SRINAGAR: Separatists have filed a petition with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) demanding the establishment of an independent international commission of inquiry to conduct a comprehensive investigation into alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.
The petition, filed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mohammad Yasin Malik and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has listed a number of instances of alleged human rights violations claiming these necessitate the establishment of an independent international commission of inquiry.
Referring to a recent UN report on the human rights situation in Kashmir, the separatists leader said, "It is on the ground of the established facts in the UN report that we approach you with the appeal that you exercise your good offices to persuade the members of the Council to help establish the Commission on Kashmir.
"The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights last week released its first-ever report on alleged human rights violation in Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and demanded an international probe into it, evoking a sharp reaction from India which termed the document as "fallacious and motivated".
New Delhi also lodged a strong protest with the United Nations, saying the government was "deeply concerned that individual prejudices are being allowed to undermine the credibility of a UN institution".