Alvi slams Indian SC decision on Kashmir

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistani and Kashmiri diaspora on Monday widely condemned denial of rights to Kashmiris, with President Dr Arif Alvi rejecting the Indian Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the revocation of the special status of the Indian Illegally-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).

He expressed dismay over the decision, saying the Indian judiciary had succumbed to the fascist Hindutva ideology giving decisions suited to the Indian government.

He added that such decisions could not legitimise the occupation of IIOJ&K by India as the Jammu and Kashmir issue was an internationally recognized dispute that remained on the agenda of the UN Security Council for over seven decades.

While condemning the decision, the president said that it was unfortunate that Indian courts had a history of giving decisions against Muslims as in the cases of Babri Masjid, Samjhuta Express, Hyderabad Mecca Masjid blast and Naroda Gam massacre during the 2002 Gujrat riots etc. He added that the verdict of the ISC could not change the status of the IIOJ&K.

"Disappointed but not disheartened," Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister and vice president of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference party, posted on X. "The struggle will continue. It took the BJP decades to reach here. We are also prepared for the long haul."

Mehbooba Mufti, another former chief minister and president of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party, echoed those views. "The people of J&K are not going to lose hope or give up. Our fight for honour and dignity will continue regardless. This isn't the end of the road for us," she posted on X.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Human Rights and Women Empowerment Mushaal Hussein Mullick strongly criticized the Indian Supreme Court for shamelessly behaving like a ‘kangaroo court’ and endorsing Modi’s unlawful decision on August 5, 2019.

“India should avoid pushing peaceful Kashmiri youth to resort to alternative forms of resistance”, she said while addressing an event commemorating International Human Rights Day organized by Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).

She highlighted that India has established a grim record of the most severe human rights violations in IIOJK. Mushaal lamented the lack of visual evidence of these violations, attributing it to India’s stringent information and communication blockade.

In a separate video message, Mushaal expressed concern about the implementation of “Jungle Law” in India.

Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani rejected the decision by the Indian Supreme Court upholding the abrogation of Article 370, diminishing the autonomy of IIOJK.

The Senate chairman, in a statement, voiced serious concerns, describing the Indian Supreme Court’s ruling as a “mockery of justice that runs contrary to established norms of morality and lacks historical evidence”.

He raised questions about the impartiality of the court, suggesting it might have been compromised by Hindutva ideology, referring to the influence of what he termed “Hindutva goons”.

Former prime minister of AJK and President Muslim Conference Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan has said that the Indian Supreme Court’s decision on the status of Jammu and Kashmir state injuriously prejudices the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) clearly declared disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir state thru its historic Resolutions accepted and signed in UN by government of India as a party to the dispute.

“Pakistan is the other party in the dispute registered as international dispute by the UNSC on Jan 1, 1948 on the reference by India”, he said in a statement issued on Monday.

Sardar Attique further said that the Indian supreme court’s decision militates against the UN Security Council’s well considered historic declaration of disputed position of J&K. “Indian supreme court has no jurisdiction over UNSC and cannot pass any opinion on a this dispute under action in the UN,” he elaborated