On Wednesday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, called on Pakistan and India to give his office access to Kashmir given “grave concerns” over alleged human rights violations there. The move comes as Jammu and Kashmir, which is administered by India but claimed by Pakistan, has seen some of its worst violence in years.
On Tuesday, Indian troops shot and killed five civilians and injured at least 15 more during clashes with anti-India protesters, a day after suspected Kashmiri separatist rebels killed one Indian soldier and wounded 10 others in two separate gun battles. In a security sweep last week, Indian forces arrested more than 1,000 protesters.
The latest unrest in disputed Kashmir started in early July after Indian security forces killed Burhan Wani, “a charismatic and popular young militant,” as Michael Kugelman wrote in WPR last month. In response to the ensuing protests against Wani’s killing, “Indian authorities have cracked down hard, imposing curfews, banning newspapers, and deploying heavy-handed tactics—including the use of pellet guns that cause blindness, drawing international media attention and condemnation.”