'Indian rulers exploiting atrocities against Kashmiris for electoral gains'

Tehreek-e-Kashmir conference calls upon international community to resolve the Kashmir dispute

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan has said that Indian rulers are exploiting the repression and atrocities being committed against Kashmiris to boost their election campaign.

“Modi and his party the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are advancing their political agenda over the dead bodies of Kashmiri people," he said, while addressing the Kashmir Youth and Women Conference at the British parliament organised by Tehreek-e-Kashmir (TeK) UK to devise a strategy to highlight the atrocities in the occupied valley.

President Masood, the chief guest at the conference held on Thursday, said the Modi-led BJP had built the election campaign on the basis of hatred against Pakistan, Kashmiris and Muslims of India, adding that, following the February 14 Pulwama attack there had been a massive intensification of repression and atrocities against the people of occupied Kashmir.

Kashmiris just want peace, prosperity and dignity for themselves and they are prepared to become a symbol of amity, friendship and harmony between India and Pakistan, he said.

President Masood maintained that Modi was the first head of state who had threatened another country i.e. Pakistan with the use of a nuclear bomb.

At the conclusion of the conference, a declaration was unanimously approved, calling for taking serious note of the fresh deployment of 80,000 more military personnel in occupied Kashmir.

It urged the international community to take concrete steps to prevent an escalation between two nuclear-armed states by resolving the Kashmir issue in line with the UN Security Council resolutions.

The British government was called upon play its role for peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute by brokering peace between the two countries and highlighting the voice of the Kashmiri people.

It was urged to support the UN call to the Indian government to repeal oppressive laws such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and Public Safety Act, which grant Indian military forces immunity from prosecution for human rights violations.

It also condemned India’s decision to ban Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and JKLF for five years. The ban, the resolution said, was a violation of the rights guaranteed under UN Security Council Resolution of 21 April 1948. “All political leadership in Kashmir should be able to freely exercise their rights and not face persecution.”

The conference, addressed by lawmakers and leaders, also had the participation of student union leaders and representatives of women and youth forums in the UK. It was chaired by UK lawmaker Afzal Khan and hosted by Fahim Kayani, president TeK UK.