Terms Sata Pal Malik’s statement as ridiculous and absurd,
Hails Malaysian premier for taking bold stand on Kashmir,
Islamabad: (Parliament Times) The former convener All Parties Hurriyat Conference (Pak chapter) and senior vice president of Democratic Freedom Party Mehmood Ahmed Saghar on Thursday welcomed the US House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on human rights situation in Indian occupied Kashmir.
Terming it as a positive development Saghar said that the committee held threadbare discussions besides voicing serious concern over the worsening political and human rights situation in Kashmir. He also hailed Nitasha Kaul, Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster, and Angana Chatterji, co-chair of the Political Conflict, Gender and People’s Rights Initiative at the University of California, for highlighting the plight of Kashmiris and exposing Indian state-terrorism in Kashmir.
Referring to Nitasha Kaul and Prof. Chatterji’s statements presented before the committee Saghar said that the duo had rightly pointed out that the Indian state and its repressive policies have been main cause and consequence of widespread violence and rights abuse in the region.
Thanking Congressman Brad Sherman, for convening the hearing Saghar expressed the hope that the historic hearing will be instrumental in breaking the myth of so-called normalcy narrative on Kashmir being peddled by India. On US diplomat Alice Wells remarks that the US was monitoring the situation in Kashmir closely Saghar said that the simmering situation in the disputed territory demands that the international community and the US in particular should act and take effective measures to end the suffocating siege in Kashmir that has crippled the region and its inhabitants mentally, physical and economically.
Reacting to Jammu and Kashmir governor, Satya Pal Malik’s recent statement Saghar said that the statement was a part of BJP government’s smear campaign to defame Hurriat leadership besides creating chaos and confusion among Kashmiri masses. He said that during the ongoing liberation struggle Hurriat leaders have gone through trials and tribulations at the hands of occupation authorities. Besides enduring imprisonments he said that Hurriyat leaders and their families had to bore the brunt of state oppression. “Even a number of top-rank Hurriyat leaders including Mirwaiz Muhammad Farooq, Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone, Sheikh Abdul Aziz and several others were brutally killed by Indian forces”, he said adding that the Kashmiri people who are politically conscious will never fall prey to such gimmicks and vile machinations by the Indian government and its cronies in Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Saghar appreciated Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad who refused to retract his criticism of New Delhi’s actions in occupied Kashmir despite Indian traders calling for an unprecedented boycott of Malaysian palm oil. Terming Mahathir as a man of principle the DFP leader said that Kashmiris owe a debt of gratitude to Malaysian premier for standing by the side of oppressed and calling spade a spade. He said that the Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s courageous stand on the issue of Kashmir was a lesson for the leadership of the rest of Muslim countries who have unfortunately chosen to stay silent on the sufferings of Kashmiri people.
