the UN intervene.

"The world can't turn blind eye to the ground realities of IOK," he said.

Similarly, a user said that the Modi-led Indian administration was following in the footsteps of Adolf Hitler.

"RSS hindutva terrorism ideology and mindset of a racist n fascist regime in endia [sic], now showing the real face of endia to the whole world. Following the footsteps of Hitler's Nazism threatens to the minorities in India..!!," he wrote.

According to United Nations official website, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2015 proclaimed June 19 of each year as the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.

The initiative was taken to raise awareness of the need to put an end to conflict-related sexual violence, to honour the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world and to pay tribute to all those who have courageously devoted their lives to and lost their lives in standing up for the eradication of these crimes.