International community should address human rights violations in IHK

Islamabad: The draconian laws in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) and the atrocities of the Indian forces require the international community to take action against the state sponsored human rights violations in the valley.

This was stated by the Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Defence Production, Lt General (r) Abdul Qayyum who was presiding over the ‘Briefing Session on Kashmir: Perspective and Experience from Indian Held Kashmir.’

Jammu Kashmir Salvation Movement Chairman Zafar Akbar Bhat, was the keynote speaker at the session. Zafar shared the experiences of the Kashmiri people who are facing the brunt of Indian atrocities.

Zafar Akbar Bhat, who travelled from Srinagar said that as per estimated reports, close to 100,000 people have died in occupied Kashmir since 1989. There have been over 70,000 killings, 8000 plus forced disappearances, mass torture and sexual violence, the majority committed by Indian armed forces. These cases have had zero prosecution in civilian courts.”

He said that India has committed genocide of Kashmiri Muslims to quell their uprising and Indian forces are “assaulting civilians during search operations, tortured and summarily executed detainees in custody and murdered civilians in reprisal attacks.”

He further said that rape has regularly been used as a mean to "punish and humiliate" communities and Indian forces use it as a weapon of war against the population. He further added that since past seven decades, Indian army in Jammu and Kashmir had carried out extrajudicial killings of civilians and suspected insurgents and during this period more than ten thousand disappeared during forces custody.

Lt General (R) Abdul Qayyum said that Pakistan is standing with its Kashmiri brethren in thick and thin and will also continue to support the cause at the international, regional and national level. He said that it is priority of Pakistan to inform the international community about the right of self determination of Kashmir people and which is also the part of Universal Declaration of Human Rights and resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

President Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies Farhat Asif highlighted the significance of organizing this briefing session. Head of International Relations Department National University of Modern Languages Dr Adnan Sarwar Khan and Former Minister AJK Farzana Yaqoob also spoke about the current situation in Kashmir and various connected dynamics during the session.

Vice Chairman Jammu Kashmir Salvation Movement Altaf Ahmad Bhat, Senior Hurriyat leader, Mehmood Ahmad Sagar, General (r) Masood Shareef Khatak, Dr Aalia Sohail Khan, Dr Asma Zahoor, Prof Dr Ghazala Tabassum, Maj Gen Nawaz Choudhry, Brigadier Ghulam Ali , Senior journalist and columnist Aqeel Ahamd Tareen, Zafar Bakhtawri and Mushtaq Askari were also present on the occasion. A Large number of diplomats, academia, media representatives and civil society activist were also present on the occasion.