Altaf Hamid Rao,
MIRPUR (AJK): (Parliament Times) AJK President Sardar Masood Khan said here on Wednesday that Kashmir is the trilateral issue and not the bilateral dispute in view of its being comprising three parties including Pakistan, India and Jammu Kashmir people.
The issue is required to be settled in line with international norms and commitments through the involvement of the people of Jammu Kashmir, key party to the issue, without further loss of time, he said while speaking as chief guest while inaugurating a day-long Joint National Conference titled “UN Report on Human Rights Violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir: Demographic Changes and Societal Implications” hosted by Mirpur University of Science & Technology and Pakistan House Islamabad, at the main campus of the varsity here on Wednesday.
In their addresses of welcome, Prof. Dr Habib ur Rahman, Vice Chancellor, MUST, and Rana Athar Javed , Director General, Pakistan House highlighted the objective of holding of the grand moot, which, they said, is primarily aimed at to promote the protection of innocent Kashmiri youth and deterioration of peace in the bleeding valley of Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir.
Ghulam Muhammad Safi, Convener of All Parties Hurrivat Conference, (AJK Chapter) Dr Nazir Gillani, President, Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights, Syed Faiz Naqashbandi, Convener of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Sayd Abdullah Gillani, Representative of Syed Ali Gillani, elderly Hurriyat leader and head of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and others addressed the conference on the topics of “International Community and Human Rights Violations in Kashmir”, “Human Rights Violations in Kashmir: Impact on Women and Children” and “Demographic changes in Kashmir: India’s Neocolonialism Strategy”.
Elaborating the basic spirit and significance of the Right of self determination, AJK President said that this basic human right exists on the charter of the United Nations declaration being the mother of all rights.
He continued that Kashmiris struggle for freedom and right to self determination is not 71 years old. “Rather it is 186 years old struggle when the people of Jammu Kashmir rose in 1832 against then dogra rule during Ghulab Singh’s injustices. He recalled that the bodies of the rebels were fleeced in Poonch. He underlined that martyrdom of 22 Kashmiris while delivering Azan in front of Central Jail Srinagar during trial of Abdul Qadeer on July 13, 1931 infused a fresh spirit to the Kashmiris struggle for freedom from the despotic dogra rule over the state. This high spirit of the people of the state was continuing will full vigor to reach the ultimate destination of the freedom of occupied Jammu Kashmir from the forced and unlawful rule, he added.
Sardar Masood Khan said that since people of Jammu & Kashmir are the and the most critical party to the Kashmir issue, it shall have to be treated as trilateral issue and not the bilateral to ensure its early peaceful solution in line with the aspirations and will of the key party to the conflict, he said.
The AJK President called upon the students to expose the ugly face of India in occupied Jammu Kashmir before the external through using all means of the social media. He also called upon the Pakistani and Kashmiri Diaspora abroad, particularly in United Kingdom to lobby for attracting the external world towards the increased human rights abuses in Indian held Jammu Kashmir where over seven lakh of troops have unleashed the worst reign of state terrorism, ethnic cleansing and rights abuses to perpetuate its forced and unlawful occupation of the internationally-acknowledged disputed Himalayan state. “Your concerted efforts would be required to strengthen and perpetuate the struggle for freedom of the occupied territory from Indian long Indian subjugation”, he emphasized the audience hailing from various walks of life including students, academicians, journalists and others.
Sardar Masood said “we must record the human rights violations in Indian occupied Jammu Kashmir through all means of communications including the social media and most powerful tool of mobile phone besides lobbying in the United Nations. In this connection, the President underlined that the APHC chief Mir Waiz Omer Farooq has released a very comprehensive report on human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir.
This conference brings together academics, university students, and media organizations.
It is worthwhile to mention here that Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had recently released the first ever report on violation of Human Rights in Indian Occupied Kashmir which has been experiencing extensive Human Rights violations at the hands of Indian Military. These violations have been neglected by the International Community for a long time. The UNSC resolution 39 established the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan. Whereas, \resolution 47 mandated the Commission to facilitate free and fair plebiscite. But all these approaches failed due to the Indian non-compliance. Since then, the intensity of violence against Kashmiris by the Indian military has increased manifolds.
The main objective of hosting the conference was to promote the protection of Kashmiri youth and prevent deterioration of peace in the valley. How India is using “termination of Kashmiri youth policy’ to underline future resolution of Jammu & Kashmir issue, is an important question to investigate? As a result, India through its active milita1Y and security occupation has managed to impose a combination of demographic and societal changes, which, in turn have become central to flout all international norms and UNSC resolutions — thus upsetting the basic global Human Rights structure and international law. The Human Rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir, highlighted by the “Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Kashmir by Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights” are: Lack of justice and impunity, Administrative detention, Excessive use of force and torture, Killing of civilians, Use of pellet-firing shotgun, Arbitrary arrests and detention, including children,Forced disappearances, Restrictions on the right to freedom of expression, Reprisals against Human Rights defenders and restrictions on journalists and Violations of the right to education and health and Sexual violence.
It may be added that this is the first ever report on Human Rights violations in Kashmir. Despite the systematic atrocities committed by Indian government, highlighted in this report, it did not receive the due attention of Media, Civil Society and International Human Rights Organizations. Hence, it is imperative that the Human Rights violations highlighted in this report shall be given due importance. India is also orchestrating the demography of Kashmir to manipulate the future plebiscite. This is evident from attempts to abrogate Alticle 35-A of the Indian Constitution that allows the Janunu-Kashmir assembly to define permanent residents of the state, giving property to non Kashmiri industrialists and the establishment of Sainik (Indian occupying army) colonies. The surge of Hindu right has also created concerns regarding the rights of Kashmiris in the occupied valley. The Muslim population is threatened by these rightist groups.
The research Questions were brought in discussion in the scheduled moot included “How the UN Kashmir report will impact the Human Rights laws?, 2) What are the similarities of Indian Occupied Kashmir with East Timor? 3) What role can the civil society play in highlighting the acts of Human Rights violations in Indian Held Kashmir? 4) International community interests m resolving the crisis?