BRUSSELS/GENEVA, (Unib Rashid) – Kashmiri delegates attending the 63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) have called for urgent international attention and action to address what they described as the deteriorating human rights situation in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

In separate statements delivered during the Council session, Kashmiri delegates, including Advocate Pervez Ahmed Shah, Shamim Shawl, Mehr-un-Nisa, Dr. Shugufta Ashraf and Dr. Sajjad Khan, urged the international community to strengthen monitoring and scrutiny of human rights developments in the territory.

The delegates called on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to intensify monitoring of the situation, seek impartial examination of alleged violations, and urge India to ensure due process, end what they described as judicial harassment and strengthen mechanisms for accountability.

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They also expressed concern over alleged intimidation of human rights defenders and political activists, as well as what they described as violations of due process involving individuals engaged in human rights advocacy and political activities.

While welcoming the High Commissioner’s global update, the delegates said they were concerned that the report did not adequately reflect what they described as the worsening detention situation in Jammu and Kashmir. They claimed that more than 3,000 Kashmiris had been taken into custody by August this year, while prisons across the region were holding more than 5,300 inmates against a sanctioned capacity of approximately 3,600.

The delegates also referred to the case of Kashmiri political leader Yasin Malik, who, according to them, recently filed an affidavit seeking the death penalty for himself while denying involvement in the alleged crime. They presented the development as raising concerns about possible coercion and despair and said it reflected what they described as declining public confidence in due process.

They further voiced concern over the continued imprisonment and prosecution of Malik and other Kashmiri political prisoners, arguing that prolonged incarceration and continuing legal proceedings raise serious questions regarding due process and the alleged criminalization of political expression.

The delegates also highlighted alleged arbitrary detentions, restrictions on freedom of expression and continued surveillance of human rights defenders. They specifically expressed concern over restrictions and surveillance involving prominent human rights activist Khurram Pervez and others.

They also criticized what they described as political and administrative measures in Kashmir that, in their view, were affecting the region’s identity and demographic character.

The Kashmiri representatives urged the international community to maintain close scrutiny of the human rights situation in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. They called on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to closely monitor cases involving political prisoners and human rights defenders and to press for the protection of fundamental rights and due process.

The Kashmiri delegation, headed by Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) Chairman Altaf Hussain Wani, is currently in Geneva to participate in the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council.