Altaf Hamid Rao;
MIRPUR (AJK): The members of the Kashmiri delegation Sardar Amjad Yousaf, Syeed Faiz Naqashbandi, Hassan Banna and Advocate Parvez Ahmad Shah met the United Nations high Commissioner for human rights Mr.Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein 38th session of United Nations Human Rights Council at Geneva late Monday, says a message reaching and released to the media here on Tuesday.
The delegation thanked High Commissioner for his first ever report on the human rights situation on Jammu and Kashmir in which he asked the respective govts to respect right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir protected under International law.the report discussed the human rights violations in indian Occupied Kashmir including rape, murder, enforced disappearances , repealing of draconian laws and arrest and detention of political prisoners.
The delegation also thanked him for his request to the Human Rights Council for the formulation of Commission of Inquiries to further investigate human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.
The delegation appreciated him for his remarks about the murder of renowned Journalist Dr.Shujjat Bukhari during his opening statement in the United Nations Human Rights Council.
In reply, the High Commissioner said that Dr.Shujjat Bukhari was an amazing person of high intellect and pen and we all are saddened by his death, the report said.
Meanwhile UN High Commissioner for Human rights said in a statement in UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday “I have sought to engage substantively with both India and Pakistan over the past two years regarding the situation in Kashmir, on both sides of the Line of Control”, another message reaching and released to the media here on Tuesday said.
He continued as saying “Refusals by both India and Pakistan to enable unconditional access have led us to conduct remote monitoring, with a first report issued last week. I encourage the Council to consider establishing a Commission of Inquiry for a more comprehensive investigation of the human rights situation in Kashmir, and reiterate my calls for access. I am tremendously saddened by the assassination last week of Shujaat Bukhari, a courageous human rights defender actively working for peace, including through his participation in the Track Two diplomacy seeking to help both India and Pakistan put an end to the violence”, he concluded, according to the message.
