Urging United Nations (UN) to take notice of the human rights violations in Kashmir, the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) Friday submitted a memorandum to the world body asking it to take immediate steps to restore people’s rights in this part of the world.

JRL comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik in a memorandum submitted to Secretary General  UN, Antonio Guterres asked the world body to take notice of human rights violations in Kashmir.

“The memorandum was submitted to highlight the gravity of the situation in J&K, especially in the Valley as the state as usual, cracked its whip and resorted to curfews restrictions and sealing of all roads leading to the UNMOGIP office, while the leadership, their aides and many youth were detained and jailed as they had planned a sit in in front of the UNIMOGIP office here,” the JRL said.

“We the people of Jammu and Kashmir through a memorandum bring into your kind notice the grave and urgent situation of atrocities and abuse of Human Rights of the people of Jammu & Kashmir at the hands of Indian armed forces.”

“The people of Kashmir for the past seven decades are involved in a struggle for the exercise of their right to self-determination accrued to them under United Nations Charter and the resolutions passed by UN Security Council on Kashmir Dispute and having given and giving huge sacrifices in terms of life, property and what not for the achievement of this right,” the memorandum submitted to UN said.

“However, to deny them their legitimate right, Kashmir is being ruled by the dint of military power, aspirations of the people are being trampled under the jack-boots and their rights usurped by the state’s repressive machinery by using all possible means of suppression and coercion.”

“Sir, the Government of India has waged a war against the un-armed civilian population of Jammu & Kashmir. Senior Ministers and Army Generals of India including the chief of Army staff have openly admitted that they are fighting a dirty war in Kashmir,” the memorandum submitted by the JRL said.

It said that the relentless killing of youth and civilians arbitrary arrests and harassment of young boys and subjecting them to torture, imposition of curfews and restrictions raids and vandalizing of homes and persecution and caging of resistance leadership by the forces and police who enjoy unbridled power and zero accountability has become a routine affair in Kashmir.

“The youth of the valley are being specifically targeted and killed on one pretext or other by the Indian forces and police leading to a systematic extermination of our generation next,” the memorandum added.

“This is a matter of serious concern for us. Even today as we write, one youth Tanveer Ahmed Wani a tailor by profession of Arwah village, was shot dead by the Indian Army when people were protesting the random thrashing of vendors by the Army in that area. Tanveer was shot at in the head,” the memorandum said.

“Sir, we ask you, how long we are helplessly going to watch our young boys being sent to their graves while the world watches silently. During the popular uprising of 2016, 152 Civilians were put to death, scores of persons deprived of their vision either completely or partially by pellet firing, hundreds of youth arrested and thousands injured by the Indian Government Forces in Kashmir. During 2017, till this date – 55 Civilians have been killed and dozens injured by bullets and pellets on the streets of Kashmir and the saga of repression continues,” the memorandum added.

“Even the Home Ministry of India has admitted in the Indian Parliament the civilian killing of 112 in 2010, 85 in 2016 and 21 in 2017. It has also admitted the injuries to civilian persons as 1047 in 2010, 8932 in 2016 and 107 in 2017. It has also admitted that 12650 persons were either arrested or put behind the bars under the infamous PSA (Public Safety Act)”.

“The Government is also trampling the religious freedom and rights of the people as well. Most of the central mosques including the Historic Jama-Masjid of Srinagar is repeatedly locked on Fridays to prevent devotees from offering Friday prayers there. The Government of India continuously refuses to accept the ground reality in Kashmir and engage with the aspirations of the people of Kashmir and recognize the importance of a peaceful resolution to this decades old dispute, instead it is using the methods of coercion, suppression and arm-twisting tactics to deny the people of Jammu & Kashmir their legitimate right of self-determination. It is using all unprincipled means to malign the just and legitimate movement of Kashmiris through falsehood and irresponsible discourse,” the leadership wrote.

“The issue of Kashmir is primarily about the people of Kashmir and their right to self-determination. Our struggle is rooted in a quest for justice and dignity. We are victims of sustained aggression from a state which claims to be democratic but which uses primarily un-democratic ways to extinguish our right to self-determination. We appeal to your good self and through you to all the member nations of United Nations to take serious note of the prevailing situation of the grotesque abuse of Human Rights in Kashmir and a war like situation between the armies of India and Pakistan along the line of control in Kashmir, to come forward at this most critical juncture for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and play an effective role to end atrocities and suppression of Kashmiris especially the systematic killing of our youth,” they said.

“In present day world wars do not resolve issues, nor does repression. Dialogue and serious engagement are the means to be employed to move forward towards resolution. We appeal to the world body, where our dispute is pending for the last seven decades to honor its commitment as well as ethical responsibility to address the dispute to find a just and acceptable resolution of it in keeping with the aspirations of the People of this territory,” the leadership said.

Guest