World must take notice of Indian move to change Kashmir demography, says Zakaria

LONDON: Highlighting the plight of Kashmiri people living under crippling restrictions and military siege since August 5 last year, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to UK Nafees Zakaria has urged the international community to take notice of a number of measures taken by India to change the demography of the held valley.

He was speaking at a seminar held in the House of Lords the other day to discuss human rights abuses of Kashmiris by the Indian occupation forces, said a press release. Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, Director of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, hosted the seminar. Parliamentary Secretary, Law and Justice, Barrister Maleeka Bukhari, British parliamentarians—Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Lord Qurban Hussain, Steve Baker MP, Mark Eastwood MP, Imran Hussain MP and Schona Jolly QC—shared their concerns over the prevailing humanitarian crisis in occupied Kashmir.

Zakaria briefed the audience on the issue and grave situation in held Kashmir and the security threat the dispute poses to the regional peace and stability as well as the situation at the Line of Control (LoC).

The High Commissioner said blackout of media, internet and other means of communication by the Indian government was making it impossible for the outside world to know the extent of loss of human lives due to shortages of food and medicines.

He emphasised the audience to read the documented accounts of human rights abuses by the organisations of international repute and INGOs such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, IPTK, Association of Disappeared Persons (APDP), etc. He quoted “Muslim Women’s Forum” report, saying around 13,000 Kashmiri youths have been arrested since 05 August 2019 and their welfare and whereabouts were unknown. Similarly, he cited International People’s Tribunal Report entitled, “Buried Evidence” on unnamed and unmarked mass graves.

The High Commissioner also apprised the audience of continuous ceasefire violations by Indian forces resulting into deaths and injuries of civilians in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and the risks to the regional security and beyond.

Speaking on the occasion, Barrister Bukhari said systematic abuse of human rights of Kashmiris for the last seven decades was not an internal matter of India but it was in contravention of the international law as well as Indian constitution. She termed Kashmir to be the largest open air prison on the earth. She stressed the need for sending independent observers to occupied Kashmir. She also called upon the UK government to take a stand on the basis of principles and urge India to stop human rights abuses in Kashmir.

Condemning the Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir, the speakers said human rights abuses were not an internal issue rather it was an international issue, and therefore, the UN and international community must play their role to end the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Jammu and Kashmir territories under Indian siege.

They maintained that being a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), India cannot do arbitrary detentions. “It is deplorable that due to the ongoing siege, the courts are not working and cases of habeas corpus cannot be pursued which adds to sufferings of the detainees and their families.” The participants were told that on international level, UN has issued serious statements to show concern on impunity enjoyed by Indian occupation forces.

Most of the speakers said British Parliament needed to widen the agenda and discuss Kashmir as what was happening there was totally intolerable. They said religious nationalism in India was alarming. The participants of the event unanimously agreed that the issue of human rights violations in held Kashmir would be raised at all available forums and human rights bodies.