S. A Haidri
Muzaffarabad: A protest sit-in was organized here on Tuesday by the International Forum for Justice and Human Rights against the sexual assault and gang rapes of the oppressed Kashmiri women of Kannan Poshpura by the Indian occupying forces
According to details, Indian forces sexually assaulted and raped Kashmiri women under the pretext of siege and crackdown against the tragic incident of mass humiliation of more than 30 Kashmiri women on February 23, 1991, in the village of Kanan Poshpura in Kupwara district of Occupied Kashmir.
People in the capital demonstrated an anti-India protest sit-in at Burhan Wani Shaheed Chowk in which hundreds of women and other citizens participated.
The women carried banners and placards with slogans for justice for the oppressed and downtrodden women of Kannan Poshpura.
The women chanted slogans against the tyranny and oppression of the Indian forces and in favor of the independence of Kashmir.
Protesters demanded punishment for the Indian troops involved in the Kanan Poshpura incident.
Speakers on the occasion stated that Kashmiri women have been victims of Indian oppression and barbarism for the past three decades.
They were of the view that the oppressed women of Kannan Poshpura have not received justice till date and accused Indian Army personnel have not been brought to justice.
The speakers said that more than 12,000 Kashmiri women have been sexually assaulted by the Indian forces in IOK.
“More than 2200 Kashmiri women have been forced to live a life of semi-widowhood. Even today, Kashmiri women Syeda Adia Andrabi, Nahida Nasreen, Fehmida Sufi and other women are imprisoned in Indian notorious jails” they added.
Addressing the sit-in, speakers maintained that international human rights organizations should stop terrorist attacks on women, children and unarmed civilians in the occupied state of Jammu and Kashmir.
They called upon the UN and other international community to play its effective role in finding a just solution to the Jammu and Kashmir issue besides immediate release of Kashmiri women in Indian jails.
The speakers strongly condemned the arrest of human rights activist Muhammad Ahsan Onto by the Indian security forces in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and demanded the release of all Kashmiri prisoners.
Anti-India protesters marched from Burhan Wani Shaheed Chowk to the UN observer’s office and presented the resolution.
International Forum for Justice and Human Rights Vice Chairman Mushtaq-ul-Islam, Chairman Pasban-e-Hurriyat Uzair Ahmad Ghazali, PML-N leader Nissara Abbasi, Maira Khan, Shaukat Javed Mir, Shagufta Noreen Kazmi, Usman Ali Hashim,Uzma Shireen advocate, Javed Ahmed Mughal, Bushra Bukhari, Advocate Yasir Naqvi, Saira Chishti, Shabnam Awan, Madam Naseema and others were present on the occasion.
