Photo: VOA/Wikimedia
As Kashmiris protest Indian repression in the disputed territory, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced serious concern over killings of Kashmiri demonstrators, saying the bloodshed “needs to be investigated.
“Civilians have to be protected wherever they are, whether it is in Gaza, whether it is in Jammu and Kashmir, whether it is in Yemen; it is a basic principle,” UN chief’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said.
Dujarric was responding to a reporter’s question on the massacres in Indian-administered part of Kashmir at the UN Headquarters in New York.
“Any loss of civilians needs to be investigated wherever they occur,” he added
Media accounts say at least twenty people have been killed since the weekend, when Indian security forces launched a violent crackdown, prompting protests.
Three soldiers and 11 militants have been reportedly killed during fierce clashes on Sunday during which Indian forces reportedly also used pellet guns to quell anti-India demonstrations.
In his response to reporters’ questions, Spokesman Dujarric said, “The Secretaray-General is very concerned about the situation we see in Jammu and Kashmir.“
“He reminds that member states are responsible under international humanitarian law to protect civilians,” he added.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his call on member states to find ways to address disputes in a peaceful manner.”
According to reports, police intervened in the Polo View area on Residency Road as protesters in Srinagar tried to move towards the headquarters of UN Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) in Sonwar area, according to reports.
Meanwhile, Security Council President Gustavo Meza-Cuadra said that there were so far no plans for the Council to take up the situation in Kashmir.
Meza-Cuadra, who is the Permanent Representative of Peru, which holds the rotating presidency for April, said in answer to a question:
“This is an important topic. But at this time there is no consensus in order to address it. So far, for the time being, we don’t have anything planned on the (topic in the) program.”
In Pakistan, the government has declared April 6 as a day of solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the massacres. Pakistan’s prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi condemned New Delhi for the “Indian brutality” in the territory.
Pakistan and India administer parts of the Himalayan Kashmir region, which is one of the oldest UN disputes, and has triggered several conflicts and wars between now nuclear-armed Pakistan and India.
