As the people of Pakistan quite enthusiastically observed another Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5, 2021 with President Dr Arif Alvi addressing Azad Kashmir (AK) Constituent Assembly, Prime Minister Imran Khan attended a big gathering at Kotli (AK). Seminars, conferences and rallies all over the country reiterated their continued support to the Kashmiris in their just, unarmed and indigenous struggle for freedom from the illegal and forcible occupation by India; it was also imperative to highlight the worsening human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) to draw the attention of the international community and human rights organisations towards the complete lockdown for more than 18 months there.
There is no denying the fact that the ever-deteriorating situation in IIOJK has always been a matter of great concern and worry for the global rights watchdogs who have been time and again been raising alarm over the gross and systematic violations of human rights being continuously committed with impunity by the occupying Indian security forces.
The human rights situation in the occupied territory has stooped so low, particularly after the Modi regime stripped it of its autonomous status unilaterally on August 5, 2019. The imperialistic decision, quite rightly criticised by independent observers as an act of colonialism, pushed Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir to a quagmire of uncertainty and chaos indefinitely.
The dissolution of the state and reducing its status from that of a state to a union territory and bringing it under New Delhi’s direct control was an atrocious assault on the rights of the people—this has inflicted terrible psychological trauma on the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Modi regime’s actions are quite obviously in gross violation of the UN Security Council resolutions, the Charter of the United Nations and international law. There has been a massive upsurge particularly following August 5, 2019’s unilateral actions in the incidents of the state-violence that resulted in the death of thousands of innocent Kashmiris, particularly the youth who were killed during cordon and search operations (CASO) and fake encounters staged by Indian security forces and secret agencies.
BJP-RSS Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unilateral and illegal actions in IIOJK are in parallel with Israel’s illegal actions in the occupied West Bank (Palestine) and this only shows the Indian fascist government’s devilish designs of turning occupied Jammu and Kashmir territory into another Palestine.
Since August 5, 2019, IIOJK has suffered repeated disconnections of the internet and in December 2020, it had broken the record of 18 months longest blackout by the so-called big democratic state.
The Kashmiris have been facing continued oppression including the so-called cordon and search operations and fake encounters. The toxic Hindutva ideology of RSS-BJP has resulted in systematic targeting of Kashmiri youths through extra-judicial killings.
According to data available from Kashmir Media Service, 95723 civilians including women and children from January 1989 to December 2020, 306 civilians since August 5, 2019 and 263 civilians in year 2020 have been killed by the occupying Indian security forces in IIOJK.
India is not only killing the Kashmiris in IIOJK but is also continuously engaged in flagrant violation of the 2003 ceasefire agreement with Pakistan and is targeting Kashmiri civilians who are living on the Line of Control (LoC) border villages. In 2020, India killed 25 people and injured 200 people by committing more than 2700 ceasefire violations.
Impunity for human rights violations and inaccessibility of the right to justice are among the main challenges facing the people occupied Jammu and Kashmir territory. The draconian laws in IIOJK i.e. the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act provide impunity to the occupying Indian security forces.
The Indian government has detained more than 70 Kashmiri political leaders i.e. All Pakistan Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and activists since August 5, 2019 and also during the sham local elections in IIOJK in December 2020.
Since August 5, 2019, at least 389 people have been detained under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act in jails in IIOJK and also across India without any intimation and accessibility to their relatives.
According to available data, as many as 161330 Kashmiris from January 1989 to December 2020, 14417 Kashmiri civilians since August 5, 2019 and 2958 Kashmiris in the year 2020 have been illegally detained by Indian security forces in IIOJK.
The unilateral and illegal actions of India’s fascist Modi regime are direct violations of the UN Security Council’s resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, the United Nations Charter and international laws. The Fourth Geneva Convention in its paragraph 6 of Article 49 clearly says, “that the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies”.
In early April 2020, as the stringent lockdown continued in IIOJK, the Indian government had announced a new domicile law for the occupied territory. Out of 33000 who had applied for domicile certificates, at least 25000 domicile certificates have been granted to non-resident Kashmiris thus raising fear of demographic changes in IIOJK besides ongoing genocide activities in order to reduce predominantly Muslim majority into minority. The indigenous Kashmiris are thus threatened to lose their political and cultural identity, their rightful demographic majority and ownership of their properties in their own homeland. Poor health facilities despite the coronavirus pandemic, damage to children’s education due to closure of educational institutions and economic losses accruing from no income generating activity whatsoever due to prolonged lockdown over the entire population—this is all unprecedented in history.
Cutting this long, miserable, deplorable and condemnable charge sheet in IIOJK short, here are the sufferings and sacrifices of the Kashmiris during the last 30 years, from January 1990 to December 2020 at a glance. Total killings number 100000 plus, custodial killings are 8500 plus, the number of civilians arrested is 150000 plus, enforced disappearances goes over 12000 plus, structures destroyed/arsoned is 110000 plus, women widowed is 22836 plus; half widowed is 3000 plus. Women gang-raped molested are 11011 plus, pellet victims from the youth are 15000, mass graves are 7000 plus and children orphaned are 107872.
Pakistan has, during the last couple of years, activated the Kashmir issue at the UN General Assembly and other international forums; is continuously urging the international community to play its role in ensuring the Kashmiris get their fundamental right of self-determination in accordance with the Security Council resolutions, exert pressure on fascist Modi regime to end this prolonged lockdown and flagrant violations of human rights in IIOJK at the earliest.
Pakistan needs to continue voicing its support for Kashmiri brethren and agitating over the Indian brutalities and atrocities on unarmed Kashmiris and persistently exert pressure on the United Nations to compel New Delhi to implement the 72-year-old Security Council resolutions and let Kashmiris decide their future themselves.