UNITED NATIONS, Jul 10 (APP):A UN human rights expert Friday criticized India for continuing its serious restrictions on Internet, access to information and on the peaceful protests in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, made that statement while presenting his report at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where the 47-member body is based.
India’s representative rejected Kaye’s references to the state of affairs in Kashmir, claiming the measures had been imposed “keeping in view law and order situation, national security and foreign support for terrorism.”
India annexed Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August 2019 in violation of UN resolutions and international law and placed the disputed region under a military lockdown, imprisoning all political leaders, abducting and torturing some 13,000 Kashmiri youth; using brutal force against peaceful protestors as also carrying out collective punishments and extra-judicial killings.
After India’s rejection, Kaye, the special rapporteur, again called on India to keep the internet open for the incarcerated Kashmiri people.
He reiterated his call for a country visit to Indian occupied Kashmir for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.
