As part of Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to draw attention of the international community to the alarming situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has written a letter to Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres on the conviction of Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik.

The letter apprised the secretary general of the circumstances in which Yasin Malik was convicted terming them a “manifestly dubious and politically motivated case” filed by the Indian National Investigation Agency. Bilawal also mentioned Malik’s chronic ailments and “ruthless treatment” meted out to him in Indian jails.

The letter highlighted incarceration of Malik, sham trial on concocted charges, malicious conviction and the attempt to portray the legitimate freedom struggle of the Kashmiris as terrorism. It also illustrated India’s blatant disregard of its international legal obligations, said a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The foreign minister underscored that conviction of Malik was a part of Indian government’s ongoing attempts to persecute and repress the Kashmiris and their leadership and to implicate them in fictitious and motivated cases.

Bilawal noted that India is contravening international human rights law, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, by denying a fair trial to Malik, arbitrarily detaining him and meting inhumane treatment to him in jail since 2019.

He also cautioned that in line with the well-documented pattern of Indian behaviour, there was credible risk of “custodial murder” in case of Malik.

The foreign minister urged the Secretary General to play his role in promoting a peaceful resolution of the Occupied Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions.

Protest outside Indian Consulate General in Chicage

Kashmiris and Sikhs jointly protested outside the Indian Consulate General in Chicago, US on Friday denouncing the unjust life sentence given to Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik by the Indian court.