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Archive for category Rape of Kashmiri Women By Indian Army

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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Pakistan sailing in choppy waters by Brig.Gen(Retd) Asif Haroon Raja

Pakistan sailing in choppy waters

Asif Haroon Raja

 

After 9/11, the US in league with NATO, Israel and India initiated the global war on terror under the pretext of making the world safe, secure and peaceful. The hidden objectives of the adventurers were to destroy militarily and economically strong Muslim nations, rob their resources and to neo-colonize the Muslim world. Pakistan was not included in the declared axis of evil since, without its intimate cooperation, Afghanistan could not be occupied. However, the main objective of Indo-US-Israel nexus was to destabilize and denuclearize Pakistan and to make it a compliant state.  

In the last 18 years, several Muslim countries have been destroyed. Pakistan has been badly mauled on account of its decision to fight the US imposed war on its soil against own people, hoping to make Pakistan strong and prosperous. Nothing of the sort has happened.

Pakistan continues to sail in choppy waters and is faced with multiple challenges both on internal and external fronts. Internally, the political situation is murky, the economy is in a crunch, the debt burden is too heavy, 18th Amendment is becoming a threat to the federation on account of fissiparous tendencies in smaller provinces where RAW has made deep inroads, CPEC has lost its vigour and PTM has emerged as a new threat. People are getting disillusioned due to unfulfilled promises made by the incumbent govt. Life of the people living below the poverty line is becoming unbearable due to high inflation and price hike. The lower/ middle classes are feeling the pinch of soaring prices of daily commodities, heavy utility bills and increasing unemployment. After the passage of 17 months, the people see no change in the so-called Naya Pakistan as the overall socio-economic conditions have worsened. Hopes of better days in 2020 are fading in the wake of Coronavirus which will impact Pakistan’s economy and CPEC. 

Externally, India is continuing to maintain a highly belligerent posture. The LoC in Kashmir remains hot as ever. In each exchange of fire, civilians living close to LoC and soldiers lose lives or get injured. Dreaming of converting Bharat into a Hindu State, the fascist regime of Modi has introduced a discriminatory Citizenship law which is entirely Muslim specific.

The northwestern front remains unstable due to cross border terrorism patronized by RAW-NDS, backed by the CIA. The Afghan Taliban are smelling victory which is within their grasping reach. They have forced the US to sign a peace deal and arrive at a political settlement. While insisting upon the occupying forces to exit, they have refused to hold direct talks with the Afghan unity regime which in their view is illegitimate. They are also refusing to ceasefire permanently till the signing of peace agreement duly guaranteed by regional powers and complete withdrawal of occupation forces.

Pakistan is going out of the way to help the US to extract maximum concessions from the Taliban who have for all practical purposes won the war and are in a position to dictate terms. For unknown reasons, Pakistan in its bid to win the affections of untrustworthy USA is pressing the Taliban to agree to the terms of the USA and is also requesting the USA not to exit without making Afghanistan stable. This is incomprehensible since the US is among the spoilers wanting to keep Afghanistan unstable and to prolong its stay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our southern backyard has also become turbulent because of Trump’s belligerence and deployment of US forces in the Persian Gulf. The killing of Iranian and Iraqi commanders by the US drone and Iran’s retaliatory strikes on the US military bases in Iraq together with ongoing protests in Iraq have made the situation grave.  

Both Israel and India are the worst abusers of human rights and use state terrorism, torture and rapes as tools to subdue the Palestinians and Kashmiris. The US patronise both and brazenly defends their crimes against humanity. Trump has now come with a highly discriminatory Middle East peace plan which wholly favours Israel. Tomorrow, he will float another peace plan to resolve Kashmir dispute which will be entirely in favour of India.

We have gladly accepted the mediation offer of untrustworthy Trump. He must not be trusted to mediate in Kashmir. He is in a position to pressurize India but has done nothing to lessen the pains of Kashmiris and in a way has tacitly accepted the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A as well as Indian policy of subjugation of Kashmiris.

