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Archive for category Indian Atrocities in Kashmir

CAN PAKISTAN’S MISSILE RENDER INDIA’S CONVENTIONAL ARMY USELESS?

Kashmiris in Indian Jails

May 28: Pakistan Became Declared Nuclear Power

By

Sajjad Shaukat

 

Showing aggressive designs against Pakistan, on May 11, 1998, India conducted three nuclear tests and on May 13, 1998, two nuclear tests.

 

Notably, both the countries have waged three wars, especially on the issue of the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK). Therefore, in response, Pakistan successfully carried out its five nuclear tests on May 28, 1998 and the sixth one on May 30, 1998.

 

In this regard, it took only 17 days for Pakistan to successfully carry out its five nuclear tests on May 28, 1998 and the sixth one on May 30, 1998, at Chaghi in Balochistan. For the purpose, about five thousands scientists including Dr Samar Mubarakmand and particularly Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan had worked day and night and made the defence of the country impregnable.

 

Therefore, with national zeal and fervour in different parts of the country, Youm-e-Takbeer (The day of greatness) is celebrated every year on May 28 as the national day to mark the conduction of nuclear tests.

 

It is noteworthy that in 1974, India conducted first nuclear test in Rajasthan Pokhran to pressurise Islamabad.

 

When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto came to power, he paid much attention to the nuclear programme, as he knew that India would apply its coercive diplomacy on Islamabad or could attack Pakistan.

 

Meanwhile, during many crises such as Kargil issue of 1999 and attack on the Indian parliament by the militants in 2001, New Delhi concentrated its troops across the Pakistan’s border, with the intention to invade Pakistan, while raising a series of false allegations against Islamabad. Pakistan was also compelled to deploy its Army along the Pak-India border. But, India did not dare to initiate a war because of Pakistan’s ‘Nukes.’ Similarly, in the past, Indian rulers had intended to implement their doctrine of limited war in Kashmir, but they could not do so owing to Pakistan’s atomic weapons.

 

And in the aftermath of false flag Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, India accused Pakistan’s primary spy agency ISI of supporting the militants. Although Pak diplomats denied Indian self-fabricated story, but New Delhi adopted a threatening posture against Islamabad. Once again, it deployed its troops across the Pakistani border. Again, Pakistan also concentrated its military to give a matching response to India.

Likewise, in the aftermath of the false flag terror of Pulwama, very tension escalated rapidly between the two countries on February 27, 2019. In response to the Indian so-called pre-emptive air strike near the town of Balakot, close to the border with Pakistan’s sector of Kashmir, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down two Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets and launched aerial strikes at six targets in the (IOK). Pak Army also captured an Indian pilot.

 

The truth about India’s surgical strikes exposed, when Indian top civil and military leaders failed in providing any evidence. The then Indian India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also demitted that no Pakistani soldier or citizen died in the air strike in Balakot.

 

Nevertheless, after the Pulwama assault, India tried to make ground for a prospective invasion of Pakistan. But, it failed in acting upon its plans to wage a conventional war due to Pakistan’s atomic weapons.

 

In fact, since Narendara Modi, the leader of the ruling party BJP, became Indian Prime Minister; he has been implementing ideology of Hindutva (Hindu Nationalism) by persecuting the Muslims and creating war-hysteria among the Hindus against Pakistan.

 

In this respect, Indian extremist rulers’ various moves such as abrogation of the special status of the Jammu and Kashmir to turn Muslim majority into minority in the Indian Held Kashmir, continued lockdown in that region, martyrdom of thousands of the Kashmiris there, issuance of a notorious map to bifurcate the Kashmir region into two union territories and introduction of new domicile law against the majority of Kashmiris, including continued shelling by the Indian forces show that New Delhi has completely ended any sort of dialogue with Islamabad to settle the Kashmir dispute.

 

Now, the entire world is facing the coronavirus pandemic which has, rapidly, been taking the lives of many persons. At this crucial juncture, international community is coping with this deadly virus. But, under the guise of coronavirus, India has politicised the COVID-19 epidemic by accusing the Indian Muslims and Pakistan for spreading the virus in India. Availing the opportunity, Indian rulers have imposed various kinds of restrictions on the Muslims, while Hindu extremists have set off a series of assaults against Muslims across the country.

 

In this connection, DG of Inter-services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj-Gen Babar Iftikhar said on April 24, this year: “Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa stated…India’s attempt to link coronavirus with Muslims and Pakistan has failed badly…New Delhi has been promoting Hindutva and saffron terrorism…The fire of hatred which was first ignited in Indian-Occupied Kashmir has now spread across India…the whole world is facing the crises due to the coronavirus pandemic…India is still adamant on promoting RSS agenda in the region”.

