Kashmir solidarity day: Uphold the rights of the Kashmiri people, says Pak President Alvi
Islamabad: President Arif Alvi on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day demanded the Indian government uphold the rights of the Kashmiri people instead of trying – and failing – to “justify its terrorism” against innocent citizens by pushing a “false narrative of ‘killing militants’.”
President Alvi in an address to the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad on Tuesday issued a list of demands for the Indian government: Free all political prisoners, Uphold freedom of expression in Kashmir, Ban the use of firearms against Kashmiri citizens, Ban the use of pellet guns against Kashmiris, withdraw draconian ‘black laws’ in Kashmir, allowing leaders to travel freely and “make their case abroad, allow international rights observers into Kashmir to “see the situation for themselves and lifting of restrictions on electronic communications.
The president urged the Indian government to lift restrictions on electronic communications in Kashmir so that international media and social media are in the know about what is happening in the region.
“If you are in the right, the world will come to know about it. And if you are in the wrong, the world will find out about,” President Alvi said.
The president also asked the United Nations to send a fact-finding commission to Kashmir and “fulfill the promises it made to Pakistan and India”.
“I salute your struggle,” he said, addressing the people of Kashmir. “Pakistan is with you.”
The president, in a separate special message, recalled that the purpose of Feb 5 is to “demonstrate to our Kashmiri brothers and sisters and the world at large that we have not forgotten the long-pending dispute of Jammu and Kashmir, and the struggle of the people of Kashmir against woeful occupation.”
The president hit out at the international community’s indifference to grave human rights violations by forces in Kashmir, which he said “raise doubts in the minds of Kashmiris, hinting at a double standard where every atrocity goes unpunished and every human rights violation, uncondemned.”
“It reduces the UN Human Rights Charter to mere verbal rhetoric,” he stressed.
“Behind its false narrative of ‘killing militants’, India has been trying to justify its terrorism but has failed miserably,” Alvi asserted.
Alvi described a report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights documenting alleged human rights violations in Kashmir as a “turning point and a watershed moment for the Kashmiri community all over the world”.
The president said Pakistan supports the proposals contained in the report and calls for the expedited establishment of a Commission of Inquiry to probe the human rights situation in Kashmir as per the report’s recommendations.
He reiterated Pakistan’s “unflinching solidarity” with the people of occupied Kashmir, Radio Pakistan reported.
“Pakistan … pays homage to the heroes and martyrs of this epic struggle for liberation that has become a living symbol of the indomitable human spirit. Your cries for azadi cannot be suppressed,” the president said.
“We reassure our Kashmiri brothers and sisters that we will remain consistent in our principled position on Kashmir. The entire Pakistani nation stands with its Kashmiri brethren in their valiant struggle to achieve the legitimate right to self-determination.”
“It is our firm belief that Kahsmiris will succeed in their struggle,” he added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan in his special message observed that the Kashmiri struggle for freedom is gaining strength with each passing day, and deplored that despite the passage of 70 years, the dispute remains unresolved.
The premier pointed out that despite the passage of seven decades, the Kashmir dispute remains unresolved.
“Ruthless killings, pellet injuries to children and infants, rapes and torture; Indian atrocities in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir continue unabated and so does the spirit and courage of Kashmiris in their fight to achieve the legitimate right to self-determination.”
The premier noted that the “number of tortures, rapes and killings perpetrated by the forces against innocent Kashmiris has become a case study in unprecedented violence.”
“Thousands of innocent Kashmiris have been brutally tortured and extra-judicially killed during forced disappearances or illegal custody by the Indian occupation forces, which enjoy full immunity under draconian laws.”
Separately, Foreign Minister Shah MahmoodQureshi, who is in London, in his message said “the Government and the people of Pakistan re-affirm our unflinching support to the brave people” of Kashmir.
He said Pakistan was committed to finding a just and peaceful resolution to this long standing dispute.
Several events were planned for the day to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir.
India, however, says Kashmir is its integral part and Pakistan has no business to interfere in the internal affairs of the country. (With inputs from Dawn and PTI)
Press Trust of India