Trump is trying to convince our leadership that in order to save AJK and GB, it will be advisable for Pakistan to accept the LoC as the permanent border and that he will extend full support in this regard. This option was given to ZA Bhutto by Indira Gandhi in 1972, but he shrewdly pushed it aside by converting Ceasefire Line into LoC and accepted policy of bilateral-ism, which of course helped India to keep delaying the resolution of the dispute and finally claim that the UN resolutions had become outdated.

Nawaz Sharif (NS) was close to agreeing on Chenab Formula after the visit of Vajpayee to Lahore in Feb 1999. Likewise, Gen Musharraf in his exuberance to settle the dispute, threw away Pakistan’s stance based on UN Resolutions out of the window and offered out of box solution which in many ways accepted the conversion of LoC into a border.

Each time, Pakistani leaders ignored the Kashmiris who are the main stakeholders and without their consent no lasting solution or peace is possible. I pray our present leaders do not tread the wrong path of NS and Musharraf and insist on giving the right of self-determination to the Kashmiris and let them decide their future course of action.

Gen Ziaul Haq fought the Afghan Jihad in the 1980s in Afghanistan and kept the control levers in the hands of ISI only. Contrarily, Gen Musharraf agreed to fight war on terror on Pak soil, whereas the battleground was Afghanistan. He also let six foreign intelligence agencies based in Kabul to manage the war in which ISI was kept out. Indo-US-Israel-Afghan nexus have a dangerous agenda against Pakistan, but Musharraf mistook them as friends of Pakistan and kept doing more to please the USA. As a result, Pakistan suffered grievously and is still suffering since it has still not come out of the magic spell of USA.

Modi has been threatening to deprive Pakistan of a single drop of water from Rivers Chenab and Jhelum. India can accomplish its objective if it occupies a major chunk of AJK. The Indian Army Chief and Modi have given open threats of annexing AJK in 7-10 days. This threat has been given in the backdrop of concentration of 9 lacs forces in Kashmir.

So far Pakistan seems to have not worked out any strategy to deal with Indian bellicosity and its dangerous designs. We are working on the policy of wait and see and seem to be hoping for divine help. Myopia and inaction amount to criminal negligence.

Indian Occupied Kashmir has been in a locked-down for six months, but so far no steps in Indian Occupied Kashmir have been taken to provide relief to the marooned 8 million Kashmiris, to keep them motivated and the freedom movement alive.

We have so far done little to prepare the people of AJK and GB for the impending war. Instead of carrying out war preparations and imparting military training to students of schools and colleges, activating civil defence forces and motivating volunteers, a policy of restraint has been adopted and people are advised to stay calm.

Likewise, our policy of taking no covert or overt action after the absorption of IOK by India on August 5, 2019, and now waiting for the Indian military to attack AJK and GB and then give a befitting response is a defensive policy.

There are no plans to exploit the Godsend opportunity that has come our way in the form of nationwide protests in India coupled with numerous separatist movements and insurgencies. India has become a tinderbox and needs a matchstick to put it on fire.

Are we hoping that India will change its goals against Pakistan, or are waiting for the US [sgmb id=”2″]help which after bleeding us in the war on terror has now tightened the noose of IMF-FATF around Pakistan’s neck or China’s help which is unfortunately caught up in Coronavirus crisis? Will it be better to fight the war on home ground or in IOK?

So far the Kashmiris on both sides of the divide hate India and love Pakistan. These sentiments may not last long if we adopt a passive attitude. Nationwide protests in India against highly discriminatory CAA Bill and calls for independence in the northeastern states of India together with downslide in the Indian economy have flustered Indian leadership. It is an opportunity of the century which may not come again. In our quest for peace with India without any reciprocity and to present ourselves as good boys before the world, we have no intention of exploiting the ongoing vulnerabilities of India. On the other hand, India creates or blows up our vulnerabilities and never let’s go any opportunity that comes it is a way to harm Pakistan.

Besides making all-out efforts to stabilize our home-front which at the moment is divided, and providing relief to the people, we need to adopt offensive defence military policy coupled with proactive and aggressive diplomatic policy and independent foreign policy. While maintaining friendly relations with the US, our emphasis should shift from the west to the east. We can rely on China, Turkey, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and can easily bring Iran and Russia in our loop, both having given ample hints to forge deeper relations.

