By Zahid Shah

ISLAMABAD (TSAT) - Pakistan on Saturday strongly condemned the killing of three Kashmiri youth by the Indian forces during the holy month of Ramazan

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said, they strongly condemn the unabated killing spree being perpetrated by the Indian occupation forces in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), causing martyrdom of three more Kashmiri youths in Baramullah district during the last two days.

 “More than 580 innocent Kashmiris have so far been martyred by the Indian occupation forces since India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019,” said the ministry. 

Islamabad expressed grave concerns over the growing number of extra-judicial killings in fake encounters and staged cordon-and-search operations in the disputed region.

“During the holy month of Ramazan,[killing of innocent Kashmir] only highlights the ugly reality of India’s illegal occupation and the extremist anti-Muslim designs of the “Hindutva” inspired BJP-RSS combine in India.

 “The Kashmiri youth, which has been a specific target of the Indian occupation forces stationed in the IIOJK, has however remained unfazed in its determination to thwart the Indian designs of subjugating the Kashmiris with the use of unbridled force,” it’s said. 

Pakistan also called for an investigation of extra-judicial killings in Kashmir by the Commission of Inquiry as recommended by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in its Kashmir reports of 2018 and 2019.

“Pakistan once again calls upon the international community to play its role in ensuring a just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people for durable peace and stability in South Asia,” it's concluded.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small part of the valley is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three wars – in 1948, 1965, and 1971 – two of them over Kashmir.

Kashmiri groups are fighting against the Indian rule since 1989 and according to human rights organizations, nearly 100,000 Kashmiri killed by the Indian forces