By Sardar Khan Niazi
Five Kashmiris got martyrdom during two separate search operations by Indian forces in the Kulgam district of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Relatives of the men shot dead during an earlier security operation demanded the return of their bodies.
India’s actions in IIOJK are particularly appalling under the Modi government and stand exposed in more than one UN report. Clashes between Kashmiri freedom fighters and Indian forces have claimed the lives of at least 140 so far this year.
The Indian occupation forces have martyred at least 30 Kashmiris in fake encounters or so-called cordon and search operations since October 1. The inhuman and callous practice of not handing over the mortal remains of the martyred Kashmiris to their families is condemnable.
Usurping the fundamental rights of Kashmiri families by denying them the right of proper burial of martyrs further exposes the current Indian government’s moral bankruptcy. India is hell-bent upon ethnic cleansing in Kashmir.
Narendra Modi’s malicious intent is to convert Kashmir valley into a Hindu-majority area and deprive Kashmiris of the political and administrative strength that comes with being a majority in their own land. In the process, India is persecuting and killing Kashmiris.
India even refused to listen to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ call to refrain from taking steps that could affect the status of Jammu and Kashmir, recognized as a disputed territory by the United Nations and the Security Council. He said in a clear-cut manner that the UN position on Kashmir was tied to its own charter and applicable Security Council resolutions.
The killing of Kashmiris by Indian occupation forces continues brazenly. It uncovers the horrifying viciousness of the Hindutva-inspired extremist BJP-RSS combine that has turned IIOJK into a hell where no one is secure against the state-terrorism of Indian occupation forces. It also verifies the unquestionable proofs provided by Pakistan in a dossier that laid bare human rights abuses and war crimes committed by Indian occupation forces in IIOJK.
Pakistan has called on the international community to take immediate notice of Indian state-sponsored terrorism in the occupied valley and to hold India accountable for the egregious human rights violations of the innocent Kashmiri people.
The Kashmir problem has a close linkage to the larger question of war and peace in South Asia. Pakistan urges the international community to play its role for a just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people for durable peace and stability in the region.
It would be very unrealistic, cynically so, to expect Pakistan to stand aside, unmoved and insensitive, from the desperate struggle in Kashmir over a principle of self-determination for which Pakistan throughout its history has made enormous sacrifices.
Pakistan has done all it could do on the diplomatic front to attract world attention to the atrocities committed by the Indian army which has unleashed a reign of terror on the eight million Muslims in occupied Kashmir.
India has failed to learn lessons from the policy of genocide and ethnic cleansing pursued in the past by militaries in different parts of the world. India despite its 800,000-strong-armed force will not be able to crush the nine million Kashmiri Muslims who are facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the form of curfews, communication lockdown, and shortage of essential commodities, including medicines.
It is time to end the long night of sufferings for the people of occupied Kashmir. They must be able to exercise their right to self-determination according to UNSC resolutions. The only road to peace and security in South Asia runs through a peaceful and just settlement of Kashmir.
