UK urged to take notice of threats to journalist fraternity in IHK

MUZAFFARABAD: (Parliament Times) Speakers at a conference titled “State of media and human rights in Indian held Kashmir” have called upon the British government to use its good offices for protection of media persons suffering harassment, abuse and detentions at the hands of occupation forces in the line of duty.
The conference was held yesterday in the British Parliament building under the aegis of Tehreek-e-Kashmir United Kingdom (TeK UK) in collaboration with Labour Party MP Afzal Khan, who is also shadow minister for immigration.
Participants of the first ever conference on media, who included notable members of the Kashmiri and Pakistani diaspora, deliberated in detail the highly militarised situation in IHK, with journalists from Kashmir giving testimonials.
Through an unanimously approved resolution, participants expressed their solidarity with the people suffering unprecedented abuse of human rights and supported their struggle for a just cause.
“We note that the human rights situation, except the June 2018 Report of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the October 2018 Report of the All Parties Parliamentary Group on Kashmir in the House of Commons, has not found enough space in international media. The deficiency needs immediate attention and redress,” read the resolution.
“This conference expresses its gratitude to the local media in IHK that in spite of difficult circumstances and threats to their lives, they are playing a great role in exposing the continued atrocities, repression and human rights violations with impunity. It calls upon the conscientious members in the international media to connect with the ground situation and local media to create a much-needed impact in all capitals of the world,” the resolution added.
“The conference calls upon the UK lawmakers to raise their forceful voice to bring to an end all cycles of violence in the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir. A resolution to this effect should be adopted in the House of Parliament so that the people of IHK suffering uncertainty, hazards of the conflict and organised oppression have a UN supervised vote for their right of self-determination.”
The resolution pointed out that roadmap for such a solution had already been set by the UK Parliament when it had allowed the people of Scotland to vote for their political destiny.
The conference also expressed its deep concern on the Cordon and Search Operations (CaSO) in IHK in which Kashmiri youth were being targeted and killed and called upon the international community to intervene and help in reversing the situation.
“We demand that all draconian laws such as Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA) that exist to provide impunity to perpetrators and invade privacy of the public are withdrawn and all fundamental freedoms listed in UN Resolution of 21 April 1948 are guaranteed,” the conference demanded.
It noted that a constructive dialogue between all parties of the dispute, Kashmiris, Indians and Pakistanis together, could be a “welcome” beginning for solving the seven-decade long dispute.”
“Being a friend of both countries, UK should take an initiative for a tripartite/multilateral conference of the stake holders in London.”
Through the resolution the participants of the media conference urged the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to take a serious notice of the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as the report of the All Parties Parliamentary Group in UK Parliament.
The conference also endorsed the call of the UN Human Rights Commissioner to send a fact-finding mission to assess the situation in IHK.
Those who spoke at the conference were AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, MP Afzal Khan, Lord Qurban Hussain, President TeK-UK Raja Fahim Kayani, AJK Education Minister Barrister Iftikhar Gilani, Senior Journalists Altaf Ahmad Bhat, Tariq Naqash, Nayeema Ahmad Mehjoor, Muhammad Aslam Mir, Adil Shahzeb , Nazir Gilani, Chaudhry Muhammad Luqman and Professor Shahid Iqbal.