Daily Times

They don’t care about their acts of murder,

Be it an adult or a child;

They commit genocide and;

They continue to assist a world order;

They lie, cheat, they act like an animal that’s wild.—Michael Seium

Kashmiris are experiencing prosecution again with more than 50 people killed in a series of violent protests in different parts of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir state after the killing of Burhan Muzaffar Wani by the occupying forces on July 8 in the riverside Kokernag village of Anantnag district. Wani’s elder brother Khalid Muzaffar Wani was also killed by the Indian Army on April 13, 2015, merely on suspicion. Such extrajudicial killings have become a routine against the oppressed Kashmiri people by the Indian armed forces that have no value for human rights and human lives. On July 9, over 200,000 people came to mourn the young leader at his funeral. The body of Wani — who was known for posting pro-freedom videos on social media that found appeal among the younger population in the disputed state — was wrapped in Pakistan’s green flag.

We observed that a series of violent protests erupted in the disputed state soon after news of Wani’s death spread through the local and social media. Local media also reported that there were many children among the 120 people who lost their eyesight after the Indian forces used pellet guns against them. Calling Wani a martyr, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz, federal and provincial cabinets, foreign office, lawmakers and politicians condemned the series of killings and atrocities by the Indian forces against innocent people. Pakistan has intensified its diplomatic efforts to sensitise the world of the ongoing atrocities against Kashmiri people in the disputed state.

Letters have been written to the UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, Human Rights Commission and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) by Pakistan government on the plight of Kashmiris, and the excesses of the Indian forces. Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Senator Rehman Malik, and several other Pakistanis have also written letters to the United Nations and its affiliated bodies, drawing attention towards increasing tempo and scale of human rights violations in Kashmir. Over 700,000 Indian troops stationed in the disputed state for the past two decades have not been able to suppress the Kashmiri people who wish to achieve their inalienable right promised through a historic UN Security Council resolution adopted on April 21, 1948.

In line with the tradition, Pakistan would continue to highlight the Jammu and Kashmir issue at all world forums to help the unarmed people of the disputed state. Also, Pakistan would continue to extend political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris. But there is a need to initiate a serious dialogue as well as a clear national policy with open involvement of Kashmiri leadership. It is also a welcoming sign that Pakistan has announced to approach the Human Rights Council of the United Nations to send a fact-finding mission to the disputed state to investigate mass killings of innocent civilians and impose a ban on the use of pellet guns, a demand also put forth by the Hurriyat Conference for the last several years. Also, the military checkpoints are a common sight, and emergency laws grant the Indian forces sweeping powers to search homes, to make arrests without warrants, and to shoot locals on sight without fear of prosecution.

In 2010, more than 120 young people were killed by the Indian forces, but nobody was held responsible for the brutality due to what we can say lack of interest of human rights watchdogs or “avoid-India” policy of international institutions. Interactions and media reports suggest that a big part of the Kashmiri people demand — in the background of Indian atrocities — that Jammu and Kashmir be independent, or become a part of Pakistan. It is clear now that Jammu and Kashmir is a dangerous flashpoint in the South Asian region with two nuclear neighbours along with the emerging superpower, China. Any ramping up of tension also runs the risk of threatening regional peace and stability. The UN will have to take notice of the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, and press authorities in New Delhi to immediately cease all such actions that violate fundamental entitlements of the people. The world body is not only the guarantor of fundamental human rights of peoples anywhere in the world, but is also responsible for taking pro-active measures to ensure peace in regions prone to conflicts.

Unlike India, Pakistan has been in the forefront of seeking non-military solutions to the lingering issue of Jammu and Kashmir, one of the most militarised regions in the world. Is the world waiting for the last Kashmiri in the disputed state to be “eliminated” by the occupying forces?

The writer is an Islamabad-based writer and can be reached at zec.engineering@yahoo.com