India’s war crimes, HR abuses in IIOJK: Time for int’l community to intervene

India’s war crimes, HR abuses in IIOJK: Time for int’l community to intervene

Fakhar Alam

PESHAWAR, Oct 26 (APP):Unleashing a reign of terror to suppress an over seven-decade long legitimate and indigenous freedom movement of the oppressed Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), India has broken all records of atrocities, human rights abuses and sexual violence against women and made life a nightmare for over 10 million people in the heavy militarized held valley.

Following an illegal and unilateral actions of the fascist Modi government taken on August 5, 2019, the occupational forces have resorted to extra judicial killing of hundreds of innocent Kashmiris in fake encounters, putting the Kashmiri leadership behind bars, imposing clampdown on electronic and social media and used rape of women and molestation of children as weapon of war to suppress the freedom movement in the held valley.

The Indian occupation forces even didn’t allow mass ritual of great Kashmiri leader, Syed Ali Gillani on his death and forcefully snatched his body from the bereaved family and buried him at night.

The gruesome violation of human rights in the held Kashmir including forced disappearance of over 8,000 innocent Kashmiris, about 8652 unmarked mass graves, imposition of longest curfew on some 10 million unarmed Kashmiris, extra judicial killings and rape and molestation of women and children exposed the ugly face of India and it’s so called democracy.

According to available data, over 162,000 Kashmiris have been subjected to inhuman torture by the Indian occupational forces since 1989, which included stripping naked, beatings with iron rods, heavy roller treatment, electrocution, hanging from the ceiling, burning of the body with iron rods, solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, sexualized torture including rape of women and molestation of children and sodomy besides blinded with excessive use of pellet guns.

Mushtaq Ahmed Shah, Vice Chairman, Jummu and Kashmir Peoples League while referring to the recent 131-page Pakistani dossier comprising evidences of the involvement of Modi’s regime in war crimes, human rights abuses, genocide and torture of innocent Kashmiris in IIOJK told APP that about 8,652 unmarked graves have been identified in 89 villages of six districts in the held valley while bodies of 37 Kashmiris burnt alive by Indian occupied forces, which were beyond recognition and the use of chemical weapons could not be ruled out in the held valley.

He said since 1989, over 96,000 cases of extra judicial killings, around 162,000 cases of arbitrary arrests and torture, over 25,000 pellet guns injuries, 11,250 women raped and 23,000 women widowed besides over 108,000 children orphaned. Mushtaq Ahmed said the excessive use of snipers and cluster ammunitions by India to target innocent Kashmiris along the Line of Control, use of innocent Kashmiris as human shields by positioning women and children in the line of fire during encounters and making them sleep at military camps forcing them to dig out minefields and tying youth on military jeeps had testified Modi governemnt’s involvement in war crimes.

“Modi regime is trying to change demography of IIOJK after illegally revoking special status of the occupied valley on August 5, 2019.

The issuance of about 4.2 million fake domicile certificates to bring about demographic change in IIOJK has exposed nefarious designs of the mastermind of the Gujrat’s Muslims massacre,” he said.

“The illegal occupation of Kashmir valley by India contravene multiple articles of the 30 fundamental human rights of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) drafted by representatives from all the regions of the world including India on December 10, 1948 and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly,” said Dr Khurshid Ahmed, Professor, International Relations Department, University of Peshawar while talking to APP.

He said since then the declaration applies on all the signatory members of the UN including India and restrained them from abuse of any fundamental rights protected in UDHR. He said the extensive abuse of the UDHR in IIOJK yells for the attention of the international community and UN to probe into the grave violations of human rights reported by Pakistan and International bodies in the IIOJK.

Dr Khurshid Ahmed said that forced occupation and abolishing special status of IIOJK was a complete violation of international human rights and humanitarians laws including 4th Geneva Convention, UN Security Resolutions and amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Muhammad Hussain Khateeb, member All Parties Hurriyat Conference (Gillani Group) told the news agency that people of the held Kashmir were deprived of communication, free media and internet facilities and journalists of independent media were being harassed, killed and jailed.

He said the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent watch-dong body, while expressing grave concerns over harassment and detention of journalists demanded of Indian government to release of all the arrested journalists, cease their detainment and allow media to operate freely in the held valley.

In a recent fresh spate of anti-Muslim violence in India, he said at least six mosques and over a dozen houses and shops belonging to Muslims were burnt in BJP-led Tripura state during the reportedly attacks carried out by Hindutvta groups of RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal in retaliation to violence in Bangladesh.

The mosques in Krishnagar, Dharmangar, Panisagar, Chandrapure were vandalized by the saffron-wearing youth in the well planned attacks on the Muslims population. Dr Khurshid urged international community to look beyond trade and business interests and step forward with collective action to stop genocide of oppressed Kashmiris besides pressurize Modi government to reverse all its illegal actions of August 5, 2019 and give right of self determination to them as per the UN Security Council’s Resolutions for lasting peace and stability in South Asia.

Manzoorul Haq, former ambassador of Pakistan told APP that India in open violations of UN Security Council’s Resolutions had revoked special status of occupied Kashmir on August 5, 2019. He deplored that UN’s apathy to address Kashmir dispute, which was flashpoint between two nuclear armed neighboring countries.

He said, “Road to peace in South Asia was passing through Kashmir and another war on this lingering issue would prove disastrous for the entire region and its negative repercussions would go beyond borders.”

Meanwhile, people of both side of Kashmiris of Line of Control and Pakistan are all set to observe October 27 as black day to strongly condemn the illegal landing of Indian occupational troops in Jammu and Kashmir in 1947.

The Kashmiris would stage protest rallies to condemns India’s forced occupation of their land with the pledge to continue struggle for their legitimate right till achieving freedom from the Indian yoke.

APP Services