ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday strongly condemned extra-judicial killing of five more Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K), reiterating its call for international accountability of Indian occupation forces.
In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said in their unabated reign of terror, the Indian occupation forces have martyred at least 23 Kashmiris in fake encounters and so-called cordon-and-search operations in the month of January alone.
“Driven by the far-right extremist Hindutva ideology that provokes and condones genocide of Muslims, the Indian forces are relentlessly targeting the Kashmiris, especially youth, in the occupied territory,” he added.
He continued, “We also reiterate our call to the international community, including the United Nations, to hold India accountable for its gross and systematic human rights violations and crimes against humanity in IIOJK, without further delay.”
“The international community must act to stop this wanton oppression and persecution of the besieged Kashmiris under illegal occupation. We also reject and condemn the Indian officials’ lies insinuating the killing of an alleged “Pakistani” resistance fighter,” the spokesperson added.
He maintained that the Indian occupation forces were known to kill innocent Kashmiris, claiming that they were “alleged militants”, in efforts of getting monetary rewards or ‘gallantry’ medals.
The FO spokesperson further said that Pakistan saluted the resilience of the Kashmiri people who continued to stand firm in their “just and peaceful struggle” for their legitimate right to self-determination as pledged to them by relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
According to media reports, Indian troops martyred four young people during a cordon and search operation in the Naira area of Pulwama district, and one youth was martyred during an operation in the Chrar-i-Sharief area of Budgam.
