UN report on Kashmir relied on unverified sources'

Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations (UN) Tanmaya Lal hit out at the recent report on Kashmir prepared by the UN Human Rights Office, saying it relied on unverified sources of information.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting here, Ambassador Lal said the "document reflected the clear bias of an official", who was acting without any mandate whatsoever.

Lambasting Pakistan for harbouring terrorists in their country, he added, "Such deliberate self-serving attempts by Pakistan seek to obfuscate the reality of their own use of terror organisations to undermine state sovereignty. A document that was not even found fit to be considered by the membership of the forum where it was submitted."

"They (Pakistan) also divert our discussions away from the issues at hand. Such attempts have not succeeded in the past in any forum and will not do so now," Ambassador Lal continued.

Last month, a 49-page report prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was released, calling for a probe into the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir by both India and Pakistan.

According to the UN report, shortly after protests broke out post the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander, Burhan Wani, in July 2016, the High Commissioner of Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein met officials from both Pakistan and India, who presented two different versions of the situation.

Following this, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) called it "misleading and mischievous."

"The report violates India's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. Pakistan is in the illegal and forcible occupation of a part of the Indian state through aggression. We have repeatedly called upon Pakistan to vacate the occupied territories. The incorrect description of the Indian Territory in the report is mischievous, misleading and unacceptable. There are no entities such as 'Azad Jammu and Kashmir' and 'Gilgit-Baltistan'," the MEA said in a statement.

The MEA further stated "it is disturbing that those behind this report have chosen to describe internationally designated and UN-proscribed terrorist entities as "armed groups" and terrorists as "leaders". This undermines the UN-led consensus on zero tolerance to terrorism.