British Parliament on Wednesday expressed concerns over human rights violations by armed forces in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IOK).
According to Dawn, as many as 28 members of the parliament wrote a joint letter to the Indian High Commission, asking for a response to reports of flagrant abuses of human rights in the occupied territory.
The letter questioned the killings of “innocent Kashmiris” at the hands of Indian forces who labelled the unarmed citizens as suspected terrorists before mowing them down. “Those who are killed are mostly normal citizens,” the letter says.
The lawmakers also expressed shock at the incarceration of prominent rights activist Khurram Pervez by Indian forces and sought an explanation for his detention. “Khurram Pervez is not a terrorist but a defender of human rights”.
Parvez is the programme coordinator for a widely respected rights group in the disputed territory, the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, and chairperson of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances.
