Congress backs Modi government's protest against UN report on Kashmir. Full details here

The Congress party has backed the government of India in its protest against the United Nations' first-ever human rights report on Kashmir.

READ | India Lodges Protest Against "fallacious, Tendentious And Motivated" First-ever UN Human Rights 'report' On Kashmir

Taking to Twitter, Haryana MLA and Congress media-in-charge Randeep Surjewala has written:

Earlier, India's Ministry of External Affairs had lodged a strong protest against United Nations report, terming it "fallacious, tendentious and motivated", and lodged a strong protest with the United Nations, saying the government is "deeply concerned that individual prejudices are being allowed to undermine the credibility of a UN institution."

"The report violates India's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. Pakistan is in illegal and forcible occupation of a part of the Indian state through aggression," the MEA said in a strongly-worded statement. 

The 49-page-report, which tries to give an impression that it is balanced in its assessment of the situation in Kashmir, appears on closer inspection to be fatally biased against India. In a series of omissions and lapses, the report refuses to cite Pakistan-based outfits like the Lashkar-e-Toiba as terrorist groups, makes no mention of Pakistan initiating the Kargil War, and doesn't appropriately address its own concession that: "Despite the Government of Pakistan's assertions of denial of any support to these groups, experts believe that Pakistan's military continues to support their operations across the Line of Control in Indian-Administered Kashmir".

The report also states that it is based on "remote monitoring" and not on an on-ground assessment. It lists a variety of publications and reports in India as its sources but for Pakistan, says:

"The quantity and quality of information available on Indian-Administered Kashmir contrasts significantly to Pakistan-Administered Kashmir. Despite challenges, NGOs, human rights defenders and journalists are able to operate in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, generating documentation on the ongoing human rights violations there. Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, opinion, peaceful assembly and association in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan have limited the ability of observers, including OHCHR, to assess the human rights situation there. Nevertheless, OHCHR used the information that is available to address the human rights violations occurring in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan."

Pakistan, meanwhile, has jumped on the report by the UN.