British lawmakers agree to continue work for alleviation of suffering faced by Kashmiris
British parliamentarians on Wednesday "agreed to continue to work towards ensuring the alleviation of suffering faced by the Kashmiri people", a statement by the Pakistan High Commission in London said.
High Commissioner Mohammad Nafees Zakaria held a closed meeting in the House of Commons in London with a large number of UK parliamentarians facilitated by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir (APPKG).
The lawmakers acknowledged that the Kashmir issue is an internationally recognised dispute and awaits the implementation of the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.
They "noted with concern the tragic situation of human rights" as well as the blockade imposed by India which has led to a "severe humanitarian, political and security crisis in the occupied territory," read the handout.
In the briefing given by him, the high commissioner highlighted how India has been "perpetuating grave human rights violations in the occupied territory unabatedly and with impunity".
He underscored that the complete lockdown in India-occupied Kashmir for 31 days "with no communication with the outside world, and the reports of killings, abductions, illegal detentions, rape and use of pellet guns against the defenceless Kashmiris was a matter of deep concern".
Zakaria also stressed that since media access was virtually non existent in the region, "the actual scale of atrocities could be much more given the Indian track record of torture, killings in fake encounters, forced disappearances, and other inhuman treatment".
He decried such human rights violations taking place in the 21st century "by a so-called world's largest democracy".