UNITED NATIONS: AJK President Sardar Masood Khan has suggested a
seven-point formula to mitigate the current sufferings of the people in Indian
Occupied Kashmir (IOK) and demanded intervention of the world community
forthwith to rescue the people of the occupied land.
In his maiden address to the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation’s (OIC) contact group on Kashmir, he said, “As we meet today, the
IOK is burning. Since July 8 this year, following the extrajudicial killing of
Kashmiri youth leader Burhan Wani, hundreds of Kashmiri men, women and children
have been killed; more than 150 civilians have been blinded by the use of
lethal pellet guns, and more than 10,000 men, women and children have been seriously
injured because of the indiscriminate firing by occupying Indian forces.
“India claims that pellet guns are non-lethal. The Doctors
Association of Kashmir says the embedded pellets in the bodies of the victims
are causing fatal lead poisoning and put pregnant women at serious risk.
Further, the toxic lead deposits in children' bodies stunt their growth. “The
Kashmiris in IOK are under siege. In their own land, Kashmiris are being
killed, maimed, blinded, tortured, and hounded by the occupying forces. The use
of sexual molestation and rape, as an instrument of terror, is common. In IOK,
peaceful demonstrations are a crime, political meetings are banned, and true
Kashmiri leaders have been incarcerated. Free speech is a crime, free movement
is a crime, and voicing aspirations for the right to self-determination is
treason. There are prolonged curfews and mobile telephone and Internet
blackouts there. Indian occupation forces in the territory hunt down innocent
citizens in pursuit of their illicit, draconian black laws.”
Sardar Masood Khan further said, “In the past ten weeks, a
serious humanitarian crisis has unfolded in IOK. In pursuit of their policy of
collective punishment, the Indian occupying forces have blocked essential
supplies; assaulted families of protesters physically and sexually; and
attacked villages and townships to terrorise their residents. They have not
even spared ambulances and hospitals where the injured under-treatment hide
their identity to escape Indian wrath. All these acts of terrorism are being
committed with impunity. Human rights violations against the Kashmiris in IOK
are deliberate, rampant, gross and systematic. The crime of the targeted
civilians is peaceful, unarmed protests against the killings since July 8.
India is guilty of violating Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions,
especially the recognized International Humanitarian Law principles of
proportionality, distinction and precaution. There is a sense of urgency to
take action. This is not business as usual. We reject the Indian campaign of
disinformation suggesting that Kashmiris are terrorists. Kashmiris are victims
of terrorism unleashed by Indian occupying forces. India is committing
terrorism against besieged and beleaguered Kashmiris,” he added.
Masood Khan who had been taking part in the deliberations of the
group as Pakistan’s diplomat said, “War is not an option, because India and
Pakistan are nuclear-armed states. India should stop using brinkmanship,
subversion and state terrorism under the nuclear umbrella. We reject the
fallacious Indian claim that Kashmir is an integral part of India. Jammu and
Kashmir is a disputed territory whose political future has to be decided by its
people through a democratic method of UN-supervised plebiscite in accordance
with the UN Security Council resolutions. International law, the UK's 1947
Indian Independence Act, and the Security Council resolutions, passed from 1948
to 1957 that recognise and enshrine the right to self-determination of the
Kashmiris. India cannot deny this right to them through its unilateral,
coercive measures.
“The current uprising is not an isolated incident but a
manifestation of deep, widespread and long-held alienation of the oppressed
people of IOK. The people have once again declared their opposition to the Indian
occupation.
“We pay tribute to the Kashmiris for heir resilience and for
their constant quest for freedom despite unabated Indian terrorism. We salute
them for their courage and sacrifices. And our message to them is: ‘we are with
you.’ Kashmir is a test case for the conscience of humanity and international
law. People ask: what would prevail? Rank mercantilism, expediency and real
politik or rule of law for an entrapped people who have been deprived of their
basic rights by an occupying power? The people of Kashmir say: ‘no matter what
happens, their will will prevail.’ The Government and people of Azad Jammu and
Kashmir extend their full moral, political and diplomatic support to the just
cause and struggle for freedom of our brothers and sisters in the Indian
Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
“We call upon the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir
to:
(a) Condemn, once again, the horrendous killings and brutalities
in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOK), the use of pellet guns, and
measures used by India to terrorize Kashmiri population; and demand from India
to cease such criminal activities forthwith;
(b) Ask India to rescind the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and
other draconian laws;
(c) Urge UNOCHA and other relevant UN agencies to explore the
possibility of establishing a humanitarian corridor to provide relief to the
besieged Kashmiris;
(d) Call on the OIC Secretary General to convey to the UN
Secretary General and the President of the UN Security Council the gravity of
the situation in IOK and its serious implications for peace and security in
South Asia; and take European Union leadership into confidence to explore ways
to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute;
(e) Urge the UN Secretary General to use his good offices and
the recognised diplomatic tools of preventive diplomacy under Chapter VI of the
Charter - enquiry, mediation and negotiation - to address the crisis in Jammu
and Kashmir.
(f) Urge the UN to establish Indian accountability for the
brutal use of force constituting crimes against humanity and acts of
genocide.
(g) Help create an atmosphere for engagement between Pakistan,
India and the people of Jammu and Kashmir so as to explore a lasting solution
of the Kashmir dispute.”
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