In a terse response to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for his comments with regard to situation in Jammu & Kashmir, India has said there cannot be any comparison between J&K and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). India further underlined the cross border terrorism emanating from Pakistan and said that terrorism is the grossest violation of human rights and any impartial observer must also acknowledge this aspect. India said that the high number of casualties sustained by Indian security forces is a reflection of the tremendous restraint they have displayed in difficult circumstances in J&K.
Indian reaction came on Tuesday after UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said at the start of the 33rd session of the Human Rights Council that a team from the Geneva-based Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) should visit both PoK and J&K in the wake of large-scale violence.
“We had previously received reports, and still continue to do so, claiming the Indian authorities had used force excessively against the civilian population under its administration. We furthermore received conflicting narratives from the two sides as to the cause for the confrontations and the reported large numbers of people killed and wounded. I believe an independent, impartial and international mission is now needed crucially and that it should be given free and complete access to establish an objective assessment of the claims made by the two sides. I received last Friday a letter from the Government of Pakistan formally inviting an OHCHR team to the Pakistani side of the line of control, but in tandem with a mission to the Indian side. I have yet to receive a formal letter from the Government of India. I therefore request here and publicly, from the two Governments, access that is unconditional to both sides of the line of control,” Commissioner Hussein said on Tuesday.
However, while underlining that Commissioner Hussein has received conflicting narratives on the cause for the confrontations in J&K, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that the present situation in J&K arose from the death of a self-acknowledged commander of the terrorist organisation, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, who was wanted for several terrorist acts and it was further aggravated by sustained cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. “Terrorism is the grossest violation of human rights and should be so acknowledged by any impartial and objective observer. The high number of casualties sustained by Indian security forces is a reflection of the tremendous restraint they have displayed in difficult circumstances,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“As regards the suggestion for a visit of a mission to both sides of the line of Control, we would underline that there is no comparison between the situation in the Indian State of Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The former has a democratically elected Government, while the latter has seen a Pakistani diplomat arbitrarily appointed as its head. The Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir is part of a pluralistic and secular democracy, where freedoms are guaranteed by an independent judiciary, an active media and a vibrant civil society. In contrast, PoK is administered by a ‘deep state’ and has become a hub for the global export of terror,” the statement added.
The spokesperson said that the issue of an external mission was considered by the All-Party Conference on 12 August 2016 that met to discuss the situation in J&K and it was unanimously felt that Indian democracy has all that is required to address legitimate grievances. Accordingly, an all-party delegation visited Srinagar. “Despite cross-border terrorist infiltration that saw an encounter only yesterday, Government remains fully engaged in normalising the situation as soon as possible. We hope that the connection between terrorism and violation of human rights would be recognized and deliberated upon in Geneva,” Swarup added.