G20 leaders urged to address IIOJK issue

Mushaal calls for resolution involving all stakeholders for a democratic, peaceful solution

LAHORE:

Experts have urged the G20 leaders' summit to address the longstanding dispute of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and the dire human rights situation facing minorities.

They called for a peaceful dialogue among all stakeholders concerned to seek a resolution.

India's attempts to downplay the severe human rights issues have suffered a setback, as China and Russia have announced their decision to skip the Group of Twenty (G20) meeting hosted by India in New Delhi.

It's important to note that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending the G-20 summit for the second consecutive year due to his involvement in the Ukraine conflict.

Additionally, Chinese President Xi Jinping did not travel to India amid escalating tensions between Beijing and New Delhi.

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Mushaal Hussein Mullick, the wife of Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik and special assistant to the prime minister for human rights and women empowerment, revealed that initially, the Modi-led Indian government had planned to host the G20 meeting on tourism in Srinagar from May 22 to 24.

This move was seen as an attempt to cover up the atrocities in IIOJK and present a false image of stability in the region.

Mushaal emphasised the urgency of placing the IIOJK issue and the suppression of minorities at the top of the G20 summit agenda.

She called for involving all stakeholders, including India, Pakistan, and the Kashmiri leadership, and the creation of a forum for a democratic and peaceful solution to the IIOJK crisis.

Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, the secretary-general of the World Kashmir Awareness Forum, stressed that “Kashmir is a political issue that requires a political solution”.

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He called for immediate international intervention to halt violence in IIOJK, demilitarisation of the state, and the release of political prisoners, including Yasin, Aasia Andrabi, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Khurram Parvez and Masarat Aalam.

Fai emphasised that the G20 leadership must recognise the opportunity for peace in IIOJK, contingent upon allowing the people of Kashmir to determine their own identity through a referendum as called for by the UN resolutions.

Prominent politician and former senator Sehar Kamran highlighted the importance of drawing the attention of G20 leaders and international officials to the ongoing Kashmir dispute.

She underscored the potential consequences and threats to global peace and stability if the issue remained unresolved.

Sehar pointed out that the denial of democracy and human rights in IIOJK, particularly the refusal of self-determination in accordance with the UN resolutions, had contributed to nuclear and missile proliferation in the region.

She also mentioned that the Amnesty International and several other international forums and NGOs had called on G20 countries to pressure India to end human rights violations in Kashmir and release political prisoners and rights defenders.

To a query, Sehar called for the inclusion of the ongoing violent clashes between the Hindu Meitei and Christian Kuki communities in India's Manipur state on the G20 summit agenda.

These clashes led to the destruction of entire villages and displacement of tens of thousands, with more than 250 churches of various denominations being burned or damaged across the state.

Meanwhile, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in its latest report, unveiled a disturbing trend of escalating harassment and violence against religious minorities in India, particularly Muslims.

The report underscored that religious freedom conditions in India had significantly deteriorated, with both the central and state governments tolerating widespread discrimination and persecution of religious minority communities.

Notably, the BJP-led government's implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was highlighted in the report. This law expedited Indian citizenship exclusively for non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan already residing in India. The report also pointed out the alarming consequence that millions of Muslims might face detention, deportation, and statelessness when the government completed its planned nationwide National Register of Citizens.

Further, it's essential to mention that during a news conference, Admiral John Kirby, the White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, was asked about President Joe Biden's stance on the Kashmir issue and the growing suppression of minorities' rights and human rights abuses in the disputed region in his upcoming bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kirby clarified that the United States' policy on the Kashmir issue remained unchanged. The US believed that tensions in the region should be resolved through dialogue between the concerned parties.

He emphasised that human rights held a pivotal position in President Biden's foreign policy, and he was committed to addressing human rights concerns when engaging with foreign leaders.

It's important to note that within IIOJK, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference strongly condemned the Modi-led Indian government for convening the G20 summit while implementing a secretive and detrimental agenda.

This agenda resulted in the infringement of fundamental rights of the people of Kashmir and the social, political, economic and religious rights of Indian minorities.