BRADFORD West MP Naz Shah says she welcomes a report by the United Nations Human Rights chief into violations in Kashmir.

The High Commissioner, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, said decades of rights violations on both sides of the line of control in Kashmir have "claimed or ruined numerous lives" and should be the subject of a high-level international probe.

It is the first UN human rights report on the disputed territory separating India and Pakistan and the high commissioner is to ask the Human Rights Council in Geneva to set up a commission of inquiry at its next session, beginning on Monday.

Ms Shah said: "As the MP for Bradford West I serve a constituency where many of my constituents draw a direct heritage from Kashmir. Indeed I myself a considered to be a daughter of Kashmir as my parents were born in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), from where I have recently returned following a short visit.

"I welcome the report that echoes what many of us have been calling for over the past few years.

"An urgent independent commission of inquiry to be set up by the United Nations should not be in question. It is an absolute necessity and is long overdue.

"As I said in a debate in the House of Commons marking 70 years of partition, I am not calling on the British government or the UN to prescribe how Pakistan and India resolve the entrenched issues of peace in Kashmir. However, I am reiterating my call for the UK to show leadership.

"As this report highlights perfectly and reinforces my position on the issues that is is imperative that the people of Kashmir are empowered and offered safety and security to define their own future; to be included robustly in civil society with meaningful representation, so that they can finally have the right to chose their own destiny and self-determination.

"I will continue in my efforts to raise this issue and support the call for an independent commission."