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Speakers at roundtable conference call for moving International Criminal Court on Kashmir situation

By our correspondents
May 05, 2017

Islamabad 

The speakers at a roundtable conference organised by Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR) on Thursday stressed the need of alerting the International Criminal Court (ICC) on atrocities in occupied Kashmir urging government of Pakistan to adopt a proactive approach on highlighting the Kashmir issue particularly Indian atrocities on innocent Kashmiris at United Nations and other international fora more vigorously. 

JKCHR organised the roundtable conference at Islamabad Hotel and in its Islamabad Declaration stressed the need of highlighting Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir more vigorously. The conference was organised to deliberate upon as how Indian atrocities against Kashmiris are a threat to good community relations’ in Europe, United States of America, Middle East and many other countries, which are home to many Indians, Pakistanis and Kashmiris. The conference was attended among others by Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan, former AJK president General (r) Sardar Anwar Khan, former chief justices of AJK Manzoor Hussain Geelani and Majeed Malik, JKCHR President Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani, Jamaat-e-Islami AJK Naib Amir Noor Albari, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader Rafiq Dar, Hurriyet Conference leader Ghulam Mohammad Safi, Syed Faiz Naqshbandi, Azeem Dutt and many other Kashmiri leaders. 

The participants of the conference stressed the need of alerting the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the war crimes committed by India in occupied Kashmir. “Since India with a primary competency is unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute these crimes at issue, there is merit in invoking the Principle of complementarity -- which grants jurisdiction to the ICC. ICC prosecutor has the mandate to open, investigate and prosecute the most serious crimes, namely war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide,” said Dr Nazir Gilani in his welcome note.

He said that the footage of atrocities that is coming out of Kashmir is sickening and there could hardly be any other place like Kashmir, where UN has frozen the people into a non-action, leaving them exposed to the killing and other unprecedented abuse at the hands of an occupation force. It is a serious situation for the United Nations and all countries that are a home for Kashmiri Diaspora. The killing and abuse by a Hindu soldier of a defenceless Kashmiri Muslim, man, woman and youth is becoming a serious threat to intra-community relations at home and abroad.

Dr Gilani said that JKCHR organised this Round Table to consider the atrocities committed by an occupation force and threat to good community relations in countries that are home for Indians, Pakistanis and Kashmiris. “All opinions expressed on the subject, findings and recommendations made would be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council, General Assembly, Security Council, Commonwealth Secretariat, OIC, other international forums and countries that played a lead role in UN debates on Kashmir and in finalising the manner of a UN supervised referendum in Kashmir,” he added.

The speakers were of the view that all of them have an important role to play in protecting a woman from being raped by an Indian soldier, protecting a man from inhumane and degrading treatment, protecting a youth from torture and involuntary disappearance, in seeking the release of prisoners languishing in Indian prison for over 24 years, and in stopping the Indian soldier from firing pellet guns to blind, disable and kill the youth in Kashmir. They said that all of them would need to join in condemning the likes of Ram Madhav, Chander Parkash Ganga and Mukul Rohatgi for justifying the inhumane and degrading treatment of Kashmiris and using them as human shields during military operations.

They said that Indian security forces need to be stopped and international community has to be updated on the continued wave of human rights abuses committed by an Indian soldier in uniform in Kashmir. Communal forces sitting in the Government and administration in New Delhi have reduced the Kashmiri Muslim to a process of life. These forces, they said do not want a Kashmiri Muslim to graduate for a quality of life. They have robbed the Kashmiri men, women and children of their habitat, honour and dignity. 

Dr Gilani said that the roundtable conference was organised to ‘examine’ the situation and ‘recommend’ means to construct a credible defence for the people until a UN supervised referendum takes place.

He also pointed out as how Kashmiri Diaspora living in peace and harmony in Europe, US, Middle East and many other countries of the world are stunned and seriously disturbed by the emerging scenes of atrocities being committed by Indian security forces on men, women, youth and children in the habitat of Kashmir.