Pakistan parliament unanimously passes resolution on Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Further needling India, Pakistan's parliament has unanimously passed a resolution, condemning the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and demanding the UN Human Rights Commission to send a fact finding mission to the Valley to investigate it.

The 34th session of the National Assembly (the parliament), which began last evening with Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in the chair, extended its support to the Kashmiris.

"The National Assembly of Pakistan strongly condemns the recent atrocities perpetrated on innocent Kashmiris by Indian security forces," said the resolution passed late last night.

It said the use of pellet guns is "deplorable and is against the canons of international humanitarian laws."

"This House denounces these reprehensible acts...It is confident that these blatant violations of international law cannot deter the valiant, oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir from continuing to press their demand for realisation of their right to self-determination, which is enshrined in numerous UN Security Council Resolutions," it added.

It reiterated Pakistan's continuing political, moral and diplomatic support for the struggle in Kashmir.

The resolution pressed the government to urge the international community, inter-governmental and inter- parliamentary organisations, international nongovernmental organisations and civil society and media to ask India to immediately stop alleged violations of the human rights.

It also demanded that the Human Rights Commission in Geneva should be requested to immediately send a fact finding mission to Kashmir to investigate alleged Human Rights violations by Indian security forces.