Islamabad - Former President Asif Ali Zardari yesterday condemned the killing of innocent people in Kashmir and the arrest of several Kashmiri leaders, and called upon the international community to take serious notice of the grave human rights violations in Kashmir.

In a statement, he said he was shocked at how the security forces in Kashmir resorted to use of indiscriminate force to punish people who were exercising their legitimate right to protest. “This is arrogance in the extreme and reprehensible,” he said.

The latest surge in protests in different parts of Kashmir should persuade the Indian authorities to look inwardly and ask themselves as to why the Kashmiris are up in arms against the New Delhi rule, he said.

Unfortunately, this is a question which few, if any, in India would be prepared to ask and fewer still prepared to listen an honest answer to it, he said. Resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of its people is the only viable way forward, he added.

“The world must wake up to the murder of human rights in the held Kashmir. It would be a great tragedy if the world looked the other way as innocent people were killed and tortured in Kashmir,” Zardari said.