Pakistan condemns use of pellet guns in Indian-occupied Kashmir: Foreign Office

Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi has strongly condemned the use of pellet guns in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), saying the issue is well-documented through international reports and civil society records.

Addressing a media briefing on Saturday, the spokesperson said pellet guns were used on a large scale in IIOJK, particularly between 2016 and 2018, and that the trend continues to some extent even today.

He said a major report by Amnesty International highlighted the large number of people affected by the use of pellet guns, which resulted in cases of blindness. He added that the report strongly condemned the use of pellet guns.

Andrabi said these facts had become part of history and there was documentary evidence available regarding the issue. He said the matter was recorded in detail in the reports of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued in 2018 and 2019.

The Foreign Office spokesperson said civil society organisations had continuously monitored the issue and compiled their own reports. He added that information regarding pellet gun victims, their rehabilitation and treatment was available in documented form. He said the use of pellet guns was condemnable and unacceptable wherever it occurred, whether in IIOJK or other parts of India.

Andrabi said Pakistan strongly condemned the use of pellet guns everywhere. He referred to the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which questioned the extent to which the use of lethal weapons like pellet guns to disperse crowds could be justified. He said India had justified the use of pellet guns by calling them a means of crowd control, but all developments and facts related to the matter were well documented.

The spokesperson reiterated that Pakistan strongly condemned the use of pellet guns in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India.