The writer is a retired Brig Gen of Pakistan Army. He is veteran, defence, security & political analyst, columnist, author of five books, Chairman Thinkers Forum Pakistan, Director Measac Research Center, and Member CWC & Think Tank PESS.

[email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Kashmir Solidarity: Day: Rogue Indian Army Lockdown Internationalized the Issue By Sajjad Shaukat

Kashmir Solidarity: Day: Rogue Indian Army Lockdown Internationalized the Issue

By Sajjad Shaukat

 

Since 1990, the 5th of February is being observed by the Kashmiris on both side of the Line of Control (LoC) and all over the world, including their Pakistani brethren as the Kashmir Solidarity Day to pay homage to Kashmiri martyrs and to show solidarity with the freedom fighters who are demanding their legitimate right of self-determination, as recognized by the UN resolutions.

 

This time, this very day is coming at a time when almost six months have been passed. But, Indian forces have continued lockdown and curfew in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (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 (Especially Internet) have been cut off from the world and foreign journalists are not allowed to enter that region. 

 

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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 Jammu and Kashmir by abolishing articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution to turn Muslim majority into a minority in the Indian Controlled Kashmir. While, Indian fanatic rulers are also escalating tensions with Pakistan to divert attention from the drastic situation of the Indian Held Kashmir, and have continued shelling inside Pakistani side of Kashmir by violating the ceasefire agreement in relation to the LoC. Besides, implementing the August 5 announcement, the Indian central government issued a notorious map on October 31, 2019. In accordance with it, Jammu and Kashmir were bifurcated into two union territories—Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

 

However, 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. Indian forces invaded Srinagar on October 27, 1947, and forcibly occupied Jammu and Kashmir in utter violation of the partition plan and against the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

 

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 which ultimately came into effect on January 01, 1949, following UN resolutions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir. The Security Council adopted resolution 47 (1948) of April 21, 1948, which promised a plebiscite under UN auspices 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 organised themselves against the injustices of India and launched a war of liberation which New Delhi tried to suppress through various forms of state terrorism.

 

Passing through various phases, the struggle of Kashmiris which has become an interaction between the Indian state terrorism led by the Indian security forces and war of liberation by the freedom fighters keeps on going unabated.

 

It is notable that since 1947, in order to maintain its illegal control, India has continued its repressive regime in the Occupied Kashmir through various machinations. In this regard, as already mentioned that India forcibly occupied Kashmir in gross violation of the “Partition Plan of the Indian Subcontinent, but, through the so-called-Instrument of Accession of October 27, 1947 which is illegal, and remains controversial, New Delhi justifies its hold on the Kashmir.

 

Nevertheless, 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.

 

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, the 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 context, 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” 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.

 

Notably, in the World Report 2020, Human Rights Watch said on January 14, this year, “The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Indian government’s actions over the past year [2019] have caused enormous suffering and rights violations…its unilateral revocation of Kashmir’s special constitutional status and the use of draconian laws to silence criticism…The Indian government has tried to shut down Kashmir, hiding the full extent of the harm caused there,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch.”

 

Especially, in his address at the UN General Assembly, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said on September 27, 2019: “Modi’s entire election campaign revolved around an anti-Pakistan narrative…Illegally, they [India] revoked Article 370 which gave Kashmir the special status…they put eight million people under curfew…what RSS is. Modi is a life member [of RSS]…It is an organisation inspired by Hitler and Mussolini. They believe in racial purity and superiority. They believe they are an Aryan race…They believe in the ethnic cleansing of Muslims…[Nearly] 100,000 Kashmiris have died in the past 30 years because they were denied their right of self-determination. Eleven thousand women were raped….The world hasn’t done anything…After the curfew is lifted…What is going to happen will be a blood bath. The people will come out in the streets…The soldiers will then shoot them. They have already used pellet guns…What about the 1.3bn Muslims watching this who know this is only happening because they are Muslims?…. What would the Jews of Europe think if 8,000 Jews were stuck…Among the 1.3bn (Muslims) someone will pick up arms…Muslims will become radicals because of this, not because of Islam…. You are forcing people into radicalization…Two nuclear countries will come face to face. If a conventional war starts between the two countries…When a nuclear country fights till the end it has consequences far beyond the borders”.

