Ambassador Munir Akram: Condition of children in IOK to remain priority

NEW YORK: Ambassador Munir Akram told the 15-member Council of the UN Secretary-Special General’s Representative on Children and Armed Conflict on Tuesday, “Children and youth are routinely detained and subjected to torture and ill-treatment to elicit intelligence or extract confessions that they are associated with Kashmiri groups fighting for the self-determination promised by the Security Council.”

Pakistan requested to continue focusing on the suffering of children in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), claiming that the occupying troops were committing “horrific atrocities” against children.

The Pakistani envoy stated in the annual debate on “Children and Armed Conflict”: “In a world still afflicted by COVID-19, by protracted and new conflicts, and by a food, fuel, and financial emergency, it is evident that we must do more to protect our children and ensure their safety, welfare, and prosperity.”

Earlier, in introducing the report of the Secretary-General, Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, stated that the violations suffered by children over the last year were both grave and many.
In his remarks, Ambassador Akram noted the report of the United Nations Secretary-General, which asked the Indian government to take preventative steps to safeguard children in IIOJK, including eliminating the use of pellets and unlawful incarceration in occupied Kashmir and other Indian jails.

Since 2019, when India unilaterally approved laws to annex the disputed area, about 13,000 Kashmiri children and youth have been arbitrarily detained by the 900,000 Indian occupation troops, according to the Pakistani ambassador, who added, “The list of such horrible atrocities is endless.”

Since 1989, top commanders of the Indian occupying troops have committed 3,432 incidents of war crimes, including those against women and children, according to the dossier supplied by the Pakistani government. The dossier includes audio and video evidence to substantiate the accusations.

Ambassador Akram stated, “We will share this information with the Security Council’s Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and demand that those guilty be held accountable.”

“We would also ask the Office of the SRSG to continue monitoring the status of children in IIOJK and reporting on it,” he said.
While expressing support for the Special Representative’s efforts to address the circumstances of children in armed conflict, the Pakistani ambassador emphasized its exclusive emphasis on addressing the circumstances of children in “armed conflicts.” However, he emphasized that it does not include consideration of violence within the Member States, which falls within their respective national responsibilities.
“Based on this understanding, my delegation will intensify its engagement with the [Special Representative of the Secretary-General] and the Security Council’s working group,” he added.

The Indian representative, Ashish Sharma, responded to Ambassador Akram’s pointed statements by stating that Pakistan was abusing the forum.
He said that all Jammu and Kashmir lands were, are, and will always be an essential, inalienable part of India.

The Indian envoy also demanded that Pakistan end cross-border terrorism so that Indian citizens can exercise their rights to life and freedom.
Pakistan’s envoy Mohammad Rashid said, “Kashmir is not and has never been a part of India.”

Rashid, a third secretary at the Pakistani mission to the United Nations, stated that all UN maps depict Kashmir as a contested territory. According to him, the oldest United Nations peacekeeping force is now stationed along the cease-fire line in Kashmir. Moreover, the report under discussion by the Security Council recognizes Kashmir as a contested region.

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The Pakistani representative stated, “If India has any regard for international law and moral fortitude, it will cease its reign of terror, remove its soldiers, and allow the Kashmiris to freely determine their destiny by Security Council decisions.”