The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recently published its first ever report on Jammu and Kashmir including PoK.
This report has opened up controversies over the territory dispute between India and Pakistan.
What prompted this report?
This report has been in production since 2016, after a new wave of violence hit the Kashmir Valley.
About 51 protesters and civilians were killed in the months that followed, while more than 9,000 were injured by pellets and bullets.
Consequently, the OHCRC asked India and Pakistan to allow its teams’ access to the State, a request that was refused.
What are the controversies in the report?
The report has criticised India on how it handled the protests and extra judicial killings, using hard tactics.
The report has also used less harsh terms such as armed group and leader of armed group, instead of militant group and terrorist as regarded by the Indian Security Forces.
The report has also recommended removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act for its alleged human rights violations.
How India has reacted to the report?
India has officially announced that the OHCHR report undermines the UN-led consensus on zero tolerance to terrorism.
The report violates India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as terms such as “Azad Jammu and Kashmir” and “Gilgit Baltistan” were used to describe the part of the State under Pakistani control.
Also, India has criticised the report on the indirect and remote basis through which information was collected in the region.
