ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday condemned the extra-judicial killing of five people in Pulwama and Budgam districts in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Indian troops on Sunday claimed to kill five fighters in stepped-up anti-insurgency operations, police said.
The fighters were killed in two separate overnight operations by troops south of Srinagar, Kashmir police chief Vijay Kumar told Reuters.
“We had launched two separate operations on the basis of inputs about the presence of militants in these areas last night. Five militants, including JeM commander, Zahid Wani, and a Pakistani national, Kafeel, were killed in these two operations,” Kumar claimed, without offering evidence.
Condemning the incident, the Foreign Office “also reiterate our call on the international community, including the United Nations, to hold India accountable for its gross and systematic human rights violations and crimes against humanity in [held region], without further delay”.
In their unabated reign of terror, the occupation forces had killed at least 23 people in so-called encounters and cordon-and-search operations in January alone, the statement observed.
Driven by the radical Hindutva ideology that provoked and condoned genocide of Muslims, the Indian forces were relentlessly targeting the Muslim population of Kashmir, especially the youth.
“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 Foreign Office added.
Indian troops were known to kill innocent people passing them off as alleged militants, in the hope of getting monetary rewards or gallantry medals, the statement observed.
The Foreign Office further said Pakistan saluted the resilience of the people of Kashmir who continued to stand firm in their just and peaceful struggle for their legitimate right to self-determination as pledged to them by the UN Security Council resolutions.
Last year, the disputed region witnessed a wave of civilian killings, with fighters seemingly targeting non-residents, including migrant workers, and members of the minority Hindu and Sikh communities in the Muslim-majority valley.
Indian forces in the heavily militarised region responded with a widespread crackdown. More than 189 fighters were killed last year, a police official said.
— With additional input from Reuters
