Women stage anti-India rally in Muzaffarabad

MUZAFFARABAD: Irked by the continuing Indian aggression against protesters in restive Kashmir, hundreds of women from refugee camps and surrounding localities staged a rare protest rally against India at the District Headquarters Complex on Saturday.

Hundreds of women gathered at the Central Press Club, located in the complex, where they held a “solidarity conference” organised by the Kashmir Liberation to condemn the massive human rights violations by Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir.

Women speakers including Deputy Speaker Legislative Assembly Mehr-un-Nasa and State Minister Shama Malik urged the government of Pakistan to file a war crime suit against India in the International Court of Justice for the massacre of innocent Kashmiris.

“Pakistan must give up their apologetic behaviour on the Kashmir dispute and adopt an aggressive attitude instead,” protestors urged in a resolution adopted at the conference.

The moot also expressed solidarity with the people of Pakistan who have been facing what they called “Indian-backed terrorism”. They also demanded that the UN take notice of the worsening situation and implement security council resolutions on Kashmir.

The conference urged the UN, US and other countries to take notice of the Indian state terrorism against the innocent population struggling for their right to self-determination that was promised to them by the UN 61 years ago and was also accepted by India and Pakistan.

Through another resolution they resolved to continue the struggle for the liberation of Kashmir and to give every sacrifice for the cause.

“We the refugees and settlers hereby declare that we will continue offering sacrifices till the liberation of our motherland and its accession with Pakistan,” they vowed.

The protesting women marched to the camp office of the UN Military Observer Group for India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) while shouting “Go India go back, we want freedom”, and  handed over a protest memorandum to UN military observers demanding the withdrawal of Indian forces from Kashmir and an immediate halt to the killing of innocents.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2010.