Pakistan slams India for extra-judicial killing of two Kashmiris in Srinagar

Web Desk

May 18, 2021

A picture of the entrance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo: File

Foreign Office on Tuesday slammed India for the extra-judicial killing of two Kashmiris on the outskirts of Srinagar in Indian occupied Kashmir (IOK).

"Pakistan strongly condemns the extra-judicial killing of two more innocent Kashmiris in Khanmoh area in the outskirts of Srinagar by the Indian occupation forces in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir," said the FO in a statement.

Pakistan noted that the "impunity granted to Indian forces has resulted in the systematic targeting of Kashmiri youth through extra-judicial killings, torture in custody, enforced disappearances, and incarcerations".

It added that all this is given a legal cover under draconian laws such as Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Public Safety Act, and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

The FO reiterated that Islamabad has "consistently" called for an investigation by a United Nations Commission of Inquiry, as recommended by the OHCHR in its reports of 2018 and 2019.

It added that the commission should probe the "gross and systematic violations of human rights" being committed in the disputed valley.

"Pakistan reiterates its call for independent inquiry under international scrutiny to investigate the unabated extrajudicial killings of Kashmiris by Indian Occupation Forces and to bring the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to justice," read the statement.

A day earlier, Indian media citing police in the occupied territory said that two alleged terrorists were "killed" in an "encounter" on the outskirts of Srinagar.

According to the Indian publication Indian Express, the slain Kashmiris were identified as Mudassir Khanday and Waseem Bashir Pandit. They claimed that the two were allegedly part of the Al Badr militant outfit.