Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has accused India of “continuing war crimes” on the Indian side of Kashmir and attempting to change the demography of the region, branding the Narendra Modi government "fascist Hindutva Supremacist".
Khan tweeted: “Under cover of COVID19 global pandemic, the Modi government with its fascist Hindutva Supremacist RSS-driven ideology continues its war crimes in IOJK as it violates the Fourth Geneva Convention by continuing its genocide of Kashmiris and by attempting to change the demography in Occupied Jammu & Kashmir - a territory recognised as disputed by UN”.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) chief also called upon the international community to take note of it and act against “these war crimes by India” in violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention and international humanitarian laws.
The Fourth Geneva Convention aims to protect civilians in time of war and stipulates the international law and standards that, in an internal armed conflict, govern the conduct of the parties, including government forces.
The Modi government was recently subjected to heavy criticism for introducing new domicile rules on the Indian side of Kashmir by opening up high-category government jobs in the Jammu and Kashmir administration for every citizen of the country, in contrast to the previous norm that reserved state jobs only for locals. Succumbing to pressure from local and opposition parties, the government reversed the order and made the jobs out of bounds for non-residents.
In another development, the federal government has also decided to undertake a delimitation exercise in Kashmir, which would facilitate the re-organisation of electoral constituencies in the state. Speculation is rife that it would alter the balance of power towards the Jammu region of the state, which is dominated by Hindus.
The two South Asian rivals have fought three wars over the disputed territory since 1947, when both received independence from British rule.