In his third meeting with the US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of World Economic Forum in Davos on January 21, 2020, Prime Minister Khan has once again expressed his desire for mediation by the US on the Kashmir issue between Pakistan and India by remarking: “Pakistan-India conflict is a very big issue for us in Pakistan and we expect the US to play its part in de-escalating the tensions because no other country can.” In response, President Trump once again stated: “We’re talking about Kashmir…if we can help, we certainly will be helping. We’ve been watching that and following it very, very closely.”

 

Meanwhile, Indian extremist Prime Minister Modi’s government led by the extremist party BJP is propagating that there is a strong likelihood of a major terrorist attack from Pakistan in India.  In fact, such a fake drama India, itself, will arrange to implicate Pakistan in order to divert the attention from the perennial military clampdown in the Indian Occupied Kashmir. India’s preplanned drama to involve Islamabad has been exposed even by Indian media on January 12, this year. But, despite it, Indian fundamental rulers can implement their scheme of false flag operation, as Pakistan’s civil and military leaders have repeatedly warned the international community about it. In this connection, Kashmir remains a nuclear flashpoint.

 

Nonetheless, it is owing to the efforts of Islamabad that rights groups, leaders of the foreign countries, the UN and external media have been continually pointing out the plight of the Kashmiris, particularly in the aftermath of the military clampdown in the Indian Occupied Kashmir. The parliaments of some Western countries have also passed resolutions in this regard. EU parliament has also prepared a draft of the resolution which is likely to be passed in March, this year. 

 

We can conclude that the 5th of February is being celebrated as the Kashmir Solidarity Day to pay homage to Kashmiri martyrs and to display solidarity with the freedom fighters who are demanding their legitimate right of self-determination, as recognized by the UN resolutions. Unlike the past, this time, Pakistan is, especially, observing this day through various programmes, a seminar in Islamabad etc., while country’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has requested the people to demonstrate their support through protest-marches and public processions for the cause of Kashmir, as now, Indian lockdown has internationalized the Kashmir issue.

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

 

 

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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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Indian State Terrorism Internationalized the Kashmir Issue  By Sajjad Shaukat

Indian State Terrorism Internationalized the Kashmir Issue

By

Sajjad Shaukat

                                                           

Various forms of state terrorism by the Indian forces have continued unabated by the Indian security forces on the innocent Kashmiris in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) in wake of sieges and prolonged curfews, including arrests and detentions of the Kashmir leaders. Since July 8, 2016, Indian security forces have martyred more than 600 innocent persons who have been protesting against the martyrdom of Burhan Wani and for the liberation of their land.

Some online authentic sources suggest that recent wave of Kashmiri Intifada (Uprising) has witnessed repression by the Indian armed forces, as 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.

Latest 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.

However, various tactics of state terrorism have been part of a deliberate campaign by the Indian army and paramilitary forces against the 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 encounters.

According to a report on human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, since 1989, there have been deaths of 1,00000 innocent Kashmiris, 8,023 custodial killings, 1,50,771 arrests, 1,40,996 destruction of houses or buildings, 24,776 women widowed, 1,60,466 children orphaned and 20,086 women gang-raped/molested. Indian brutal securities forces have continued these atrocities.

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.

In this regard, 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.”

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. In the last few years, rights groups discovered nearly 3,000 unnamed graves in the various districts of Kashmir. In this respect, in August 2011, Indian Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) had officially acknowledged in its report that innocent civilians killed in the two-decade conflict have been buried in unmarked graves. The report indicated 2,156 unidentified bodies which were found in mass graves in various regions of the Indian-held Kashmir. Now, more unmarked graves have been found.

 It is mentionable that foreign sources and human rights organisations have disclosed 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.

At present, Indian military and paramilitary troops are using all inhuman techniques of ethnic cleansing to disturb the majority population of the Kashmiris, which had been practised by the Serb forces in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Nevertheless, it is due to perennial state terrorism by the Indian security forces that Kashmir issue has been internationalized.

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

With the acceleration of the new Intifada, Indian is losing ‘illegitimate’ control in the Indian-held Kashmir.

