Islamabad, May 22, 2023 (PPI-OT): The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), leaders of political parties and members of civil society of Azad Jammu Kashmir have urged the world community to immediate intervene and resolve the lingering Kashmir dispute as per United Nations resolutions Speakers while addressing a sit-in protest organized by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) chapter during outside the United Nations office in Islamabad said that the hosting a tourism working group meeting of G20 countries in Srinagar is part of India’s delusional disinformation campaign that seeks to lend credence to its baseless claims that Kashmir is not an international dispute but an internal matter.
The participants appealed to the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, to take steps for resolving the Kashmir dispute by giving the Kashmiris their right to self-determination, guaranteed to them by the UN through its resolutions. The participants urged UN on behalf of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), leaders of political parties and civil society of Azad Jammu Kashmir wishes to draw your immediate attention towards the Indian government’s Machiavellian move to host G20’s working group meeting in the disputed region and its devastating impacts on the Kashmiris’ legitimate political struggle.
The speakers urged the UN to pressure India to withdraw its troops from the territory and repeal the draconian laws including the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Public Safety Act (PSA) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) also pledged to continue their liberation struggle till its logical conclusion. The APHC-AJK leadership, led by its convenor Mehmood Ahmed Saghar, presented a memorandum to the United Nations Observers Office in Islamabad to remind the World Body of its obligations on Kashmir dispute and the prevailing worst situation in the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The others who spoke on the occasion include Ghulam Muhammad Safi, Syed Faiz Naqasbandi, Shaikh Abdul Mateen, Shameem Shawl, Advocate Parvaiz Ahmed Shah, Manzoor Ahmed Shah, madam Khula Khan, Abdul Rashid Turabi, Dr Khalid Mehmood, Najib Gafoor and others. The memorandum said the move to host the G20 Summit events in the UN-recognised disputed territory is a part of a multifaceted and multi-front campaign that India’s present-day regime has been waging;
A- To create a confusion around the Kashmir issue.
B- To dilute Kashmir’s international and legal status and strengthen the notion that Kashmir is nothing but its internal matter.
C- To deflect the world’s attention away from the real issue, hiding ground realities and promoting its so-called normalcy narrative.
Excellency,
Kashmir has been a victim of India’s deluge of disinformation and ruthless distortion of history. The distortion of historical facts is something that India’s present-day regime is using as a tool to mislead the world about Kashmir and the Kashmiris’ legitimate struggle for the right to self-determination. And hosting a tourism working group meeting of G20 members on May 22-24 in Srinagar is part of India’s delusional disinformation campaign that seeks to lend credence to its baseless claims that Kashmir is not an international dispute but an internal matter.
The Indian bid to host high-profile events in the region has triggered serious concerns amongst Kashmiris, fearing that the government would yet again use these crucial events as a tool to achieve its strategic objectives and legalize the actions it had taken on and after 5th August 2019. Most importantly, the meeting would likely provide India with ample opportunity to use the participants of the meeting as its ‘brand ambassadors’ to project its baseless normalcy narrative in Kashmir. And without giving an iota of importance to the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people, the G20 nations’ participation in the events in Kashmir would not only be tantamount to normalizing violence and legitimizing its occupation over the territory but also offering India, the usurper of Kashmir, an opportunity to pose as a responsible stakeholder.
The memorandum maintained, it is noteworthy to mention here that the local administration in Srinagar has been hectically engaged to give the city a new look that may please the eyes of foreign dignitaries coming to attend the upcoming summit events. The capital city (Srinagar), which until yesterday presented the image of a desolate and devastated city, has got a glittering facelift, under a smart city project. Hundreds of military bunkers dotting the capital city have been renovated/decorated to create an impression that everything is hunky dory in Kashmir. The memorandum said, the cosmetic beautification campaign of Srinagar went on under the full glare of the media publicity, but what has been happening behind the scenes in Kashmir is something that must be a cause of serious concern for all, especially the G-20 nations.
Disturbing reports of human rights violations continued to pour in from different parts of Kashmir, where the Indian army and its paramilitary forces have been conducting frequent raids and search operations. Thousands of innocent civilians, mostly young boys, have been abducted by the Indian army and other secret agencies and shifted to unknown locations ever since the Indian authorities started preparations for the G20 meeting. On the other hand, a massive crackdown campaign against pro-freedom leaders and activists, social media users and civil society members has been launched to ensure graveyard silence in the territory. Raids on pro-freedom leaders and activists go largely unnoticed. The situation in the restive region is so bad that people are not able to venture out of their homes; the entire valley has been turned into a military fortress, where people feel caged, robbed of their rights and identity.
The memorandum added, being the custodian of global peace and security, the United Nations is the world’s foremost forum to address issues that transcend national boundaries and cannot be resolved by any one country acting alone. And Kashmir is one such issue that merits the immediate attention/intervention of the highest forum (UN) that has passed dozens of resolutions calling for holding a referendum in the region. The people of the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ and K) have been demanding the implementation of the UNSC resolutions that, besides upholding the Kashmiris’ right of self-determination, call for holding a referendum in the region to allow its people to exercise their right to determine their political future through a free, fair and impartial plebiscite.
The UN Security Council Resolution – dated March 30, 1951 reads, “The final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations”. The founding leaders of India, including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and others, had time and again reiterated their commitment to fulfil the solemn pledges they had made to the people of Kashmir and the international community vis-à-vis the settlement of the Kashmir dispute. Even the Indian representatives on many important occasions have assured the world community that India will stand by her international commitments on the Kashmir issue and implement them at an appropriate time.
Sadly, the successors of Gandhi and Nehru not only betrayed the people of Kashmir but also the international community. And 73 years down the line, Kashmiris are still waiting for justice, the memorandum said. It said India’s non-compliance with the UN’s framework meant to resolve the dispute peacefully and, above all, the Indian rulers’ perpetual denial to grant Kashmiris their promised rights have been a major cause and consequence of unrest and turmoil in the region.
The APHC sincerely believes that the UN should take effective notice of India’s nefarious designs in the region and play its much-needed role to help resolve this deadly conflict that poses a serious threat to peace and security in South Asia. The memorandum maintained that on January 5, 1949, the United Nations Commission for Pakistan and India had passed a very important resolution calling for settlement of the Kashmir dispute by giving the Kashmiris an opportunity to decide their future by themselves under a UN-supervised plebiscite. It said since then, due to India’s stubbornness, the Kashmir conflict remains unresolved.
Advertisement
The memorandum said the Kashmiri people have rendered unparalleled sacrifices in their struggle for achieving this right in the last over seven decades. It said the silence of the United Nations and international powers on the issue have emboldened India to carry on its state terrorism in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. It said settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the Kashmiris’ aspirations is imperative for ensuring durable peace in South Asia.
For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org