London exhibition exposes India’s oppression of Kashmiris

LONDON: An exhibition here to expose India’s torture and oppression of Kashmiris drew hundreds of people to the occasion to show solidarity with the people of Kashmir.

The exhibition was arranged by Naheed Randhawa, Chairperson of World Congress of Overseas Pakistanis (WCOP), and Imran Hussain MP and attended by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Azad Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, Senator Sherry Rehman and many others.

The WCOP’s Naheed Randhawa said that the exhibition has been organized in a show of moral support to the oppressed Kashmiri people in Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir where grave human rights situation has attracted the world attention. “This exhibition shows how India has been killing, maiming and torturing Kashmiris. India has acted as an irresponsible terrorist state. This exhibition throws light on how through rape and pellet guns have been used as an instrument of war,” said Randhawa.

Foreign Minister of Pakistan Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi inaugurated the exhibition.

The event was attended by a large gathering of guests including British Parliamentarians, members of Cross-party Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate of Pakistan, Local government Mayors and Councillors, representatives from civil society organizations, students, Kashmiris and members of the British Pakistani Diaspora.

The exhibition showcased a wide array of photographs that shed light on the plight of innocent Kashmiris, particularly pellet gun victims including women and children who suffered from injuries at the hands of Indian security forces in Indian Occupied Kashmir. A part of display of Indian atrocities pertained to genocide and dozens of massacres carried out by the Indian occupation forces.

A number of Kashmiri artefacts were also on display along with pictures depicting the heavenly landscape and pristine beauty of Jammu & Kashmir. They stood in sharp contrast to the present-day situation where violence continues to inflict suffering upon the people of IOK through use of draconian laws and Indian state sponsored terrorism in complete disregard and violation of the UN and other International Conventions on human rights.

On the occasion, a number of documentaries and slide shows pertaining to the people of Jammu and Kashmir’s endless sufferings were also shown to the jam packed venue.

The pictorial presentations were reflective of the crimes against humanity committed by Indian state agencies. Kashmiri traditional songs were also played during the event.

The Foreign Minister, while highlighting the prevailing human rights situation in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir condemned the ongoing atrocities and expressed solidarity with Kashmiris in their struggle for their legitimate right to self determination, as also enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions. He assured that the Government and the people of Pakistan remain steadfast in their moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris. Pakistan Government and its people spare no occasion to create awareness on Jammu & Kashmir with the view to ensuring that bloodshed in Indian Occupied Kashmir is halted immediately and unconditionally and that the perpetrators of crimes against innocent Kashmiris are brought to justice.

President AJK Sardar Masood Khan urged the international community to speak for the voiceless and oppressed Kashmiris. Khan thanked the British parliamentarians and British public for supporting the just cause of Kashmir. He condemned India for trying its best to cancel the events around Kashmir in Britain and said that Indian efforts were defeated. Sardar Masood Khan said that India is involved in genocide of Kashmiri Muslims and must be stopped by international community.

The High Commissioner for Pakistan, Mohammad Nafees Zakaria, while speaking on the occasion, called for a peaceful resolution to this dispute that remains one of the oldest unresolved agenda items at UN Security Council and delivery of justice to the Kashmiris.