Islamabad (Web Desk): Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal on Wednesday said Pakistan is considering raising the issue in occupied Kashmir at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Kashmir, Dr Faisal said the United Nations Security Council called for a session on Kashmir in response to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s letter on August 13.
“India had issues with the Security Council meeting being called following its actions in Kashmir,” he said. “They [India] took the stance that this was their internal issue and tried to make sure that the session did not happen.”
The FO spokesperson told the members of the committee that nearly a million people are under house arrest in the valley and that there has been a curfew for the last 16 days.
“There are reports of 2,000 to 4,000 Kashmiris being picked up Indian occupying forces. India is afraid if they lift the curfew there will be a strong reaction,” Dr Faisal said.
“We are fearful that the situation is heading towards Pulwama 2,” he said.
The foreign office spokesperson added, Pakistan Army is ready and we are effectively responding. “We are planning to raise the issue at the Human Rights Council.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan has also decided to take the issue of human rights violation in occupied Kashmir to International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Speaking to a private news channel on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi confirmed the development.
He said that the decision was taken after considering all legal aspects. FM Qureshi added that the law ministry was working on the case and would soon share the details.
The decision comes after Pakistan's recent diplomatic victory at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which met for the first time in over five decades last week to discuss the critical situation in Indian occupied Kashmir.
During the meeting, UNSC members urged parties to the Kashmir dispute to refrain from taking any unilateral action, effectively rejecting India's stance that Kashmir was an internal issue and not an internationally recognised dispute.
