“India should not be allowed to deface Kashmiri identity”: President AJK tells OIC delegation

Visiting OIC human rights commission and President AJK discuss human rights violations in occupied Kashmir

MUZAFFARABAD: A high-level delegation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) on Tuesday condemned India’s use of excessive force and blatant human rights violation in occupied Kashmir.

The visiting OIC Human Rights Commission, during a meeting with Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan, sent a strong reaction while condemning Indian atrocities in the troubled region and discussed human rights violations by occupation forces.



It said that the post-July 2016 situation in Kashmir, when Kashmiri separatist leader Burhan Wani was killed by Indian forces, worries the group

The OIC will continue to back the Kashmiris and their right to self-determination in accordance with the United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions and as per the OIC resolutions passed every year since 1990, it added.

The delegation urged India to allow human rights organisations, including the IPHRC, to access the ongoing situation in the valley by visiting it.

Welcoming the delegation, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan thanked the group for offering constant support for the helpless people in occupied Kashmir.

In the past eight months, Indian security forces have committed horrendous crimes against Kashmiris in flagrant violation of the UN charter, human rights instruments and the Geneva Convention, President AJK told the OIC delegation.

“We support the IPHRC’s call to all stakeholders in the international community to uphold the human rights commitments and obligations without discrimination.”

He lauded the IPHRC as an international promoter and advocate of human rights in accordance with the OIC Charter and its statute.



The IPHRC is aware, he added, that Kashmiris were a victim of the rising tide of Hindu extremism and that they were being persecuted because of their religion, ethnicity and political ideology.

The AJP President also urged the IPHRC to conduct an independent and impartial assessment of crimes against the Kashmiris by occupation forces in the region and then publish its findings.

“We know that India will not allow the IPHRC to visit Indian occupied Kashmir, as they are visiting Muzaffarabad, but sufficient material is available through reports published by independent international human rights organisations and the media. Such open source data is sufficient for the indictment of Indian practices of genocide and human rights violations,” Khan said while denouncing New Delhi’s refusal to respond to IPHRC’s request for a visit to Kashmir.

“The people of Jammu and Kashmir are peace loving people. They want a lasting resolution of Kashmir dispute and serve as a conduit for shared prosperity and connectivity. They want to be a bridge for peace and amity. But first they must be given their basic rights, particularly their right to self-determination,” he said.



Khan urged the IPHRC and the OIC to develop mechanisms to put an end to flagrant violations in Kashmir and intensify efforts to ensure the implementation of international resolutions for the exercise of their legitimate right to self-determination.

“India should not be allowed to deface Kashmiri identity or denigrate Muslims as terrorists. This is a serious violation of human rights”, he stressed.

The AJK president was also anxious over mounting Islamophobia worldwide and attempts to demonise Islam and Muslims under the garb of freedom of expression.

Later, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) AJK delegation led by Advocate Parvez Ahmad Shah also met the IPHRC team and briefed them on the rising human rights violations in the occupied valley.