King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, during his current visit to India said that his country had been observing the situation in Jammu & Kashmir for years, and indicated that the mandate– of the United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) –was too constrained for Stockholm to take a closer look at the four-month-old crackdown on Kashmiris in the valley. Modi’s rule in India serves to be the worst in Indian history. His Kashmir policy faces fierce criticism from both the local and global civil society. The role of global political leadership is being resurrected to show its warranted humanitarian concern regarding the crisis in Kashmir Reportedly, India grudgingly tried to address Sweden’s concerns on Kashmir by informing Stockholm about the steps being taken to bring normalcy back to the Himalayan region. According to sources, the issue came up during a meeting between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde, who arrived in India Monday as part of Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia’s entourage. According to the UN Commissioner on Hum right’s briefing on Kashmir in October:” There have been several allegations of excessive use of force including the use of pellet-firing shotguns, tear gas and rubber bullets by security forces during sporadic protests, with unconfirmed reports of at least six civilian killings and scores of serious injuries in separate incidents since 5 August. ”We have also received reports of armed groups operating in Indian-Administered Kashmir threatening residents trying to carry out their normal business or attend school, as well as several allegations of violence against people who have not complied with the armed groups’ demands. At least another six people have been killed and over a dozen injured in alleged attacks by armed group members since 5 August. Hundreds of political and civil society leaders, including three former Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, have been detained on a preventative basis. While some political workers have reportedly been released, most senior leaders – especially those from the Kashmir Valley – remain in detention. We have also received a number of allegations of torture and ill-treatment of people held in detention. These must be independently and impartially investigated. Torture is totally and unequivocally prohibited under international law.” The managers of the Sweden foreign policy have been emphasising the organic linkages between human rights, sustainable development and peace and security.-thereby advocating an Increasing emphasis on the rule of law. Human rights are everyone’s concern. The success of human rights activities depends on an integrated approach in which different policy areas and their relevant instruments are coordinated. Human rights issues must be mainstreamed into all aspects of foreign policy, including development cooperation, migration, security and trade. Sweden’s commitment to human rights is in its own interests and also reflects the hope for a world in which people can live safe and free, without fear and want. Human rights are a central element of international law and of the UN Charter’s broad approach to international peace and security. Modi’s government is continuously hoodwinking the global community by claiming that the conditions in Kashmir are very normal. The world knows the truth that in fact, the Indian Government continues to blackout information from Kashmir; they are prohibiting access by any independent media or other observers The UN’s human rights activities were previously seriously hampered by a one-sided focus on the principles of non-interference and national sovereignty laid down in the Charter. Justifiably, Sweden rejects the view that calling attention to violations of human rights is an unjustified interference in the affairs of other states. The principle of non-interference expressed in article 2 (7) of the UN Charter should not be interpreted as a modification of the Charter’s explicit requirement for action to promote respect for human rights. The self-acclaimed Indian sovereignty over the held Kashmir cannot be taken as justification for violations of human rights. But as India’s military brutally stifles the voices inside Kashmir by dint of force and repressing methods, and while the world’s civilizational leaders stand in deafening silence while India strips these hapless Kashmiris of the promise –the world’s nations made to them 72 years ago – to keep their communal autonomy while they choose for themselves whether to become part of India or go independent – humanitarian experts on India and critics within that country blare a terrifying warning: India’s documented history of the “deliberate/strategic use of sexual violence by the armed forces [in Kashmir] makes it a powerful subtext” of this conflict, as Sahba Husain, a researcher on gender and writes in Fault Lines of History, a study of sexual violence and impunity in India.”We cannot imagine the psychological and physical trauma through which the Kashmiris are going, as decisions regarding their fate are being taken and they are denied access to any sort of information,” Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Faisal said. Notably, Kannan Gopinathan, former IAS officer, who recently tendered his resignation, government service in protest against the lockdown imposed on Kashmir since August 5. In his view, the government has portrayed the lockdown as the only viable option to avoid terrorism and loss of life. “That is what the country has been told. In reality, a government should not ask us to choose between liberty and right of expression. A government that wants us to choose between liberty and expression is incompetent,” he said. Modi’s government is continuously hoodwinking the global community by claiming that the conditions in Kashmir are very normal. The world knows the truth that in fact, the Indian Government continues to blackout information from Kashmir; they are prohibiting access by any independent media or other observers. India’s national security advisor, AjitDoval, has given interviews in which he says that the majority of Kashmiris support the government and that all the dissent and troubles are created by a small minority. But they continue to blackout information from Kashmir; they are prohibiting access by any independent media or other observers. Dr Mujib ur Rehman, a scholar on Indian politics at New Delhi’s Jamia Millia Central University, says the international community should organize a high-level fact-finding mission to reduce the risk of greater violence. Meanwhile, a week earlier in the US, a resolution has been moved by Congresswoman Pramila Jayapalurging India to swiftly end the communications clampdown, in place since August, in Jammu and Kashmir besides seeking the release political detainees in the held Kashmir. Make no mistake, Modi’s indoctrinated policy– of transforming of the LOC into an international border; internal reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian Union; reconciliation through autonomy and elections; and reliance on coercion to quell Kashmiri dissent and demands-can never be acceptable to Kashmiris and Pakistanis. An ethical, legal and moral recourse is to address the issue within the parameters of international law. The writer is an independent ‘IR’ researcher and international law analyst based in Pakistan