ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday strongly condemned Indian occupation forces’ relentless killing spree resulting in death of four more Kashmiri youth during this week in a staged cordon and search operation in Shopian district of the India-held Jammu and Kashmir.

More than 576 innocent Kashmiris had been killed so far by the Indian occupation forces since India’s illegal and unilateral actions of Aug 5, 2019, the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a press release.

The ongoing atrocities in the occupied valley have been intensified during the holy month of Ramazan and reflect India’s despicable policy of terrorising the population in a bid to perpetuate its systemic persecution of Kashmiris. The valiant Kashmiri youth are, however, resolutely committed to their just cause and no amount of brutalities can dampen their unbreakable resolve, it added.

The spokesperson said Pakistan reiterated its call for an investigation into extra-

judicial killings in India-held Kashmir by the Commission of Inquiry as recommended by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in its Kashmir reports of 2018 and 2019.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2022