 

In its reaction to the Indian 15-Corps Command interview with BBC on April 13, 2020,  Maj-Gen Babar Iftikhar termed India’s insinuation about infiltration and ceasefire violations (CFVs) “baseless” and elaborated that they were “designed to divert global and domestic attention from the “unending fiasco…No less delusional are the allegations about Pakistan infiltrating COVID-affected individuals into IOJK”.

 

Referring to the LoC, in a statement, ISPR pointed out on April 29, this year, “A Pakistan Army soldier and two civilians embraced martyrdom when Indian Army resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violations along the Line of Control…Pakistan Army responded effectively, resulting in heavy losses to Indian troops, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa said the Indian Army will always get a befitting response to ceasefire violations…The Indian forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary have been continuously targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars…India has committed 913 ceasefire violations this year”.

 

It is mentionable that Indian Defence Rajnath Singh on August 16, 2014 had threatened Pakistan with nuclear war, while BJP leader Dr. Subramaniam Swami had also stated in the same year that India needed only two years to defeat Pakistan militarily, and the only solution of Kashmir was war, as “there is no peaceful, democratic solution”.

 

Taking cognizance of Indian war-like diplomacy, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has, repeatedly, been stating to inform the international community and the UNO that New Delhi can arrange any Pulwama-type false flag operation to carry out another military adventure inside Pakistani side of Kashmir—and any conventional war between both the countries could result into atomic war, having “severe repercussions, if they “silently witness ethnic cleansing of Muslims in IOK… they have failed to implement the UN resolutions on Kashmir…[which] remains a nuclear flashpoint in the South Asian region”.

 

It is worth-mentioning that the US dropped atomic bombs on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as Tokyo had no such devices to retaliate. After the World War 11, nuclear weapons were never used. These were only employed as a strategic threat.

Indian Military Deployment [445 × 624]
byu/gaganaut inMapPorn

Nonetheless, unlike the former Soviet Union and the US who followed the principles of nuclear deterrence, popularly known as balance of terror, war-like situation exists between New Delhi and Islamabad due to the perennial firing by the Indian forces across the LoC in wake of the unsettled issue of Kashmir. So, India’s any military adventure or a prolonged conventional conflict with Pakistan could culminate into nuclear war.

 

Moreover, it is owing to atomic bombs that Pakistan can talk to India with honour and dignity, discouraging India from casting an evil eye on our motherland.

 

However, May 28 is celebrated as Youm-e-Takbeer by all the segments of society, including general masses; as on this very day, Pakistan became the 7th declared nuclear power in the world.

 

 

 

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India: Gross Human Rights Abuses in Kashmir Continue By Sajjad Shaukat

India: Gross Human Rights Abuses in Kashmir Continue

By Sajjad Shaukat

 

Since 1947, in order to maintain its illegal control, India has continued its repressive regime in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) through various machinations. Especially, since 1989, Indian army and paramilitary forces have been committing gross human rights abuses such as crackdowns, curfews, illegal detentions, massacre, targeted killings, extrajudicial killings, sieges, burning the houses, torture, disappearances, rape, breaking the legs, molestation of Muslim women and killing of persons through fake encounters.

 

But, Indian forces have broken all previous records of gross human rights abuses since August 5, 2019 when Indian extremist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government ended the special status of the Jummu and Kashmir by abolishing articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution to turn Muslim majority into a minority in the Indian Controlled Kashmir.

 

More than 40 days have been passed. But, Indian forces have continued lockdown and curfew in the IOK. More restrictions have been imposed in the wake of shortage of foods and even medicines for the patients. In order to hide human rights violations, communication services have been cut off from the world and foreign journalists are not allowed to enter that region Besides, Indian extremist rulers are also escalating tensions with Pakistan to divert attention from the drastic situation of the Indian Controlled Kashmir, and have continued shelling inside Pakistani side of Kashmir.

 

Indian Prime Minister & his RSS Nazi Gestapo Emulate & Admire Hitler

 

 

 

New Delhi which already had 500,000 troops in the Indian Held Kashmir sent almost 300000 extra troops. Despite, India’s excessive deployment of troops in the Kashmir region, expulsion of Hindu pilgrims, tourists, closure of educational institutions and arrest of the Kashmiri leaders and the pellet guns shots, Kashmiris have accelerated the war of liberation, being waged for their right of self-determination, which was also recognized by the United Nations resolutions.

