Kashmir erupted with massive protests and silent sit-ins against the alleged unabated human rights violations by the government forces with protestors seeking UN intervention for stopping the rights abuses in the region. A series of protests were held by the joint resistance leaders and activists, parents of youth subjected to involuntary disappearance, and the civil society members in Srinagar.The protests were staged in various parts of summer capital, Srinagar to mark the world human rights day. The call for march to UN office at Sonwar here was given by the joint resistance leadership comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Muhammad Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik.While Geelani continued to remain under house arrest at his Hydepora residence, Mirwaiz was confined to his Nigeen residence in Srinagar.Hurriyat Conference and JKLF took out a joint protest rally in a bid to reach UN office at Sonwar. Witnesses said that hundreds of activists of Hurriyat and JKLF started a rally from Kokerbazar area, here. The protestors were, however, stopped at Lal Chowk by the police. The protestors were raising pro-freedom slogan.Witnesses said there was already a huge deployment for police in Lal Chowk and Kokerbazar to foil the march. Police detained many leaders and activists of Hurriyat and JKLF which included Sheikh Abdul Rashid, Umer Adil, Muhammad Irfan, Ali Muhammad Butt, Ali Muhammad Mir, Nazir Ahmad Hajam and Muhammad Altaf Raina.It was on this day in 1948 when the UNGA had approved a declaration aimed at promoting civil and human rights. After many years of the passage of this declaration one still feels whether objectives for which it was formulated are achieved or not. With this notion of human rights also comes to mind the right of freedom or self-determination. It is one of the pillars of charter of human rights that still has not been achieved by many people — more precisely by Muslims be they in Palestine or occupied Kashmir where brutal Israeli and Indian regimes have unleashed a reign of terror with complete impunity, making a mockery of human rights. Addressing a function on Saturday, President Mamnoon Hussain rightly drew attention towards rights of oppressed Palestinian and Kashmiri people and urged world powers to take notice of what is being meted out to them. Indeed, the failure of the so-called torch bearers of human rights to address these lingering disputes is a slap on their dual faces. On the one hand, we often see western countries making a mountain out of a molehill over occurrence of any single incident of human rights abuse in any Muslim country but on the other hand when it comes to the rights of Muslim population in their own countries or those living under occupation of oppressive regimes, they simply turn their backs. This duplicity of conduct has only made world peace and stability more precarious. Generations after generations in Palestine and occupied Kashmir are facing atrocities but their determination has never dented and will never until they realise the dream of what their forefathers had seen. On this international human rights we once again remind the West to fulfil its commitments, take a firm stand and play a definite role for resolution of Palestine and Kashmir disputes.
