ISLAMABAD:The speakers at a seminar in Srinagar have said that Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory, which needs to be resolved through a referendum on the principle of People’s right to self-determination.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the day-long seminar titled ‘The Right of Self-determination and Persistent Human Rights Violations in Kashmir’ was presided over by the President of the High Court Bar Association of occupied Kashmir, Muhammad Abdul Qayoom and moderated by HCBA General Secretary, Advocate G. N. Shaheen.
It was organized by the Bar Association to commemorate the 22nd martyrdom anniversary of prominent Kashmiri human rights lawyer and political activist, Advocate Jalil Andrabi. Andrabi was detained by an Indian army officer, Major Avtar Singh, on March 8, 1996 in Srinagar and three weeks later, his body was found floating in the river Jhelum.
The day was marked with the expression of solidarity with the mission of the martyrs and reaffirmation and commitment to pursue the Kashmir cause. The speakers while emphasizing the importance of people’s right to self-determination said that the United Nations Security Council resolutions were bedrock of Kashmiris’ freedom struggle.
The speakers said neither the paucity of time nor can state repression subjugate the will of the people of Jammu and Kashmir fighting for their inalienable birth right.
They said that Kashmir freedom struggle was indigenous in nature and substance and it could not be linked to any kind of terrorism. The Indian propaganda against the Kashmir freedom struggle, they added, is mischievous and based on falsehood. Kashmir has emerged as a major and worst human tragedy, as the state repression is at its peak and people are denied the basic rights even, as such, the international community including the United Nations Organization, Amnesty International, Asia Watch and other human rights organizations of the world should intervene to prevent the genocide of the people of J&K at the hands of occupation forces.
The seminar, among other, was also addressed by Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir Chairman Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chief Muhammad Yasin Malik. APP/AFP