AJK erupts over unabated violations in IoK

Protesters to write letters to leaders to top 10 rights upholding countries

MUZAFFARABAD: As the world marked Human Rights Day, people across Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) erupted to point out the flagrant abuse of the landmark resolution adopted by the world body.

Hundreds of angry locals poured into the streets of the state on Sunday to urge the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) and the international community to put pressure on India to stop rights violations by its security forces in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK).

The main rally in Muzaffarabad was organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Peace and Justice Forum (JKPJF), an organisation striving for the peaceful resolution to the lingering Kashmir dispute, and led by the former chairman of the United Jihad Council (UJC) Tanvrul Islam.

Participants of the rally held up placards and a large banner carrying pictures of leaders from 10 countries which hold the “best human rights record”. These included Erna Solberg of Norway, Justin Trudeau of Canada, Charles Michel of Belgium, Xavier Bettel of Luxembourg, Juha Sipilä of Finland, Lars Løkke Rasmussen of Denmark, Bjarni Benediktsson of Iceland and Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern of New Zealand along with an image of a letter written to these leaders.

Protesters young and old changed slogans such as “Stop human rights violations in IOK” and “Where are the UN and EU”. One elderly man held up a banner inscribed with the slogan: “Kashmiris are not the children of a lesser God. They too deserve to breathe in free air”.

A school-going boy, who had also joined the protest, carried a banner inscribed with the slogan: “A violence-ridden Kashmir is a scar on today’s free world”. “We will send these letters to all the 10 global leaders through their embassies based in Islamabad,” said Islam calmly.

“We appreciate the way these nations have implemented the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and all other protocols and conventions on human rights in their respective countries, with a kind request to raise voice against human rights violations in other parts of the world, particularly in the oppressed and occupied territories. We hope these leaders use their offices to put pressure on New Delhi to settle Kashmir dispute as per the wishes of Kashmiri people,” he added.

Islam further said that India has put at risk the peace and security in South Asia by adopting delaying tactics to settle the Jammu and Kashmir issue.

He added that the Kashmiri people have been struggling for their inalienable right to self-determination for the past seven decades. Instead of honouring its pledges to the international community and creating an environment conducive to the implementation of the UN Resolutions, Islam said, New Delhi and the Indian military establishment has been behind rising human rights violations in IOK.

Shaukat Jan Bacch a former secretary and president of the AJK Officers’ Association said Kashmiris — on both sides of the Line of Control expected the international community to pay attention to their plight without further ado.

He added that Kashmiris have been fighting for their basic rights for the past 70 years as per the UN charter, unfortunately, the world has failed to take India to task for implementing the UN resolutions in IOK.

Similar rallies were also taken out from Mirpur and other cities of AJK, calling on the world community to repeal black laws such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the Public Safety Act (PSA) in IOK.

“Both AFSPA and PSA are black laws which are used by India to crush the ongoing liberation struggle in IOK, which is purely political and indigenous,” argued Hamayun Zaman Mirza, a senior human rights activist of Azad Jammu and Kashmir who led a rally in Mirpur.

Mirza said that without settling the Kashmir dispute nobody could guarantee permanent peace in South Asia.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2017.