The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday criticised the concerns expressed by United Nations human rights experts about the political ...
The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday criticised the concerns expressed by United Nations human rights experts about the political and religious rights of Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir, saying their observations were “deplorable”, riddled with “hasty conclusions” and based on “inaccurate assumptions”.
The assertions came after two experts from the United Nations Human Rights Council warned that the constitutional changes of 2019 in Jammu and Kashmir could curtail political participation of Muslims and other minorities and lead to potential discrimination in employment and land ownership.
“The loss of autonomy and the imposition of direct rule by the government in New Delhi suggests the people of Jammu and Kashmir no longer have their own government and have lost power to legislate or amend laws in the region to ensure the protection of their rights as minorities,” said Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on minority issues, and Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, in a statement.
The experts added that the number of successful applicants for domicile certificates that appear to be from outside Jammu and Kashmir raises concerns that demographic change “on a linguistic, religious and ethnic basis is already underway”.
On August 5, 2019, the Narendra Modi government revoked Article 370 that stripped Jammu...