 

Human rights groups and even Western media have repeatedly condemned Indian illegal measures and human rights violations which continue unabated in the Indian Occupied Kashmir. Some references are notable in this respect.

 

The Independent wrote on August 13, 2019: “Kashmir’s tight security and communications lockdown remained in place…as reports emerged of daily essentials running low. Restrictions on almost all movement…were strictly enforced…With the internet and phone lines still cut off…the valley has become the setting for all-out information warfare….soldiers stopping vehicles in the centre of Srinagar, causing a traffic jam just as a military surveillance drone flew over…The network of barbed passageways was unprecedented…entire Srinagar city has been knitted in razor wire to seek our silence and obedience…closure of mosques curtailed the religious freedoms of Kashmiri Muslims…Restrictions and curtailment of this fundamental religious freedom of millions of Kashmiri Muslims constitute a serious violation of applicable international human rights law, to which India is a party.”

 

The New York Times wrote on August 10, 2019: “On the streets of Srinagar, Kashmir’s biggest city, security officers tied black bandannas over their faces, grabbed their guns and took positions behind checkpoints. People glanced out the windows of their homes, afraid to step outside. Many were cutting back on meals and getting hungry….Shops were shut. A.T.M.s had run dry…internet, mobile phones, even landlines…remained severed, rendering millions of people incommunicado…life under lockdown in Kashmir and found a population that felt besieged…frightened and…Several residents said they had been beaten up by security forces for simply trying to buy necessities like milk. Many Kashmiris see India as an oppressive and foreign ruler. Tens of thousands of troops from the Indian Army, the Central Reserve Police Force (a paramilitary unit) and the Kashmiri State police have been deployed in just about every corner of the valley. In some villages, even remote ones, a soldier was posted outside the gate of each family’s home….The lockdown’s effects are visible everywhere….Parks are deserted. Baby food is running out…Many doctors couldn’t get to work.…Many Kashmiris fear that Mr. Modi’s sweeping decision, which also wiped away a decades-old provision that gave Kashmiris special land ownership rights, will encourage millions of Hindu migrants from India to move into the valley…Kashmiris fear they will be turned into a minority in their own land.”

 

On August 29, this year, BBC pointed out: “Unprecedented restrictions have put Kashmir into a state of lockdown…In one village the residents said…Two brothers were woken up and taken to an outside area where nearly a dozen other men from the village had been gathered…They kicked us…gave us electric shocks, beat us with cables…we screamed, they sealed our mouth with mud…We told them we are innocent…they did not listen to us. I told them don’t beat us, just shoot us. I was asking God to take me because the torture was unbearable.”

 

Addressing the 42nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHR) in Geneva on September 10, this year, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Quereshi urged the UNHRC “to constitute a commission of inquiry for an investigation into blatant and grave human rights violations in occupied Kashmir”.

 

Quereshi elaborated: “The basic and inalienable human rights of Kashmiri people are being trampled with impunity by India…over 6,000 people…have been arrested, without due process of law. Many of them have been forcibly shipped to jails all over India, under draconian laws operative in Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir…New Delhi has turned Kashmir into the largest prison…India can once again resort to false-flag operations, and use the bogey of terrorism to divert international attention from atrocities in occupied Kashmir…illegal occupation of Muslim-majority Kashmir region can drive the two nuclear-armed countries into an accidental war”.

 

It is mentionable that Pakistan achieved the biggest success when 50 countries supported Pakistan’s stance on Indian Held Kashmir in a joint statement delivered at the UNHR in Geneva on September 10, 2019. The joint statement said: “It shares the concern expressed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet regarding the impact of recent actions on the human rights of Kashmiris…the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [OHCHR], UN Special Procedures in their joint press release of 22 August 2019, civil society organizations and international media have repeatedly expressed serious concerns about the unprecedented restrictions and on the continuous curfew imposed since fifth of last month, curbing of fundamental freedoms, communications blackout and reports of widespread torture, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, molestation of women, and enforced disappearances”.

 

It quoted UN Secretary-General António Guterres statement on 8th of last month that said: “The position of the United Nations on this region is governed by the Charter of the United Nations and applicable Security Council resolutions”. This position of the UN Secretary-General has also been corroborated by OHCHR‘s Kashmir Reports.

