Kashmir is Bleeding

By Tariq Rizwan

Violence erupted in Indian occupied Kashmir about a week back after the brutal killing of Burhan Wani, Hizbul Mujahideen leader, in a so called encounter. Local Kashmiri youngsters are fighting the troops in streets and in the mountains of the disputed Himalayan State. The valley is under virtual siege for the last one week due to heavy deployment of Indian troops. Curfew has been imposed and Indian troops and para military forces are perpetrating the worse kind of indiscriminate firing, shelling tear gas etc which has resulted so far into death of more than 40 innocent Kashmiris and injuring of about 1400 others. Clashes are still going on and there is no apparent end to the violence. Most of the independence leaders including Syed Ali Gilani and Mir Wais Umer Farooq are under siege.

Pakistan has taken the issue to UN on Thursday, 14 July 2016 and blamed India for initiating the brutalities. Pakistan Ambassador at UN Dr Maleeha Lodhi urged the international community to realize their responsibility, come forward to implement the UN resolutions on Kashmir seeking self determination for the Kashmiris. She claimed that Indian policies in the occupied valley have jeopardized the prospects of durable peace in the disputed valley. Besides, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has also demanded an immediate cessation to the atrocities, extra judicial killings and violation of human rights in occupied Kashmir.

Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria has told a weekly news briefing in Islamabad that India has a track record of violating the fundamental human rights of Kashmiris including their right to life and self-determination. He reiterated that Pakistan is always ready to resolve the longstanding dispute with India through dialogue. But, he stated, India is shying away from the dialogue process. “It is for the international community to urge India to resolve issues through dialogue,” Zakaria said as tensions continued to grip Indian-occupied Kashmir nearly a week after prominent Kashmiri separatist leader Burhan Wani of the Hizbul Mujahideen was killed in an apparent police encounter.

Due to growing tension in the valley, Indian authorities clamped curfew, blocked telecommunication and cellular system to cut the region off from rest of the world. India is adamant and termed the Pakistan’s moves as interference in its internal affairs. However Pakistan has reminded India that Kashmir is a disputed territory in the light of UNSC resolution and should be treated accordingly. Both the government and Pakistan Armed Forces have condemned the brutalities of Indian Armed Forces against the innocent Kashmiries and asked India to respect the human rights of Kashmiri people.

It is time for India to open its eyes and behave like a true democracy and respect the Kashmiris’ right of self determination. World is competing in the economic field and giving more rights to the people as witnessed by the recent referendum in UK, parting ways with EU. It is an eye opener for India too to give some decent escape to the Kasmiris and save the democracy in the country else the storm is so severe and swift that it may take the whole country into hot water.

The writer is a freelance journalist.