PESHAWAR: As the sun disappear behind the majestic Mahadev Mountain at Srinagar in Indian Illegally Jummu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K), the atmosphere is laden with immense terror and oppression due to continued state terrorism unleashed by the occupational forces since they invaded held valley on October 27, 1947.
“As the sun set behind Mahadev Mountains peak at Srinagar, the Indian’s forces accompanied by sniffer dogs enter the houses of Kashmirs on the name of so called search and cordoned operations, and assaulted women and children besides making them almost sleepless,” said Mushtaq Ahmed Shah, Voice Chairman, Jummu and Kashmir’s Peoples League while talking to APP on Friday.
He said the reality remained even more stark and painful since the Hinduvata Modi regime abrogated special status of IIOJK on August 5, 2019, casting a long shadow of immense despair and desolation over the held valley.
He said an oppressive environment has fundamentally altered daily life at IIOJK where families often refrained from discussing political issues, fearing violent repercussions from the occupation forces, mostly night raids at their homes,” adding “Kashmiris are always watching their backs at the held valley.”
He said schools and businesses mostly operate under the specter of military presence, with many parents reluctant to send their children to educational institutes, mosques and bazaars due to fear of violence or harassment at IIOJK.
The indiscriminate firing, cluster ammunition, sniper attacks and excessive use of pellet guns have made life a nightmare for millions of Kashmiries at IIOJK. He said many innocent Kashmiris were killed in fake encounters in the held valley where women and children were being assaulted as weapons of war.
While referring to the 43 page report of the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) 2019, exposing Indian security forces’ systematic terrorism and war crimes at IIOJK, he said India has never allowed independent observers in a bid to hide the cases of human rights abuses and mass graves at IIOJK.
UNCHR report has testified that Indian occupied forces used excessive force and pellet guns against peaceful Kashmiris in 2016, resulting in deaths and injuries of a large number of civilians, which was a clear violation of UN Basic Principles on Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.
Referring to the India’s Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act (AFSPA) promulgated in Occupied Kashmir in 1990, he said that Indian Govt had granted full immunity to its forces from prosecution in civil courts and allowed detention of Kashmiri leadership without any charge or trial.
The black law was frequently used to detain peaceful protesters, Kashmiri leadership, political dissidents, and other activists. The puppet Indian state government of Jammu and Kashmir amended section 10 of the Public Safety Act in 2018 under which freedom fighters and separatist political leaders were being transferred to prisons outside of IIOJK.
Furthermore, India’s apartheid regime did not allow mass rituals and funeral of great Kashmiri leader, Syed Ali Gillani and his body was forcefully snatched from the bereaved family and buried at night. Similarly, great hurriat leader, Muhammad Yasin Malik was jailed for life in a fake case in a bid to silence his strong voice for Kashmir’s freedom and terrorize other Kashmir leadership. The brutal killing of freedom fighter Burhan Wani and other Kashmiris leadership in a fake encounter besides issues of over six million illegal domicile certificates of IIOJK to Hindus exposed the anti Kashmir’s policies of the Hinduvata’s regime.
The gruesome violation of human rights including forced disappearance of over 8,000 innocent Kashmiris, 8,652 unmarked mass graves and imposition of longest curfew on some 10 million unarmed Kashmiris have exposed India’s ugly secular face before the world, he said.
The Kashmir leader while citing the September 2021’s Pakistani dossier said about 8,652 unmarked graves identified in 89 villages of six districts in the held valley while bodies of 37 Kashmiris burnt alive by Indian forces were beyond recognition.
Around 162,000 cases of arbitrary arrests and torture, over 25,000 pellet guns injuries, 11,250 women raped, 23,000 women widowed and over 108,000 children orphaned since 1989 in IIOJK.
The excessive use of snipers and cluster ammunitions by India to target innocent Kashmiris along the Line of Control (LoC), use of children and women as human shields by Indian army during encounters and making them sleep at military camps forcing them to dig out minefields and tying youth on military jeeps furthe testified Modi government’s direct involvement in war crimes and genocide of Kashmiris.
The burning of mosques, houses and shops belonging to Muslims at BJP-led Tripura state by Hindutvta groups of RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal unveiled Modi’s tyranny against minorities especially Muslims.
He said mosques in Krishnagar, Dharmangar, Panisagar, Chandrapure were vandalized by the saffron-wearing youth in planned attacks on the Muslims population.
Hussain Shaheed Soharwardi, Chairman, International Relations Department, University of Peshawar said the illegal occupation of Kashmir valley by India had violated multiple articles of the 30 fundamental human rights of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) drafted by representatives from all the regions of the world including India on December 10, 1948 and was adopted by UN General Assembly (UNGA).
“I think time has come that international community should look beyond trade and business interests and step forward with collective action to stop genocide of oppressed Kashmiris besides pressurize the RRS’s backed Hinduovata Modi government to reverse all its illegal actions of August 5, 2019 and give right of self-determination to Kashmiris inevitable for lasting peace and stability in the South Asia.’
Khurshid Ahmed, Professor of International Relations at University of Peshawar said that despite the severity of the grim human rights situation at IIOJK, the international community’s response has been muted which was highly deplorable.
He said four wars were fought on Kashmir dispute between the two nuclear armed neighbours and another war could bring devastation for world peace especially in South Asia.
The experts urged UNO and world powers to come forward with meaningful actions to address the Kashmir dispute like that of East Taimur.
They said resolution of the Kashmir dispute was imperative for the progress and prosperity of billions of people living in the subcontinent.