 

It added: “Consistent with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions, and human rights standards and international law, the international community should ask for…Respect and protection of fundamental human rights of the people of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir…Immediate lifting of the curfew, ending the communications shutdown and release of arbitrarily detained people… An immediate halt to the excessive use of force, especially the use of pellet guns; access of human rights organizations and international media…Implementation of the recommendations of OHCHR’s Kashmir Reports including the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate egregious human rights violations”. It also supported a peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute through the implementation of the UNSC resolutions.

 

Notably, a majority of the world’s leaders’ statements regarding the situation of the IOK, Western media, including human rights groups have been giving much coverage to India’s lockdown and Modi’s illegitimate moves by indicating the sufferings of the Kashmiris. But, Indian security forces have continued human rights abuses in the IOK.

 

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly stated the inaction by the international community, particularly the West’s major powers who have financial interests in India could lead to conventional war which could be culminated into nuclear war between the two countries.  Especially, on August 15, 2019, Prime Minister Khan has warned the international community of “severe repercussions and reactions”, if they “silently witness another Srebrenica-type massacre & ethnic cleansing of Muslims in IOK”.

 

In his interview with Russian TV Channel RT on September 13, 2019, PM Imran Khan once again pointed out that the Indo-Pakistani standoff took a turn for the worse after New Delhi revoked the decades-old autonomy of the part of disputed Kashmir it controls. Khan urged the world community to help to prevent the conflict from spiralling into “a nuclear hotspot” with “unimaginable” consequences. He said that he was disappointed by the lacklustre international response to the Kashmir crisis and explained: “Sadly, I would have expected the world to react much more than it has…some states may be unwilling to disrupt trade with India…I feel that [to the world community] markets, trade, material gains–I’m sad to say – are much more important than human beings”.

 

Earlier, in response to the threat of nuclear war by Indian Defence Rajnath Singh, addressing a press conference, Pakistan’s army’s media wing-the DG of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Maj-Gen. Asif Ghafoor stated on September 4, this year: “There is no policy of no first use of strategic capability…use of nuclear capability is political…no solution to the Kashmir issue less than the right to self-determination of Kashmir is acceptable to Pakistan…Pakistan is ready to go to any extent for Kashmir…war would become an option by compulsion and not by choice if other elements do not succeed in stopping brutalities in Held Kashmir.”

 

Although the US President Donald Trump reiterated his offer to mediate between India and Pakistan on September 9, 2019, yet he is only fulfilling formality because America remains determined to make India superpower in Asia to counter China while playing a double game in the region.

 

Undoubtedly, as the major countries like the UK, France, the US, Germany, including some other Western states are not taking practical actions against New Delhi which could also entail economic sanctions that gross human rights abuses in the Indian Occupied Kashmir continue unabated.

 

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is the author of the book: the US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

 

Email: [email protected]

 

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UN Human Rights Day & Kashmir By Sajjad Shaukat

UN Human Rights Day & Kashmir

By

Sajjad Shaukat

 

Each year, Human Rights Day is observed all over the world, especially by the oppressed nations on December 10, as on this very day in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It reflected the conviction that human dignity is at the heart of our societies and that respect for human rights is essential to the prevention of conflict and the promotion of human development.

 

Sadly, the international community has often fallen short of its commitment to human rights. Several crises have shaken humanity in the last 70 years. Conflicts, inequality, violence, discrimination and exclusion continuously wreak havoc on individuals and societies throughout the world. Too often human rights are ignored when addressing these crises.

 

December 10 is also celebrated in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) where protests, demonstrations, seminars and conferences marked the international Human Rights Day, as gross human rights violations have continued unabated by the Indian security forces.

 

This time, this very day has come at a time when the people of Kashmir have accelerated their legitimate struggle in the aftermath of the martyrdom of the young Kashmir leader Burhan Wani by the Indian security forces in the Indian Held Kashmir in wake of continued sieges, prolonged curfews, arrests and detentions of the Kashmiri leaders. Since July 8, 2016, Indian forces have martyred more than 600 innocent persons who have been protesting against the martyrdom of Burhan Wani.

 

Some online authentic sources suggest that recent wave of Kashmiri intifada has witnessed repression of Indian armed forces; large numbers of the dead and injured have been youngsters. The pellet guns used by security forces have damaged the faces of 1600 people and more than 1100 people have partially or wholly lost their eyesight making 2016 as the year of dead eyes.

