'Toxic Hindutva ideology' leading to innocent Kashmiris' extra-judicial killings: Pakistan

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Indian soldiers leave a gun battle site after a suspected militant commander was killed in a gun battle between Indian security forces and suspected militants, at Rangreth on the outskirts of Srinagar, November 1, 2020. — Reuters/Files

Pakistan strongly condemned the extra-judicial killings of four more Kashmiris in a fake encounter by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir, saying that "toxic Hindutva ideology" was the main reason such atrocities were being committed. 

The Foreign Office, in a statement on Thursday, said that in the last one year alone, Indian forces had martyred more than 300 innocent Kashmiris, including women and children, in fake encounters and so-called “cordon and search” operations.

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"[This is] in complete violation of the fundamental precepts of international humanitarian law," he said.

The statement said that the toxic "Hindutva ideology, preached and practiced by the RSS-BJP mix", has resulted in the systematic targeting of Kashmiri youth through extra-judicial killings, torture in custody, enforced disappearances, and incarcerations.

The Foreign Office said that all of this was being done under the cover of draconian laws such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Public Safety Act (PSA), and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Pakistan called for an immediate and transparent judicial inquiry, under international scrutiny, into the extra-judicial killings of innocent Kashmiris. 

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It also urged the international community to take immediate cognizance of the rampant state terrorism being perpetrated in IIOJK and hold India accountable for its serious crimes against humanity.