08 May 2017

News Report: New Delhi Objects to Describing Kashmir as Indian-Occupied, Indian-Administered

India has said at the United Nations Human Rights Council that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and, therefore, there is no reason for describing Kashmir as Indian-administered or Indian-occupied.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Indian delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council was led by Attorney General of India Mukul Rohatgi, who stressed that describing any Indian territory as India-occupied or India-administered is not valid under any circumstances.

The Indian delegation also defined terrorism as a violation of human rights and urged countries to acknowledge and condemn it.

India's response came after Pakistan had earlier made a suggestion to UN regarding Kashmir which included holding a plebiscite, ending the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and banning pellet guns.

This was not the first time that India's human rights record was put under United Nation Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review. India had to reply to the UN body in 2008 and 2012 also.

India and Pakistan claim Kashmir to be their territory in the dispute which harks back to the Partition of British India in 1947. Though the two countries have fought three wars since then, the dispute is far from over. Some sections of Kashmiris have called for greater autonomy or even independence from India.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.