Fatemi briefs OIC envoys on Indian atrocities in IOK

ISLAMABAD: Monday, saw renewed efforts by Pakistan and opposition political parties in Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IOK) to point out to all those western capitals who are unmoved, as “continued killings and blatant human rights violations in IOK, resulted once again by indiscriminate use of lethal force by Indian security forces”.

In this regard Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi briefed the ambassadors of the OIC member states, based in Islamabad, Monday afternoon at the Foreign Office over the grave human rights violations in the IOK.

It is crystal clear that unless the powerful western world capitals with huge trade ties with India, move and impress upon New Delhi that ‘enough is enough’, OIC is too weak to make a difference and voices in support of Kashmiris will continue to be muffled and Prime Minister Modi will make believe that he is “concerned”. Even UN secretary general after over a month found time to issue a statement with UNHCR unbelieving requesting a visit to Azad Kashmir.

So fraught is the situation in Kashmir that even former IOK chief minister gave an angry shut up call to an Indian journalist , who echoing New Delhi’s policy of looking away from the situation in the IOK, asked about Azad Kashmir.

Omar responded, "This question should be put to the PMO or Ministry of External Affairs. I am here to talk about my people in the state [of Kashmir]. We emphasised that the issue of Jammu and Kashmir is more of political in nature. Time and again such situations do arise but if we are unable to find a political solution to it, we will be repeating our mistakes again and again.”

These world powers which cannot forgo their trade benefits with New Delhi choose to be blind even to eight-year-old Kashmiri, Junaid Ahmad who on Sunday became the latest victim of ‘targeted fire’ when he was shot at from close range by a pellet gun, resulting in extensive injuries to his chest. He is the latest to figure in the grim statistics showing that 14 percent of those injured by pellets since July 9 are below the age of 15 and face complicated surgeries.

Grievous injuries in the current unrest and maimed and blinded many young boys and girls, say media reports from Srinagar.

The Pakistan foreign secretary in a letter to his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar pointed out, “Pakistan has also called for putting an immediate end to the human rights violations against the innocent people of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, who are struggling for their right of self-determination, and for providing medical facilities to the injured in the Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir, including the permission for doctors and paramedics to travel.”

For those inside and outside India who refuse to come to terms with reality this report from Srinagar shows the helplessness of a situation as the world watches silently. Inside Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital, doctors point out that dozens of pellets hit young Junaid Ahmad in the chest, with some penetrating through to his lungs. “There are multiple pellet injuries in the chest but he is showing signs of improvement,” said a doctor in the hospital.

“If he was a little closer to the barrel of the pellet shotgun, given his tender skin, pellets would have ruptured his lungs,” the doctor said. It received 933 pellet cases till the first week of August.

“We had 440 pellet patients who were hit in the eyes. Of these, 60 to 70 patients were under the age of 15,” consultant ophthalmologist at the SMHS Sajad Khanday told The Hindu newspaper.

Around 40 surgeries are slated for next week. “There were around 250 patients who required second surgeries. Many among them are very young,” said Dr. Khanday.

He admitted that performing surgeries on children is more demanding. “In adults injured by pellets, we administer local anaesthesia and perform surgeries. However, children have to undergo general anaesthesia, where functioning of all vitals must be regulated and observed minutely. Surgeries are more tedious than performed on adults,” said Dr. Khanday, who has operated upon patients as young as seven.