ISLAMABAD:India become under severe criticism at the UN Human RightsCouncil in Geneva where reputed international rights groups during a daylong debate took a dig at the BJP government for human rights violations inthe occupied Kashmir.The representatives urging the Council to impress upon the Indiangovernment to hold accountable members of its security forces involved inheinous crimes such as torture, arbitrary detentions, killings, and forceddisappearances.
According to press statement received here, while taking part in a debateheld under agenda item 3, the representatives of International Muslim WomenUnion (IMWU), World Muslim Congress (WMC), Community Human Rights andAdvocacy Center (CHR&AC) and Amnesty International voiced their seriousconcerns over the dire political and human rights situation in the disputedterritory.
Speaking on the occasion the CHR&AC representative Eemaan Gilani, whilereferring to the genesis of Kashmir dispute said, “Jammu and Kashmir is adisputed territory, UN has passed a number of resolutions calling for afree an impartial plebiscite under the UN auspicious to allow the peopleKashmir to determine their political future in freely an atmosphere free ofcoercion.
These resolutions she said were endorsed by the then prime ministerJawaharlal Nehru and the Indian representative in the UN Security Council.Despite the fact India has been always reluctant to implement theseresolutions.
Notwithstanding the international commitments, she said, Indian hadforcibly occupied the territory and deployed over 900,000 military andparamilitary troops in the region, which makes it the highest military zonein the world. Urging the world body to take effective notice of thesituation in held territory she said, “It was high time that the pressurebe built on the government of Indian to stop human rights violations inKashmir and abide by the international laws”.
Terming denial of right to self-determination as a violation of humanrights, the IMWU representative Ms Warda Najum said, “Kashmiris aresubjected to the worst kind of violence and subjugation for demanding thisright”.
Asking the world audience to hear the cries of suffering humanity inKashmir she said, “In the middle of media blackout and clampdown on civilsociety and human rights defenders I can hear the mournful wails ofmillions of Kashmiris under Indian occupation for more than 10 months now”.
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“If Indian thinks it can prevent itself from censoring its evil India ismistaken”, she said adding that the Indian occupied territory is a placewhere people are denied justice, where occupation is enforced and dejectionprevails, where people are made to feel robbed, degraded and humiliated”.
Referring to the situation in Indian held Kashmir the WMC representativeMr. Raja Saeed uz Zaman, said, “What defines today’s Kashmir isextra-judicial killings, fake-encounters, forced disappearances, detentionof Kashmiri youth and torture”.
They said harassment of the civilian, killing and blinding people bypellet-firing shotguns have become a new normal in Kashmir.
Speaking on the occasion, the Amnesty international representative, whileexpressing his grave concerns over the rising tide of fascism, intolerance,and racism in Indian said, “We are alarmed by the deteriorating situationin India where draconian laws are being used to detain and arrest the humanrights defenders and peaceful protesters. Regarding the arrests and tortureon peaceful protesters by the Indian police he said, “People who wereprotesting against Citizenship Act were subjected to excessive force”. Thisreality he said could no longer be ignored. He said, “We urge the councilto hold India accountable for human rights obligations and commitments”.