 

Last year, reports also disclosed that Indian security forces have also used chemical weapons against the Kashmiri civilians in violation of international law and Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Due to mounting causalities in IOK, Indian security forces have started giving collective punishment to Kashmiri civilians. In a development on 4 July 2017, the Indian Army had destroyed houses in Pulwama and killed 3 Kashmiri civilians. Upon recovery of the bodies, it was discovered that they were burnt beyond recognition. 

 

Sources report that the Indian Army is emulating Israeli tactics by using white phosphorus bombs to destroy houses of Kashmiris suspected of harboring Mujahideen. The same tactics was used by Israel during its attacks on Gaza and it seems that these weapons have been provided by Israel to India for use in IOK.

 

It is notable that an Indian journalist Sagarika Ghose in her piece in “Times of India” admitted that India has become a “de facto Hindu country” and “the boiling situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir is a sign of triumph for Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Two-Nation theory”—also admitted that “Today Kashmir is a cantonment, patrolled by lakhs of security forces.”

 

Another Indian journalist Santosh Bhartiya in an open letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has published on ‘Rising Kashmir’ has claimed that although “the land of Kashmir is with us, the people of Kashmir are not with us.” New York Times editorial “Cruelty and Cowardice in Kashmir” also has the same shade commenting on an incident on the current situation in the valley. Former chief of RAW, Dulat felt that “the ongoing unarmed uprising has worsened under the current government due to alienation and the anger of youth; young Kashmiri minds have gone out of control…There is a sense of hopelessness. They aren’t afraid to die. Villagers, students and even girls are coming out on the streets. This has never happened in the past.”

 

While, by manipulating the false flag terror attacks at a military base in Uri and Baramulla, the BJP-led Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has intensified war-hysteria against Pakistan. After deployment of heavy arms and weapons at the Line of Control (LoC), Indian forces have increased troops and continue shelling in Pakistani side of Azad Kashmir. New Delhi’s main aim is to deflect the attention of the international community from the new phase of Kashmiri Intifada, while in this regard; pressure has been mounting on the Modi government both domestically and internationally to resolve the dispute of Kashmir with Pakistan.

 

Notably, during the partition of the Sub-continent, the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) which comprised Muslim majority decided to join Pakistan according to the British-led formula. But, Dogra Raja, Sir Hari Singh, a Hindu who was ruling over the J&K, in connivance with the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Governor General Lord Mountbatten joined India.

 

The design to forcibly wrest Kashmir began to unfold on August 16, 1947, with the announcement of the Radcliffe Boundary Award. It gave the Gurdaspur District—a majority Muslim area to India to provide a land route to the Indian armed forces to move into Kashmir. There was a rebellion in the state forces, which revolted against the Maharaja and were joined by Pathan tribesmen. Lord Mountbatten ordered armed forces to land in Srinagar.

 

When Pakistan responded militarily against the Indian aggression, on December 31, 1947, India made an appeal to the UN Security Council to intervene and a ceasefire ultimately came into effect on January 01, 1949, following UN resolutions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir to enable the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine whether they wish to join Pakistan or India. On February 5, 1964, India backed out of its promise of holding a plebiscite. Instead, in March 1965, the Indian Parliament passed a bill, declaring Kashmir a province of India-an integral part of the Indian union.

 

The very tragedy of Kashmiris had started after 1947 when they were denied their genuine right of self-determination. They organized themselves against the injustices of India and launched a war of liberation which New Delhi tried to crush through various forms of brutalities.

 

It is mentionable that since 1947, in order to maintain its illegal control, India has continued its repressive regime in the Occupied Kashmir through various machinations.

 

Nonetheless, various forms of state terrorism have been part of a deliberate campaign by the Indian army and paramilitary forces against Muslim Kashmiris, especially since 1989. It has been manifested in brutal tactics like crackdowns, curfews, illegal detentions, massacre, targeted killings, sieges, burning the houses, torture, disappearances, rape, breaking the legs, molestation of Muslim women and killing of persons through fake encounter.

 

According to a report on human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, since 1989, there have been deaths of 1,00000 innocent Kashmiris, 7,023 custodial killings, 1,22,771 arrests, 1,05,996 destruction of houses or buildings, 22,776 women widowed, 1,07,466 children orphaned and 10,086 women gang-raped/molested. Indian brutal securities forces have continue these atrocities. Now, the figures have increases, as India state terrorism has continued unabated.

 

In fact, Indian forces have employed various draconian laws like the Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act, and the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act and Public Safety Act in killing the Kashmiri people, and for the arbitrarily arrest of any individual for an indefinite period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Besides Human Rights Watch, in its various reports, Amnesty International has also pointed out grave human rights violations in the Indian controlled Kashmir, indicating, “The Muslim majority population in the Kashmir Valley suffers from the repressive tactics of the security forces”.

