India slams UN report on J&K, calls it a false narrative

India on Monday (July 8) lodged a strong protest with the UN rights office over its report on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and asserted that it is merely a continuation of the earlier “false and motivated” narrative and ignores the core issue of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

Last year, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released its first-ever report on Kashmir and in an update of that report it claimed on Monday that “neither India nor Pakistan have taken any concrete steps to address the numerous concerns raised”.

Hitting out at the report, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said,  “the update of the report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is merely a continuation of the earlier false and motivated narrative on the situation in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.”

The assertions in the report are in violation of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and ignores the core issue of cross-border terrorism, he said.

“A situation created by years of cross-border terrorist attacks emanating from Pakistan has been analysed without any reference to its causality. The update seems to be a contrived effort to create an artificial parity between the worlds largest and the most vibrant democracy and a country that openly practices state-sponsored terrorism. We have registered our strong protest regarding the update with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,” Kumar said.