SRINAGAR: In view of the recent spree of killing and “blatant abuse of human rights” in Kashmir under the “ruthless” cordon and search operation (CASO) by government forces, the Joint Resistance Leadership comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik has sent a petition to the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
JRL, according to a statement issued to GNS, asked the UN chief to stop being a mute spectator and play role in putting an end to the “extreme repression” people are being subject to by the Indian state by taking urgent steps for the resolution of Kashmir dispute which is the main cause of all suffering and human rights violations of people of Kashmir.
The leaders said as the dispute of Kashmir being on UN agenda, with umpteen resolutions passed on it in the august body, it is the binding responsibility of United Nations to resolve this dispute as soon as possible in the light of the resolutions.
UN can in the meantime ensure that human rights are protected in Kashmir and grave repression stopped, JRL said.
Mentioning the recent incidents, JRL in the petition said that “on 21 October 2018, seven unarmed civilians were ruthlessly killed and hundreds injured by pellets, bullets and bombs at Laroo area of southern Kulgam district”.
“On October 17 in the heart of Srinagar city, as per family sources, a young man Rayees Ahmad Sofi was taken into custody by Indian forces, tortured whole night in front of his family and then killed in cold blood during custody. On October 19, a five months pregnant woman was killed by the government forces in Pulwama. The slain was identified as Firdausa Akhtar, w/o Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh, resident of Qasabyar Pulwama. The destruction of residential houses by planting explosives or by burning them down, devastation to vehicles and household goods besides killing has become order of the day. Even women are ruthlessly beaten and harassed. Despite repeated closure of educational institutions by the state to prevent protests, students repeatedly hit streets against killings atrocities, crackdowns, illegal detentions and space for expression,” the petition reads.
The petition adds, “There is no semblance of any civilian authority, even in the name, in Jammu & Kashmir. The state is run by a New-Delhi appointed Governor with military, paramilitary and police force at his command who are hell-bent to crush the popular political movement of self-determination of Kashmiris by bullets and batons.”
JRL said “the overwhelming boycott of 95% by the people of Kashmir in the recently held Urban Local Bodies Elections in Kashmir has further frustrated the Indian authorities who have stepped up their vendetta against the people”.
“The horrible incidents of past including Kunan-Poshpora mass rape, Shopian, Machil, Chattisinghpora fake-encounters, massacres at Hawal Srinagar, Gawkadal, Handwara, Sopore, Kupwara, Bijbehara, killing of hundreds of youth in 2008, 2010, and 2016 mass uprisings besides countless unabated incidents of grotesque human rights violations in the form of fake encounters, forced disappearances, rapes everyday killing of unarmed civilians and destruction of property by Indian forces have inflicted deep wounds on the collective existence of people, the scars of which are etched on the conscience of Kashmirs,” they added.
The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) through the petition has appealed to the UN Secretary General and through him to the all member nations of the UN to intervene effectively to stop Government of India from “committing crimes against humanity” in Jammu & Kashmir and take all possible measures to address the festering wound i.e. Kashmir dispute which is essential for establishing permanent peace and stability in the region.
The petition is published online and can be accessed at http://ipt.io/O22MA, JRL said.
All the justice loving people across the globe and the people across LoC and Kashmiri Diaspora in particularly are requested to sign the petition.
The copies of the petition have been sent to the representatives of permanent members of United Nations Security Council US, UK, Russia, France and China in New-York and to the ambassadors of these countries in New Delhi and also to High Commissioner for United Nations Human Rights Council (OHCHR) and Secretary General OIC, the statement said. (GNS)
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