 

In its report on July 2, 2015, the Amnesty International has highlighted extrajudicial killings of the innocent persons at the hands of Indian security forces in the Indian Held Kashmir. The report points out, “Tens of thousands of security forces are deployed in Indian-administered Kashmir…the Armed Forces Special Powers Act allows troops to shoot to kill suspected militants or arrest them without a warrant…not a single member of the armed forces has been tried in a civilian court for violating human rights in Kashmir…this lack of accountability has in turn facilitated other serious abuses…India has martyred one 100,000 people. More than 8,000 disappeared (while) in the custody of army and state police.”

 

In this respect, European Union has passed a resolution about human rights abuses committed by Indian forces in the Indian held Kashmir.

 

It is of particular attention that in 2008, a rights group reported unmarked graves in 55 villages across the northern regions of the Indian-held Kashmir. Then researchers and other groups reported finding thousands of mass graves without markers. In this respect, in August, 2011, Indian Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission officially acknowledged in its report that innocent civilians killed in the two-decade conflict have been buried in unmarked graves.

 

Foreign sources and human rights organisations have revealed that unnamed graves include those innocent persons, killed by the Indian military and paramilitary troops in the fake encounters including those who were tortured to death by the Indian secret agency RAW. In the recent past, more unmarked graves have been discovered.

 

It is worth mentioning that report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released on June 14, 2018-“Situation in Kashmir” is pointed out Indian atrocities in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK). It said: “From July 2016, the High Commissioner for Human Rights has on numerous occasions requested the Governments of India and Pakistan that his Office be given unconditional access to Kashmir to assess the human rights situation. India rejected this request; while Pakistan offered access…The refusal to allow unhindered access to United Nations team into Indian-Administered-Kashmir gave rise to an idea of “Remote Monitoring”. The report was then compiled by doing “remote monitoring” on the situation of Human Rights in Kashmir. The report by the independent authority is an eye-opener for many. The focus of the report is on the situation of human rights in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir from July 2016 to April 2018. During this period ‘OHCHR’ received reports of allegations of widespread and serious human rights violations by Indian security forces that led to numerous civilian casualties.

 

It is noteworthy that in his address at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 29, this year, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said, “The neighbouring country [India] rejected the Pakistani offer of resuming peace talks on ‘flimsy grounds…We are ready to talk to India on all issues but with respect…Kashmir issue is the biggest obstacle to regional peace…the Indian forces subjecting Kashmiris to atrocities for seven decades. India should not test Pakistan’s patience…we will respond to Indian aggression…The latest UN report on the occupied Kashmir has exposed Indian atrocities on innocent civilians…the meeting between the Pakistani and Indian foreign ministers would’ve been a great opportunity for dialogue. But, the Modi government chose politics over dialogue…India would have to bear the brunt of Pakistan’s retaliation if it makes the mistake of any misadventure on the Line of Control (LoC)”.

 

Indian authorities are not willing to talk with Kashmiri people on political grounds. New Delhi reached a conclusion that the only bullet is the right way of dealing with Kashmiris, demanding their right of self-determination. Surprisingly, Indian successive governments are trying to ignore the dynamics of the freedom movement of Kashmiris for the sake of their alien rule.

 

But, New Delhi is still showing its intransigence in order to resolve Kashmir issue with Pakistan by neglecting the fact that Kashmir remains a nuclear flashpoint between both the neighbouring countries.

 

In this context, Egbert Jahn in his book, “Kashmir: Flashpoint for a Nuclear War or Even a Third World War?” has pointed out, “The Kashmir conflict is embedded in the wider conflict over the incomplete creation of nations and states on the Indian subcontinent, which during the east-west conflict even threatened at times to escalate into a nuclear world war between Pakistan and the USA on the one side and India and the USSR on the other. Until now, there have been three wars between India and Pakistan over the Jammu and Kashmir: in 1947–49, 1965 and 1999… finally, the Indo-Chinese border war of 1962…after these wars…and could unexpectedly again lead to a regional and under certain circumstances…even a major nuclear war or a Third World War.”

Although 10th of December is observed throughout the world as the Human Rights Day, yet, the case of Indian Held Kashmir is of special attention, where Indian security forces have left no stone unturned by violating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

 

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is the author of the book: The US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

 

Email: [email protected]

 

 

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