ISLAMABAD, Sep 19 (APP): A Kashmiri delegation staged strong protest outside the UN office against India’s unlawful occupation of Jammu and Kashmir and the systematic human rights violations committed by its forces in the occupied region.
Besides members of the delegation, people from different walks of life attended and addressed the demonstration. Speakers highlighted the grave political and human rights situation in occupied Kashmir and urged the UN Human Rights Council to intervene immediately to prevent further bloodshed and protect civilian rights, said a press release received from Geneva here Friday.
Drawing attention to the plight of prisoners, they noted that thousands of Kashmiris arrested before and after 5 August 2019 remain in jails far from their homes, including women detainees languishing in Tihar and other notorious prisons. Arbitrary arrests under draconian laws, they said, have long been used as a tool of repression against political leaders, civil society members, journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders.
Calling for the early release of all illegally detained leaders and activists, the speakers urged the UN to press India to end its authoritarian practices, including demographic engineering aimed at altering the Muslim-majority character of the region.
They also expressed concern over the growing scale of repression after the Pahalgam incident, when thousands of civilians—mostly youth—were detained under sedition laws and shifted to prisons outside the Valley.
Referring to blanket ban imposed by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs on more than a dozen political parties, they said the authoritarian move was a deliberate attempt to stifle political and democratic dissent in Kashmir.
The speakers termed India’s imperialistic presence in Kashmir the greatest threat to regional peace and called on the UNHRC and international community to play their role in resolving the long-standing dispute.
Those who addressed the gathering included Ghulam Muhammad Safi Convenor APHC, former minister of Azad Kashmir Chudary Parvez Ashraf, Chairman of the Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) Altaf Hussain Wani, KIIR Executive Director Sardar Amjad Yousuf, Advocate Parvez Shah, Dr Raja Sajjad Mrs Shamim Shawl , Dr Muzmil Ayub Thakur, Dr. Shagufata Ashraf, Mirza Asif Jarral, Ali Raza Syed and others.
Meanwhile, the Kashmiri delegation also held a cultural exhibition outside the UN office showcasing Kashmiri art and crafts that, they said, face existential threat under Indian occupation.