Kashmiri human rights activist briefly detained outside Pak High Commission

Delhi Police briefly detained Kashmiri human rights activist Mohammed Ahsan Untoo when he was about to enter the Pakistan High Commission on Friday, officials said.

Untoo, who runs International Forum of Justice and Human Rights, was invited among others, including separatist leaders, from the militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir by the High Commission to attend an event to mark Pakistan's National Day.

Untoo was released after questioning.

"They were very nice to me. Misunderstanding cropped up and every thing was cleared," he told PTI after his release.

Separatists from the state, including moderate Hurriyat Conference chairperson Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and others, have been staying away from the function for the last three years.

Pakistan Day is celebrated to mark the Lahore Resolution on March 23 each year.

Untoo had recently met jailed JKLF leader Yasin Malik at Kot Balwal jail in Jammu. He has been taking up the cases related to alleged human rights violation at the State Human Rights Commission.

The government Friday decided to boycott the Pakistan National Day event to be held at its high commission here as Kashmiri separatist leaders were also invited.

India's representation at the annual event has been at the level of a Union minister.

The decision comes in the wake of heightened tension between the two nuclear-armed neighbours after the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent air strike by India on a training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26.

Pakistan retaliated the next day by unsuccessfully attempting to target Indian military installations.

The JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack.