Human rights violations in IIOJ&K: AJK president proposes Nuremberg-like trials against Indians

ISLAMABAD: President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Sardar Masood Khan has called for constituting an international tribunal on the pattern of Nuremberg Trials for prosecuting the Indians responsible for human rights violations in the Indian Illegally-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).

Sardar Masood expressed these views while addressing a seminar on “Inhumanity in Kashmir,” organised by Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) here Thursday. The AJK president observed that it was through the efforts of government of Pakistan that the OIC came up with a strong resolution, condemning the Indian actions in IIOJ&K.

He further stated that several European parliamentarians had also raised their voices in support of the people of Kashmir.

He urged the political leadership of Pakistan and the parliamentarians to play their greater role in promoting the Kashmir cause internationally by raising the issue with MPs from other countries. In the question-answer session, Sardar Masood responding to a question about the recent restoration of ceasefire along the Line of Control, said that it had brought relief for the people of AJK living near the LoC. He stressed that there were already three parties to the dispute namely India, Pakistan, and the people of Kashmir, in addition to the UN. He cautioned against the perspectives related to making the LoC a permanent border. The IIOJ&K is not a legal and constitutional part of sovereign India. Kashmiris on both sides of the LoC are not bound by it, he said. Former AJK minister for Social Welfare Farzana Yaqoob urged the youth to raise their voice about the Indian atrocities against Kashmiris through the use of social media.

“The youth is more empowered than ever before,” she said. She added that Indian military was consistently using rape as a weapon of war, which, according to her, was a crime more serious than murder. “In murder you die once; in rape, you die over and over again,” she said. She referred to the Kunan-Poshpura incident of Feb 23, 1991, in which the modesty of a large number of Kashmiri women was violated details of which were all documented.

Nadeem Riyaz, President, IRS, said that that the value of freedom was realised best during its absence. He regretted the silence of the international community over the Indian atrocities. He revealed that since 1990, over 100,000 Kashmiris had been killed. He added that it was imperative for the youth to play their role to highlight the Kashmir cause.