India raises Shujaat Bukhari and Army jawan Aurangzeb's assassination in UN, slams Jammu and Kashmir report

Geneva: India on Wednesday raised the cold-blooded murders of veteran journalist Shujaat Bukhari and Indian Army soldier Aurangzeb inside the United Nations assembly in Geneva while slamming a recent report by the global human rights watch body that alleged human rights violations in Kashmir. 

“It is the cross border terrorism that seeks to muzzle the voices of our people. The last week's gruesome assassination of a senior journalist and his security officers, silencing a voice of moderation, and abduction and brutual killing of a soldier while on his way home for Eid in Jammu and Kashmir, are its chilling reminders,” said India in an oral response, presented by Permanent Representative Rajiv K Chander at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). 

Last week, the UN released a first of its kind report on alleged human rights violations in both Kashmir and "Pakistan-administered Kashmir" and sought an international inquiry into these abuses.

Calling the report “fallacious and motivated”, New Delhi questioned the agency's intent behind bringing out a report with “selective compilation of largely unverified information.”

 

India at UN #HRC38

We are dismayed at the reference to a fallacious and motivated report that has already been rejected by India| The report legitimises terrorism by referring to the UN designated terrorist entities as “armed groups” and calling terrorists “leaders”| pic.twitter.com/fTodaXJwQV — India at UN, Geneva (@IndiaUNGeneva) June 19, 2018

India pointed out that the UN council was legitimising terrorism which remains the "pernicious violator of fundamental rights".

Governments in the Valley are elected through free and fair elections who are sworn to protect the Constitution, that is the bedrock of all freedoms, added India.

When the UN report on Kashmir was released on June 14, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a strong-worded statement said that the facts are "overtly prejudiced" and seeks to build a "false narrative".

The assassination of cold-blooded killing of Rising Kashmir editor-in-chief Shujaat Bukhari and Army jawan Aurangazeb last week sent shock waves across the country, leading to massive public outrage.

Bukhari was on his way to an Iftar party in a car, when three unidentified terrorists shot him dead. Two of his personal security officers (PSO) were also killed in the attack.

Aurangzeb, who was a part of Major Rohit Shukla's team that eliminated top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Sameer Tiger, was abducted by terrorists while he was on his home for Eid celebrations. His bullet-ridden body was found by a team of police and Army at Gussu village, about 10 km away from Kalampora, in Pulwama district. A purported video of Aurangzeb being interrogated by terrorists, moments before his death, later surfaced in public domain.