UNITED NATIONS
\nPakistan Thursday urged the UN to ensure that women human rights defenders in Indian occupied Kashmir, whose voices are being systematically silenced by over 900,000 troops, can continue their legitimate work to promote and protect human rights in the disputed territory.
\n\u201cWomen human rights defenders are faced with enormous challenges in situations of foreign occupation, such as in Indian Occupied Kashmir,\u201d Pakistani delegate Hadeeqa Qureshi told the UN General Assembly\u2019s Third Committee, which deals with social, humanitarian and cultural issues.
\n\u201cWe must respect, support, honour and acknowledge their invaluable contributions in conflict situations, including situations of foreign occupation,\u201d she said in the course of an interactive dialogue with UN\u2019s Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor.
\nMs. Qureshi, a third secretary in the Pakistan Mission to the UN, said women human rights defenders were suffering at the hands of Indian Occupation Forces sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearances, torture and inhuman treatment, unlawful detentions, intimidations, stigmatization, smear campaigns, cyber-bullying, harassment and threats to their families.
\n\u201cThrough the world\u2019s longest internet shutdowns and curb on media and social media, their voices are being systematically silenced.,\u201d the Pakistani delegate said.
\n\u201cThey are punished under draconian laws for their legitimate human rights work and their activities are banned or subjected to surveillance.\u201d
\nIndian delegate Kajal Bhat reacted to the sharp words from her Pakistani counterpart, claiming that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were an \u201cintegral and inalienable territory of India and this includes J&K currently under the illegal occupation of Pakistan.\u201d
\nExercising her right of reply, Ms. Qureshi debunked the Indian delegate\u2019s claim. \u201cJammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized territory and is not at all an integral part of India, nor is it India\u2019s domestic matter,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cRepeating a wrong position (by India) would not make it acceptable at any point or at any forum.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS Pakistan Thursday urged the UN to ensure that women human rights defenders in Indian occupied Kashmir, whose voices are being systematically silenced by over 900,000 troops, can continue their legitimate work to promote and protect human rights in the disputed territory. \u201cWomen human rights defenders are faced with enormous challenges in situations of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361542,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-361520","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n