Daily Times

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to address the ‘OIC Contact Group Meeting on Kashmir’ here at the UN headquarters in New York. The nation of Kashmir would like to express its appreciation to the member states of the Contact Group and in particular to His Excellency, the Secretary-General for expressing an intense desire to see an immediate end to the pain and sufferings of the people of Kashmir so that Kashmir conflict is put on a road to the permanent settlement by the wishes and will of the people.

It is worth mentioning here that the support of OIC towards the cause of Kashmir has been consistent and persistent right from the very beginning but in particular when the 7th Islamic Summit of OIC in Casablanca, Morocco adopted ‘Contact Group on Kashmir’ on December 15, 1994. Casablanca Declaration says, “It welcomed the establishment of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir at the United Nations comprising of Niger, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, the OIC Secretary General and requested the Contact Group to continue its efforts for promoting the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people by the UN Resolutions and for safeguarding their fundamental human rights.”

Casablanca Declaration added that “It requested the Secretary-General to establish contact with the Governments of India and Pakistan and the ‘True Representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir’ to promote a just and peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute and to take necessary steps for enabling the ‘True Representatives of the Kashmiri people’ to have their views expressed in OIC and other international fora.”

Kashmir is in the centre of the most strategic areas of the world.

It should be pointed out that the first meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Kashmir took place in Casablanca on December 15, 1994, which was attended by HRH Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz AlSaud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Hon. Suleyman Demirel, President of Turkey, Hon. Mahamane Ousmane, President of the Republic of Niger, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan, and Dr. Hamid Algabid, OIC Secretary General. The Kashmiri delegation included: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Maulana Abbas Ansari, Sardar Mohammad Abdul Qayyum Khan, Sardar Sikander Hayat Khan, Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani and Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai.

Excellencies, I came here once again because the people of Kashmir still retain hope in the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and their sense of justice. India which has been treated with velvet gloves all these years, let this forum be reminded, is in violation of UN Security Council resolutions and the UN Charter itself. When will the world powers wake up to the reality of India? The myth of India has gone unchallenged for far too long. Today, India is no longer the land of Gandhi. Today, the BJP/RSS-led Modi government is a land of fascism and violent ideology. It is time to let the clear light of truth come through.

Excellencies, the recent election conducted by the Indian government in occupied Jammu and Kashmir is preposterous, pointless, and nonsensical. Such exercises have been conducted in the past and have failed to hoodwink the people of Kashmir and the international community. The stakeholders of this unresolved and protracted problem consider it as “rubbing salt” on the wounds of the Kashmiri people who have suffered tremendously under Indian occupation. The facts that need to be considered are as follows:

These fraudulent elections were conducted in the presence of over 900,000 occupation forces. The personnel are armed to the teeth and on average, there is one soldier for every 6 adult men.

The draconian laws like ‘The Armed Forces Special Powers Act’ (AFSPA) and ‘The Unlawful Activities and Prevention Act’ (UAPA) continue to exist and that allows the occupation forces to act with impunity. They can arrest, kill, loot, plunder, molest women, and raid the residences without any legal recourse for the victims.

India has issued more than 4.3 million Domicile Certificates within the past three years. The Chief Election Commissioner of Kashmir has said that 2.5 million non-Kashmiris are eligible to vote in the election.

When some conscientious Indian journalists approached the local population in Srinagar (the Capital city of Kashmir), they exhibited reluctance to express their opinion due to reprisals from the occupying forces.

All the genuine and accredited leadership of Kashmiris like Yaseen Malik, Shabir Ahmed Shah, Masarat Aalam, Asia Andrabi and noted human rights activist, Khurram Parvez, continue to languish in jails under framed charges.

Anando Bhakto reported in Virginia, United States based ‘The Diplomat’ that, “In Sopore, Aaqib, a teacher in his late 20s, averred: “We vote to reverse everything that August 5, 2019, affected in our lives: stifling of dissenting viewpoints by relentless use of anti-terror laws, an affront to our religious sentiments, and the fear of a demographic reorientation.”

Al Jazeera quoted Parra saying, “Today, there is a complete silence in Kashmir. People are even afraid of talking, but by participating in the elections, they have conveyed their dissent to New Delhi’s 2019 decision.”

The same sentiments were echoed in the Economic Times, when it interviewed Sahil Parvez of Janbazpora who said, “We want to send a message to New Delhi that we are not happy with the decisions of August 5, 2019, and what has happened on the Valley since.” It added “That is no endorsement of India or its policies, say voters and local politicians.

So, this election is nothing but deviousness, duplicity and deception for Kashmiri people that will not be accepted. Only credible elections will be the plebiscite held under the auspices of the UN as per the resolutions to which India is a signatory.

It is worth mentioning here that the United Nations Security Council has denounced the “subterfuge” of elections in resolutions #91 of 1951 and #122 of 1957.

It is reported that New Delhi has invited diplomats from 15 countries to observe the current phase of elections in Kashmir. If New Delhi was keen to show normalcy as the reports suggest, they should have allowed an international media like CNN and other international media outlets who had also sought permission to cover these elections as they would be able to meet with the cross-section of people. The fact that these elections are held in the presence of 900,000 Indian occupation forces negates any perceived semblance of normalcy in Kashmir.

Finally, I request that this esteemed organization of OIC ask New Delhi for an immediate release of all political prisoners including Yaseen Malik, Shabir Ahmed Shah, Masarat Aalam, Ms. Aasia Andrabi, Ms. Sofi Fehmeeda, Ms. Nahida Nasreen, and noted human rights activist, Khurram Parvez.

And repeal of draconian laws particularly domicile law which is designed to change the demography of Kashmir.

Excellencies, for the sake of international peace and international, it is necessary to find a solution to the Kashmir conflict. Kashmir is in the centre of the most strategic areas of the world and shares its border with three nuclear powers – India, Pakistan and China. Given the goodwill and respect for international law, it is possible to settle the Kashmir dispute which has kept the South Asian region in turmoil for over 76 years. It is this quest that has brought me here again. Please do not let the 23 million people of the State of Jammu & Kashmir down.

The writer is Secretary-General (World Kashmir Awareness Forum) and can be reached at gnfai2003@yahoo.com