UNITED NATIONS: AJK President Sardar Masood Khan has suggested a seven-point formula to mitigate the current sufferings of the people in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) and demanded intervention of the world community forthwith to rescue the people of the occupied land.
In his maiden address to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) contact group on Kashmir, he said, “As we meet today, the IOK is burning. Since July 8 this year, following the extrajudicial killing of Kashmiri youth leader Burhan Wani, hundreds of Kashmiri men, women and children have been killed; more than 150 civilians have been blinded by the use of lethal pellet guns, and more than 10,000 men, women and children have been seriously injured because of the indiscriminate firing by occupying Indian forces.
“India claims that pellet guns are non-lethal. The Doctors Association of Kashmir says the embedded pellets in the bodies of the victims are causing fatal lead poisoning and put pregnant women at serious risk. Further, the toxic lead deposits in children' bodies stunt their growth. “The Kashmiris in IOK are under siege. In their own land, Kashmiris are being killed, maimed, blinded, tortured, and hounded by the occupying forces. The use of sexual molestation and rape, as an instrument of terror, is common. In IOK, peaceful demonstrations are a crime, political meetings are banned, and true Kashmiri leaders have been incarcerated. Free speech is a crime, free movement is a crime, and voicing aspirations for the right to self-determination is treason. There are prolonged curfews and mobile telephone and Internet blackouts there. Indian occupation forces in the territory hunt down innocent citizens in pursuit of their illicit, draconian black laws.”
Sardar Masood Khan further said, “In the past ten weeks, a serious humanitarian crisis has unfolded in IOK. In pursuit of their policy of collective punishment, the Indian occupying forces have blocked essential supplies; assaulted families of protesters physically and sexually; and attacked villages and townships to terrorise their residents. They have not even spared ambulances and hospitals where the injured under-treatment hide their identity to escape Indian wrath. All these acts of terrorism are being committed with impunity. Human rights violations against the Kashmiris in IOK are deliberate, rampant, gross and systematic. The crime of the targeted civilians is peaceful, unarmed protests against the killings since July 8. India is guilty of violating Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions, especially the recognized International Humanitarian Law principles of proportionality, distinction and precaution. There is a sense of urgency to take action. This is not business as usual. We reject the Indian campaign of disinformation suggesting that Kashmiris are terrorists. Kashmiris are victims of terrorism unleashed by Indian occupying forces. India is committing terrorism against besieged and beleaguered Kashmiris,” he added.
Masood Khan who had been taking part in the deliberations of the group as Pakistan’s diplomat said, “War is not an option, because India and Pakistan are nuclear-armed states. India should stop using brinkmanship, subversion and state terrorism under the nuclear umbrella. We reject the fallacious Indian claim that Kashmir is an integral part of India. Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory whose political future has to be decided by its people through a democratic method of UN-supervised plebiscite in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions. International law, the UK's 1947 Indian Independence Act, and the Security Council resolutions, passed from 1948 to 1957 that recognise and enshrine the right to self-determination of the Kashmiris. India cannot deny this right to them through its unilateral, coercive measures.
“The current uprising is not an isolated incident but a manifestation of deep, widespread and long-held alienation of the oppressed people of IOK. The people have once again declared their opposition to the Indian occupation.
“We pay tribute to the Kashmiris for heir resilience and for their constant quest for freedom despite unabated Indian terrorism. We salute them for their courage and sacrifices. And our message to them is: ‘we are with you.’ Kashmir is a test case for the conscience of humanity and international law. People ask: what would prevail? Rank mercantilism, expediency and real politik or rule of law for an entrapped people who have been deprived of their basic rights by an occupying power? The people of Kashmir say: ‘no matter what happens, their will will prevail.’ The Government and people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir extend their full moral, political and diplomatic support to the just cause and struggle for freedom of our brothers and sisters in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
“We call upon the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir to:
(a) Condemn, once again, the horrendous killings and brutalities in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOK), the use of pellet guns, and measures used by India to terrorize Kashmiri population; and demand from India to cease such criminal activities forthwith;
(b) Ask India to rescind the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and other draconian laws;
(c) Urge UNOCHA and other relevant UN agencies to explore the possibility of establishing a humanitarian corridor to provide relief to the besieged Kashmiris;
(d) Call on the OIC Secretary General to convey to the UN Secretary General and the President of the UN Security Council the gravity of the situation in IOK and its serious implications for peace and security in South Asia; and take European Union leadership into confidence to explore ways to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute;
(e) Urge the UN Secretary General to use his good offices and the recognised diplomatic tools of preventive diplomacy under Chapter VI of the Charter - enquiry, mediation and negotiation - to address the crisis in Jammu and Kashmir.
(f) Urge the UN to establish Indian accountability for the brutal use of force constituting crimes against humanity and acts of genocide.
(g) Help create an atmosphere for engagement between Pakistan, India and the people of Jammu and Kashmir so as to explore a lasting solution of the Kashmir dispute.”
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