Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Mishal Yaseen Malik, wife of arrested Kashmiri leader Yaseen Malik said that the worst type of barbarism was being perpetrated in Indian-held Kashmir and all means were being used for suppressing the voice of the Kashmiris.

She welcomed the UN Secretary General’s offer for mediation between Pakistan and India. ” I welcome the announcement made by the Pakistani government for observing a black day on the 19th of July”, she added.

Mishal Malik, in a detailed interview with Daily Times, said that Kashmir was mourning at the moment. It was hard for the people to meet their basic necessities of life due to the imposition of an economic blockade by India.

A large number of people participated in the funeral procession of Burhan Wani and they surged on the roads to mourn the killing of Wani at the hands of the Indian troops. Due to the Indian forces blockage of Jammu Bridge, medical aid was not sufficiently available in the hospitals. Ambulances were attacked by the Indian forces and the worst type of war crimes were taking place in occupied Kashmir.

To a question on the role played by the social media in the recent uprising , she said that as time changed, the tools of the media also changed. Many people were raising the voice for self determination. According to a study 70 per cent of the youth population of Kashmir was using the social media in occupied Kashmir. They were arranging and coordinating processions through the social media. But India had blocked the internet and halted the telephone services. The publication of newspapers had also been shut. The Indian government turned Kashmir’s lock-ups into the world’s biggest open air prison. Those locked up in jails had no connection with the world. They arrested the Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik and kept him in solitary confinement at Kothi Bagh Police Station. Veteran politician Syed Ali Gilani, Shabir Shah and others had been house arrested. The voice of democracy had been gagged.

In response to a question she said that the last time she contacted her detained husband Yasin Malik, nine days ago his other relatives were also not allowed to meet him. They pushed the Kashmiris to the wall and they had no other option left except to return to an armed struggle.

She added that India was trying to bring demographical changes and wanted to change the majority into a minority. The Indian government through its industrial policy was trying to lease out land for over100 years, which, she said was a negation of Article 370, which gave special status to Indian occupied Kashmir.

Till now the UN resolutions had not been implemented on both sides of Kashmir. Non-Kashmirs cannot buy lands. India was also issuing permanent residence certificates to non-Kashmiris. They were shifting all the retired army personnel and pundits and was setting up special colonies for them.

When asked whether the BJP government was more hostile towards Kashmiris, Misha Malik said that in the historical perspective either the BJP or the Congress governments, both had radical doctrines towards Kashmiris which was sooner or later suicidal for Kashmiris “Kashmiris need freedom from India”, she stressed.

She welcomed the Pakistani government’s special cabinet meeting in which it was announced to observe July 19 as a black day for Kashmiris.

She commented that the Kashmir issue was at the core of Pakistani foreign policy, though the prime minister had addressed the nation twice on the Panama leaks issue, he must also address the nation on the Kashmir issue to tell the world that the Pakistani government and the nation were serious on the Kashmir issue . She also demanded the summoning of a joint sitting of the parliament to discuss the Kashmir issue.

In response to a question regarding the offer of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for mediation between Pakistan and India on the Kashmir issue, she said she welcomed it. But for more to be done one the issue practically, one should also concentrate on the human rights violations over there. She suggested international sanctions against India over the brutalities in occupied Kashmir.

Regarding the international human rights organisations’ responses, she said that though Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International had shown their concerns over the prevailing situation in Kashmir but they needed to do more on the issue.

On the role of the OIC, she said the formation of an Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) in the OIC was a good step.

She also welcomed the IPHRC statement on Kashmir. But since war crimes were going on there, more pressure was needed on India to shun violence and practical steps were needed apart from statements.

On the role of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir, she looked not satisfied over its performance. She said that the motive behind establishing the committee in the 1990s was lobbying, networking and globalising the Kashmir dispute according to the UN resolutions.

Late Nawabzada Nasrullah khan was its founding chairman and under his leadership the committee played a significant role. But, currently only condemnations from the committee were taking place without any meeting and press conference under the current Chairman, Maulana Fazlur Rehman.