Meanwhile, India arranged various false flag operations, especially that one which occurred at a military base in Uri on September 18, 2016. By manipulating this false flag operation, the BJP-led Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only shifted the blame game towards Islamabad but has also intensified war-hysteria against Pakistan. And Indian forces have continued shelling at the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistani side of Azad Kashmir. While, Pakistani troops are giving a matching response to Indian unprovoked firing and are well-prepared for atomic war, as threatened by Indian army chief Gen. Bipin Rawat on January 14, this year. However, New Delhi’s main aim is to deflect the attention of the international community from the new phase of Kashmiri Intifada, while pressure has been mounting on the Modi government both domestically and internationally to resolve the dispute of Kashmir with Islamabad.

Nevertheless, it owing to  Indian cruel tactics that besides the media of Pakistan and India, Western media, including various politicians and UNO has pointed out India’s state terrorism on the Kashmiris who have been demanding their legitimate right of self-determination, as recognized by the UN resolutions.

In this respect, Pakistan’s recent serious and sincere effort in the United Nations for pointing out the brutal tactics of the Indian security forces in the Indian-held Kashmir and emphasizing upon the international community for settlement of this old issue is noteworthy.

In the recent past Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi reminded the UN officials of their duty to ensure that the rights of Kashmiris are protected. In her statement, she said, “Dubbing the Kashmiris, agitating for their right to self-determination, as terrorists was a travesty of truth and were further inflaming passions…This is perhaps the most important dimension of the Kashmir issue as the Indian government has repeatedly tried to delegitimise the freedom movement in Kashmir by declaring it to be a fringe movement of terrorists backed by Pakistan. The fact that the Indian government has conveniently ignored the wide support for the freedom movement is an indication that India is not even interested in genuinely addressing the grievances of the Kashmiri people. Even in the recent uprising in Kashmir following the killing of commander Burhan Wani…Surely, such big numbers of victims cannot be the result of Pakistan backed militants and devoid of indigenous grievances towards the Indian government…The attention of international community…must be turned towards the Kashmir issue.”

In response to the letter of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, on August 19, 2016, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deplored the killings of the Kashmiris in Indian-held Kashmir, and urged India and Pakistan to settle Kashmir and other issues through dialogue by offering his “good offices”.

During his visit to Pakistan, in the joint press conference with the former Prime Minister Sharif on November 17, 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged for an immediate resolution of the Kashmir dispute and stated that “the escalating tensions on the Pakistan-India border and the atrocities in Kashmir cannot be ignored. He elaborated, “The Turkish government and the Turkish nation stand in solidarity with the Kashmiri people.”

Earlier, the visiting Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Ayad Ameen Madani in Islamabad expressed grave concern over extra-judicial killings of people in the Indian Occupied Kashmir and added, “OIC will support Pakistan on Kashmir issue”.

Western politicians and media have also taken serious notice of the deteriorating situation of Kashmir. For instance, the Italian Minister for Defence, Mrs Roberta Pinotti who visited Pakistan said on September 19, 2016, that her country “opposes the use of force and lethal weapons against peaceful protestors in Kashmir…it cannot be allowed to go on.” She further said that Italy will apprise the international community about what is going on in Indian held Kashmir.

West’s renowned TV channels and newspapers are giving appropriate coverage to the ongoing uprising in Kashmir while pointing out Indian atrocities. For example, with the title, “India’s crackdown in Kashmir: is this the world’s first mass blinding?”, The Guardian wrote on November 8, 2016,  “The Long Read: A bloody summer of protest in Kashmir has been met with a ruthless response from Indian security forces, who fired hundreds of thousands of metal pellets into crowds of civilians, leaving hundreds blinded.”

It is notable that on the occasion of Indian Republic Day on January 26, 2018, a demonstration was organized by Kashmir Council EU in front of Indian Embassy in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Holding placards and banners with a number of slogans against India, a large number of the people from different walks—the protesters called for the immediate end of Indian atrocities in Indian-controlled Kashmir while raising slogans against the human rights violations there.

Nonetheless, Indian perennial state terrorism in the Indian Occupied Kashmir has internationalized the Kashmir issue.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is 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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