Nation unites to condemn Indian brutalities in IHK

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani nation was seen united on Monday in condemnation of Indian brutalities in the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) and in support of right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people.

A special meeting of the federal cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, met here to review the fresh Indian brutality and killing of innocent Kashmiris in the IHK and decided that a protest day will be observed throughout the country on Friday, 6 April, to express solidarity with the Kashmiris.

A resolution adopted to highlight the sentiments of the people of Pakistan said, “The federal cabinet strongly condemns the brutal and indiscriminate use of force by the Indian occupation forces resulting in the martyrdom of more than 20 innocent Kashmiris in Shopian and Anantnag.”

The cabinet emphatically condemned the suspension of communication services, especially the internet in the valley, and underscored that such reprehensible Indian attempts aimed at silencing the voice of Kashmiris from reaching the international community would never succeed.

The cabinet paid rich tribute to the brave and resilientKashmiris who had been continuously demonstrating against brutal repression, incarceration, torture and extrajudicial killings perpetrated by the illegal occupation Indian forces. It also condemned the draconian laws, including POTA, TADA, PSA and AFSPA, imposed by India in the IHK. It further stressed that the deteriorating situation in the IHK and Indian escalation at the Working Boundary and the Line of Control (LoC) was a flashpoint and threat to regional peace and tranquillity.

Expressing solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the federal cabinet urged the international community to take cognisance of the gross and systematic human rights violations of Kashmiris and requested the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to send fact-finding missions to the IHK.

The cabinet also reiterated the prime minister’s request to the UN secretary general to appoint a special envoy for Jammu and Kashmir with mandate flowing from the unimplemented UN Security Council resolutions. It also decided to send special envoys of the prime minister, including the president of Azad Jammu Kashmir, to selected capitals to highlight the deteriorating situation in the IHK.

The cabinet declared that Friday, April 6 will be observed as a protest day in support of the Kashmiri brothers and sisters against the Indian brutalities. The federal cabinet will also be holding a joint sitting with the Azad Jammu Kashmir Council (AJKC) tomorrow (Wednesday). It would be for the first time in the history of the AJKC that the federal cabinet’s exclusive session will be taking place in the AJK capital.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi condemned the Indian state terrorism against the innocent people of the IHK and said Pakistan will spare no effort to highlight the cause of oppressed Kashmiris.

The premier assured the Kashmiris that Pakistan would approach the public opinion since the Indian occupying forces were committing grave offences against the innocent people and committing serious human rights violations. The important world capitals are being sensitised to the situation.

The cabinet endorsed the views of the prime minister and warned India of serious consequences if it didn’t stop violation of human rights in the occupied area. The members were of the view that regional and world peace could be at risk if India was not stopped from committing oppression against the innocent people of Kashmir.

Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif gave a presentation to the cabinet on the IHK situation and Pakistan’s efforts to garner support of international community for innocent Kashmiris. The cabinet offered Fateha for the martyrs and prayed for an early recovery of the injured.

Meanwhile, briefing the media persons, Khawaja Asif said the history of Muslim massacre in India's Gujarat is being repeated in the IHK. The minister accused India of state-sponsored terrorism in the occupied valley, and said that the Indian state is "playing holi with the blood of Kashmiris".

He said the situation at the LoC is tense due to the Indian government. He said that the federal cabinet met with a one-point agenda: to discuss the plight of Kashmiri people.

Asif said that the cabinet agreed to send delegations to different countries in view of apprising them of human rights abuses in the occupied valley. He said he discussed the Kashmir crisis with the Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers, adding that the Muslim nations have openly supported Pakistan's stance on Kashmir.

Muhammad Anis adds: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, while strongly condemning the atrocities of Indian troops in the IHK, has said that India can never suppress the indigenous political struggle for right to self-determination. "Brutalities by Indian security forces against innocent Kashmiris in Occupied Kashmir and ceasefire violations along Working Boundary and LoC targeting civilians are highly condemnable," the army chief said in a message.

The Indian forces during house-to-house search in IHK’s Islamabad and Shopian killed over 17 innocent Kashmiris and injured over 100 protesters. The Indian forces during the last three months have also indulged in 948 ceasefire violations along the LoC and Working Boundary.

Meanwhile, talking to Ambassador Alice G Wells, South and Central Asia Acting Assistant Secretary, USA, who called on him at the General Headquarters (GHQ), General Bajwa reiterated that Pakistan was committed to peace and stability in the region, particularly in Afghanistan, through a national approach. Regional security environment and matters of mutual interest were discussed during the meeting, said a statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The COAS said that Pakistan also expects other players in the region to play an equally positive part. Ambassador Wells said the US is committed to lasting peace and supports all efforts towards that end. Both agreed that bilateral convergences should be leveraged to gain positive momentum rather than remaining hostage to perceptions.

Agencies add: On the call of the AJK prime minister, people observed a black day and staged protest rallies against brutal killings of more than 20 youths in the IHK by Indian troops. The main rally was organised in AJK’s capital Muzaffarabad which was led by Minister for Social Welfare Naureen Arif, Member Legislative Assembly Dr Mustafa Bashir and former minister Bazil Ali Naqvi and participated by hundreds of people. Participants of rally were carrying banners and placards condemning Indian brutalities in the IHK.

Dr Mustafa Bashir, while addressing the rally, said Indian democracy was bitterly exposed after recent killings and inhuman atrocities by its forces in the IHK. He expressed anguish over the silence of civilised world and countries on India’s inhuman acts from the past many years. He called upon the Pakistan government to raise the issue at international forums forcefully and stressed the world powers to take a serious cognisance of gross human rights violations and extrajudicial killings by Indian forces. Protest rallies were also held in the Neelum Valley, Hattian Balla, Bagh, Rawalakot, Kotli and Mirpur district of AJK against the carnage in the IHK.

Meanwhile, Indian authorities shut schools and blocked internet services in the IHK, after a weekend of protests and gunbattles left 20 dead and 200 injured -- including many civilians with damaged eyesight. Thousands took to the streets over the weekend in support of the freedom activists who have been struggling for decades for independence or for a merger with Pakistan.

Police opened fire with live rounds and pellet guns on mourners attending the funerals of slain youth and on crowds who threw stones and chanted slogans against Indian rule. Doctors said Monday the extent of pellet gun injuries was the worst they had seen since hundreds were wounded in unrest that followed the shooting death of Burhan Wani in July 2016.

"Most of them have pellets in their eyes," said Dr Saleem Tak, medical superintendent at the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar, of the 45 patients who arrived at the hospital after Sunday’s clashes.

"This was the highest number of these injuries received in the hospital on a single day since 2016." Amnesty International has called for the weapons to be banned, describing them as cruel and indiscriminate.

One man who declined to give his name for fear of reprisals told AFP his two teenage sons were struck by pellets while attending a funeral. "The doctors are trying to save their eyes. We have to give these sacrifices for freedom," he said. Another woman tended to her son, who wore a bandage over a damaged eye. "They say everything is fine in Kashmir, but look what happens here," she said, also declining to give her name.