KARACHI: Amnesty International on Friday reiterated its call to the Indian government to act in accordance with international human rights law and standards towards people living in held Kashmir, including in relation to arrests and detentions of political opponents, and the rights to liberty and freedom of movement.

In a statement, Amnesty International secretary general Kumi Naidoo said that for the first time in decades the United Nations Security Council had taken up the issue of Kashmir.

“Members of the council need to remember that their mandate is to protect international peace and security — and they should seek to resolve the situation in a way that puts the human rights of the people in this troubled region at its centre,” it said.

“The actions of the Indian government have thrown ordinary people’s lives into turmoil, subjecting them to unnecessary pain and distress on top of the years of human rights violations they have already endured,” said Mr Naidoo.

The people of held Kashmir, it said, should not be treated as pawns in a political crisis, and the international community must come together to call for their human rights to be respected.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2019