Afia Ambreen
On 27 October 2016, Kashmiris throughout the world will observe “Black Day” to express solidarity with the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) to expose India over her illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir. It was on 27 October 1947, when Indian troops landed in Srinagar and forcibly occupied Jammu and Kashmir in total disregard to the Partition Plan of the Subcontinent and against the aspirations of people of Kashmir. The Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM), an all-woman organization in Occupied Kashmir, has said that the memories of the day still haunt the Kashmiri people. The DeM Secretary General, Nahida Nasreen, in a statement said that 27 October was the day when Indian forces under a well-planned conspiracy entered Jammu and Kashmir and forcibly occupied it. Kashmir was bound to become a part of Pakistan as it was a Muslim majority territory, however, under a wicked plan and a well-thought-out conspiracy Kashmir was illegally occupied by India.
Ironically, in IOK, the coalition government of pro-India Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is nothing but convergence of unethical and unholy interests. Before announcement of the puppet government in IOK, both the parties tried to mislead the Kashmiri people in the name of talks to reach an agreement; they called Common Minimum Programme. However, the fact of the matter is that it was all pre-planned and a drama to garner sympathies of the Kashmiris, who never wanted to see BJP in power in the territory. There is no denial of the fact that both the parties have never been the well-wishers of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. They have joined hands only to further the nefarious communal and divisive agenda of Sangh Parivar, an amalgam of extremist Hindu organizations like BJP, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena and Vishva Hindu Parishad. While India’s ruling party BJP and Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, are notorious for their anti-Muslim activities.
The recent mass uprising after the martyrdom of Burhan Wani by Indian occupational forces on 8 July 2016 has witnessed introduction of new tools of death and destruction. Anti-Indian protests started in all ten districts of the Indian Occupied Kashmir. Indian forces used pellet guns, tear gas shells, rubber bullets, as well as assault rifles. The mass uprising in Kashmir has completed 100 days. In this period, more than 110 civilians have been killed, over 1,000 people have been blinded and over 15,000 have been injured and an equal number arrested. All those arrested are civilians, many in their 70s, whose only crime has been to participate in peaceful public congregations to demand the freedom from India. Many of those arrested, including minors, have been booked under the draconian law, the so-called Public Safety Act, which allows incarceration of anyone without a trial for up to two years.
It is very unfortunate that Indian army has fired more than two million pellets on Kashmiris. These shotguns, rebranded as non-lethal pellet guns, are actually hunting guns, but since Kashmir remains a dark spot of Indian democracy, it has been employed to maim and blind people to scare them into submission. But the public remains defiant. So far, more than 2,000 mass public rallies known locally as ‘Chalo’ gatherings have attracted bulk of Kashmiris, who have defied Indian occupation and reiterated their demand for freedom. Despite Indian army attacks on these gatherings, they continue to occur almost on a daily basis across the region. To halt the spirit of resistance, Indian army have attacked hundreds of villages rampaging thousands of houses with properties worth billions of rupees destroyed. Dozens of mosques have also been desecrated by soldiers who believe they are defending their Hindu faith by attacking Muslim symbols of worship or identity.
Human Rights Watch strongly condemned the use of pellet guns on protesters and called it a failure of the authorities to respect basic Human Rights. The United Nations Human Rights Commission also urged the Indian government to let it visit Kashmir in order to investigate the Human Rights abuses; however, the request was unanimously rejected by India. Amnesty International stated that Indian actions in IOK were a violation of international standards and were leading to a worsening of the Human Rights crisis in the State.
A just and lasting solution to the Kashmir dispute can only be found through a process of dialogue and engagement. For this reason, Pakistan has always initiated a dialogue with India for the solution of Kashmir dispute. Pakistan believes that for peace process, it is essential that Indian armed forces must stop violations of Human Rights in Indian Occupied Kashmir. Despite all sincere efforts by Pakistan government to resolve the long lasting dispute, India has not shown flexibility in this regard. All this reflects that India is not willing to solve Kashmir dispute and end the sufferings of the Kashmiri people. International community, UN, OIC and human rights organizations should take a strong and serious note of State-sponsored terrorism in the territory and release thousands of youth arrested during the present uprising. Kashmiris wanted freedom and right of self-determination as pledged by the UN through its Charter and Security Council resolutions.
