Speakers Urge Int'l Community To Give Attention To Kashmir Issue

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Oct, 2016 ) : Speakers at a seminar held here Friday urged the international community to give due attention to the grave human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir.

"Flagrant violations of human rights in Indian Occupied Kashmir and brutal actions of killing and injuring innocent Kashmiris by Indian occupying forces need immediate attention," they said. The seminar titled "Human Rights Violation in IOK, Kashmiris' Aspirations and Responsibility of International Community" was arranged by the research based think-tank, Muslim Institute titled "Human Rights Violation in IOK, Kashmiris' Aspirations and Responsibility of International Community" to analyze prevailing situation in Kashmir, convey the perspective and viewpoint of Kashmiri people to the world and draw the attention of world community towards this issue.

Those who spoke on the occasion included Ambassador (R) Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, Dr Muhammad Khan Former HOD NDU, Farhana Qazi Research Fellow Center for Global Policy, USA, Ghulam Muhammad Safi (APHC), Mir Tahir Masood (APHC), Mr Hasnain Haider, Asst Dir Kashmir Desk Mofa, Former Minister AJK Farzana Yaqoob Khan, Ambassador (R) Ishtiaq Andrabi, Former Deputy Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ahmad Jogazai, Gen (R) Shahid Ahmad Hashmat, Gen (R) Ali Baz Khan, Altaf Wani, Professor Nazir Shawl and MUSLIM Institute Tahir Mehmood.

Speakers emphasized that the current situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is agonizing and painful. Speakers said there is no denying fact that human rights violations by Indian occupied forces are being carried out for last seven decades but in July, a new black chapter of human right violations by Indian occupied forces, started when protests broke out in the aftermath of the killing of a young Kashmiri Burhan Wani.

The torture of Kashmiris, blinding of people attending funerals, rape, killings and maiming, abuse and humiliation has become routine of daily life in the Indian occupied Kashmir, they added. The use of steel pellets, officially a `non-lethal weapon' in India, is blinding Kashmiri youth.

The medical aid to severely injured Kashmiris is not being provided and even ambulances are blocked and injured people are being denied timely treatment.

It is the need of the hour that international aid agencies should be given access to save the young injured protesters, many of whom are in danger to lose their eyesight due to severe injuries from pellet guns.

India is deliberately violating the Geneva Convention in Occupied Kashmir. European delegation has called IOK a beautiful prison. India instead of fulfilling its promises made with Kashmiris and international community has always tried to suppress the Kashmiris' voice through military power, they said.

According to United Nations resolution Kashmir dispute is an international issue and future of Kashmir is yet to be decided. Furthermore Indian designs are intended for demographic changes in Kashmir which are illegal under international law and are widely condemned by Kashmiris, Pakistan and many international scholars.

Pakistan Foreign Office and Kashmir committee should play their role in this regard. There should be a long term policy which should be continued despite any change in government. "We should conduct more research in order to better meet the upcoming challenges.

We have to build ourselves stronger so that our voice should be heard effectively." Impartial organizations and media should be given access to IOK that has been restricted by Indian authorities to hide the ground realities, the speakers said.

Telecommunication, newspapers, internet services are suspended by India in the IOK in order to made the world ignorant about the real picture of atrocities committed by occupied forces. Indian surgical strike stunt was another effort to divert the attention of international community from the burning Kashmir issue and severe human rights violations.

In order to justify its illegal occupation and human rights violations by its forces, India has tried to malign the freedom struggle of Kashmiris with terrorism but Kashmiris' struggle is a genuine freedom movement which aims to exercise their right of self- determination based on unanimously passed United Nations resolutions.

Fact finding missions should be sent to the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir to unveil the Indian war crimes and human rights violations.