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Tuesday March 19, 2024

India using Hindutva groups to target Jammu Muslims, says AJK president

By Murtaza Ali Shah
November 24, 2017

LONDON: The President of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), Sardar Masood Khan has said that Indian authorities are paying money to extremist Hindutva groups and militias such as RSS in Indian Held Kashmir(IHK)’s Jammu areas to kill and main local Muslim Kashmiris.

In an interview here, the AJK president said that India is victimising Muslims of Jammu region by using local militant organisations who are being funded heavily.

“Mainly Gujjar Muslims live in Jammu and they are facing ethnic and religious cleansing at the hands of local armed Hindutva groups funded by Indian occupation authorities. Gujjars are being targeted in the name of religion and it’s very dangerous. Indian authorities have formed so-called village defence committees of militants. Arms, ammunition and cash is given to militants to target local Muslims.

The RSS is recruiting militants openly to target Kashmiris. It’s offering rewards to those who will target Muslim youth. Those being victimised are ordinary people who have nothing to do with politics, it’s just that they are Kashmiris and Muslims,” he revealed.

Masood Khan said India has increased violation across the Line of Control, targeting civilians and their livelihood. He said that India used to mainly target Kashmiris across the LoC only but now its reign of terror has reached to Jammu where its using Hindu militant groups.

Masood Khan has been in the UK for a week. He has addressed audience at universities, attended events organised by an educational charity, met members of British Parliament and addressed two events in parliament besides various awareness events on the IHK.

The president said that he spoke about the issue of Kashmir at these events and stressed that there will be no peace in South Asian region without the resolution of Kashmir dispute. “Peace in the region is linked with the issue of Kashmir. It’s duty of the international community to end massacre of Kashmiris at the hands of India and put an end to state terrorism by India.”

He revealed that only this year, India has committed more than 1,550 violations across the LoC and as a result over 65 Kashmiris were martyred in Azad Kashmir. “India has no regard for human lives. It has a policy of state terrorism which it pursues blindly aimed at ethnic cleansing of Kashmiris. Lives of tens of thousands of people living across the LoC are in danger.

India is targeting the local residents and takes particular aim at destroying their properties to deprive them of what they have. This is terrorism at all levels.” Masood Khan said that no matter what political developments take place in Pakistan, the issue of Kashmir never gets affected because all of Pakistan is united for this cause.

“Whole of Pakistan, Azad Kashmir, all institutions and political parties agree that the right of self-determination of Kashmiris is of supreme importance and all believe that Kashmiris should be supported morally and politically. That has helped the people of Kashmir in their resolve of fighting Indian terrorism,” said the AJK president.