Daily Times

MIRPUR (AJK): Senior APHC leader Altaf Hussain Wani has condemned the Indian authorities for imposing ban on Kashmiri students to travel to Pakistan for pursuing higher education.

Terming it as a violation of the international law, the APHC leader , in a statement  late Thursday , while underling the Indian government’s motive behind the move said, “Indian UGC and AICTE’s joint advisory is tantamount to criminalizing and colonizing education to instill a sense of inferiority and disempowerment within the Kashmiris.

The notification, he said bears the racial imprints that goes in synch with the BJP’s belligerent and hostile policy towards Kashmiris. “Baring aspiring students to travel abroad is a well-thought-out conspiracy to deprive Kashmiris of their inalienable right to education”, Wani said.

Referring to Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he said, “The UDHR affirms that education is a fundamental human right for every one”. The right to education, he said, was legally guaranteed for all without any discrimination.

“As per the law Indian State is duty bound to protect, respect, and fulfill the right to education but it is quite unfortunate that the Indian government has been hampering the provision of access to education to Kashmiri children.

“Creating barriers to children’s access to education constitute a severe violation of international law”, Wani said adding the right to Education is duly recognized in International Law and the Indian government was obligated to grant Kashmiri children the same right that has been recognized across a plethora of international treaties and conventions.

After shutting down its doors of education for Kashmiri students all across India, Wani said that the apartheid regime was now hell bent on preventing them from seeking higher education in Pakistan and other world countries.

Referring to the hurdles the Indian racist regime has been creating for students trying to further their education in a country where they feel safer, he said “Students are harassed and ridiculed by agencies when they try to obtain an NOC to study in Pakistan”.

Depriving Kashmiri students of their right to education, he said, was a conspiracy to keep Kashmiris backward and uneducated so that they would not be able to raise voice against Indian exploitation and oppression.

Urging international human rights bodies to raise the issue with Indian government, the APHC leader said, “It is a matter of grave concern that the BJP government is shamelessly criminalizing education and denying Kashmiri students the opportunity to materialize their fundamental right that has been reaffirmed in various international covenants including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights.