ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Friday requested Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) — commonly known as “Doctors Without Borders” — to immediately provide medical assistance to thousands of people injured in India-held Kashmir due to state aggression by Indian forces.

The foreign affairs adviser made the formal request by writing a letter to the international president of MSF, highlighting the state of medical emergency in India-held Kashmir, said a statement issued by the foreign ministry.

It further notified MSF that the emergency situation in held Kashmir developed as a “result of the atrocious Indian brutalities against unarmed and defenseless civilians”.

Aziz particularly emphasised the urgent need of eye surgeons, as hundreds of people were suffering from severe eye injuries caused by the use of pellet guns on peaceful protesters.

India-held Kashmir's main hospitals are struggling to treat hundreds of patients wounded in clashes with Indian forces, and many injured people have lost their eyesight from shotgun injuries.

Dr. Kaisar Ahmad, Principal at Government Medical College Srinagar, said that hundreds of people had been treated for pellet injuries since July 9 when violence broke out in Kashmir during protests sparked by the death of a separatist militant.

Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh had asked security forces to refrain from using pellet guns against protesters.