Islamabad – Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, in his weekly press briefing, reaffirmed Islamabad’s deep concern over the persistent and grave human rights situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). “The prevailing policies, marked by widespread detentions, arbitrary arrests, and extensive restrictions on fundamental freedoms, continue to amount to collective punishment of the occupied Kashmiri population,” he said, highlighting the ongoing suppression of the Kashmiri people. Reports of profiling Kashmiri youth based on identity and faith further exacerbate these concerns, he added.
“India continues its efforts to alter the demographic character in the occupied territory and to erode the religious, cultural, and social heritage of the Kashmiri people. These measures appear to form part of a deliberate strategy to suppress the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiri population,” Andrabi stated. Thousands of Kashmiri youth remain missing, while many genuine political representatives are held in arbitrary detention. “Such coercive actions cannot undermine the Kashmiri people’s enduring commitment to realizing their internationally recognized right to self-determination,” he emphasized.
Pakistan has called upon the international community, including the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to take full cognizance of the situation. “We urge these bodies to encourage India to take immediate remedial measures, ensure accountability for documented violations, and allow credible international human rights organizations to conduct independent and impartial assessments,” Andrabi said. He stressed that “a just, peaceful, and lasting resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, remains essential for durable peace and stability in South Asia.”
Historical Patterns of Minority Dispossession in India
Beyond IIOJK, Human Rights activists highlight long-standing patterns of discrimination against religious minorities in India, particularly through land dispossession. Between 1949 and 1970, the Uttar Pradesh government seized approximately 5,377,800 acres (21,763 km²) of privately owned Muslim land and redistributed it to Hindus. Analysts note, “India’s history of land ownership reflects a deliberate pattern of targeting religious minorities, particularly Muslims, through systemic dispossession and legal manipulation.” Similar instances of discrimination have been reported across other states, though precise data remain incomplete.
In contemporary India, these historical injustices persist. Waqf properties, encompassing roughly 39 lakh acres (~15,780 km², about 5% of India’s land area) and totaling 8.72 lakh properties, with 2.17 lakh in Uttar Pradesh alone, face widespread legal disputes and encroachments. Approximately 13,200 Waqf properties are currently involved in court cases, undermining the economic foundation of Muslim communities. Landlessness remains severe: nearly 48% of Muslims own less than one acre of land, compared to less than 26% of Hindus, perpetuating cycles of poverty and marginalization.
Economic and Structural Inequities Across Religious Communities
Christian institutions, particularly the Catholic Church, hold substantial land claimed at 7 crore hectares (~17.29 crore acres) valued at ₹20,000 crore, though these figures remain disputed and many properties face legal challenges. Meanwhile, the Indian government retains control over 15,531 km² (~1.55 lakh km²), while private Hindu landholdings dominate the landscape.
Experts argue that this entrenched concentration of land reflects structural inequities, systematically disadvantaging Muslims, Christians, and other minorities. The result, they assert, is widespread economic deprivation, social marginalization, and the weakening of cultural and religious autonomy among India’s minority communities.
