London, October 22, 2018 (PPI-OT): Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani, President of Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR) in a letter addressed to UN Secretary General António Guterres has said that the images coming out of Kashmir of brutalities committed by Indian forces, use of rape as a weapon to demoralise the people, profiling and killing of youth, use of pellet guns to disable, blind and kill and the reported use of chemical weapons to destroy houses and orchards, are causing a stir among the Kashmiri diaspora
Dr Gilani in the letter said, “We want a real total stoppage now, without further bloodshed, without more killing of the insurgents, whose votes, after all, we want in the plebiscite when it comes, our aim being to secure a responsible government, as the representative of India has stated. We must get such a scheme. The question is how to do it.”
Here is complete text of the letter:
Dear Mr. Secretary General
In view of the heavy loss of civilian lives at the hands of Indian security forces early today on Sunday 21 October 2018, in the Laroo village, on the outskirts of Kulgam, Anantnag, Indian administered part of Jammu and Kashmir JKCHR wishes to submit the following for your urgent attention:
Since after the two day visit from 20-22 March 1959 by UN Secretary General Dag
Hammarskjold, of Srinagar, Kashmir to assess the Kashmir situation, the June 14, 2018 report by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on “the Situation of Human Rights in Kashmir” and your report of 16 May 2018, on “Children and armed conflict”, had raised genuine hopes in all the administrations of Jammu and Kashmir on either side of the UNMOGIP supervised cease fire line and in the Kashmiri diaspora living in various parts of the world, that United Nations would address the question of ‘militarization’ of Indian administered part of Kashmir and the question of Indian security forces using ‘children as spies’.
JKCHR has alerted the UN on the profiling of Kashmiri youth by Indian security forces into five categories and reward money being offered by Indian security forces for the killing of a Kashmiri youth designated in any one of these categories. We have also submitted a written statement to the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the rights of peoples to self-determination for consideration at its meeting on 21 July 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters, in New York.
India has surrendered its provisional accession at the UN Security Council on 15 January 1948 for a UN supervised vote. Indian security forces do not seem to honour the four conditions inked at the time of their temporary admission into the State and further do not honour the three other restraints placed on their behaviour, number and location in the UN Security Council Resolution of 21 April 1948.
On the one hand UN Security Council has entertained six elements, namely, the Government of Pakistan, the insurgents, the tribesmen, the Government of India, inhabitants of Jammu and Kashmir, and the outside world as interest groups in Kashmir dispute and on the other has failed to restrain the militarization of the area and defend the people against the daily killings and human rights violations committed by the Indian security forces. (Reference241st Meeting of Security Council, 05 February 1948).
Indian security forces killed 9 Kashmiris early today. Six of them were civilians and the other three were allegedly tagged as militants. The slain militants were later identified as local Kashmiris, namely, Shahid ul Islam Tantray of Shopian, Yazil Makroo of Anantnag, and Zubair Lone of Kulgam. UN Security Council at its 241st meeting held on 5 February has been told by the United Kingdom, “that raids and incidents will continue to occur until the question of Kashmir has been disposed of by the Security Council…And, so long as fear dominates the minds of the peoples in that area of the Punjab and of Kashmir, incidents will continue and the situation will remain extremely grave.”
In regard to the killings of ‘insurgents’ by Indian security forces United Kingdom representative has cautioned the UN Security Council, “We want a real total stoppage now, without further bloodshed, without more killing of the insurgents, whose votes, after all, we want in the plebiscite when it comes, our aim being to secure a responsible government, as the representative of India has stated. We must get such a scheme. The question is how to do it.”
The images coming out of Kashmir of brutalities committed by Indian security forces, use of rape as a weapon to demoralise the people, profiling and killing of youth, use of pellet guns to disable, blind and kill and the reported use of chemical weapons to destroy houses and orchards, are causing a stir in the Kashmiri diaspora.
Five out of the six interest groups entertained by the UN Security Council in the Kashmir dispute and the Azad Kashmir Forces discussed by India in para 160 of the UN SC meeting held on 8 February 1957, could find a reasonable cause to re-group and offer a credible defence to the people subjected to this brutal oppression by the Indian security forces.
Indian security forces have violated the four bilateral and the three UN restraints placed on them. They are now an occupation force and are engaged in war crimes.
United Nations could not keep to the time table of a UN supervised referendum in March 1948 as proposed by Pakistan or in October 1948 as proposed by the United Kingdom. Until the hiccups in this regard are removed, JKCHR wishes to bring to your attention, that it is high time the Security Council activates the proposal introduced by Pakistan at the 761st meeting of UN Security Council held on 16 January 1957, that a United Nations force might be temporarily introduced into Kashmir to break the logjam over demilitarization.
Para 112 reads “In view of this, the Security Council should call upon the parties to withdraw all their troops from the State and should also ensure that the local forces which should be placed under the representative of the Security Council and left behind, are suitably reduced, if not disbanded altogether. The functions of protecting the State and ensuring internal security should be entrusted by the Council to a United Nations Force which should be introduced into the area at once. Let all other forces – Indian, Pakistani and local be disbanded and non-Kashmiri nationals even in the police forces be removed from the State of Kashmir. It is further requested that an early and firm date be fixed for the induction into office of the Plebiscite Administrator. The situation may be saved even at this late stage-but only by these means. The most important of all is to take immediate steps to prevent India from taking the bit into its mouth and defying this august body.”
Security Council has taken note of this proposal at its 768th meeting on 15 February 1957 and adopted a Resolution S/3787, dated 14 February 1957, moved by – Australia, Cuba, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland and United States of America. Taking note of the proposal of Pakistan, makes it quite clear that the use of the temporary force could only be considered within the framework of the resolutions in so far as it might contribute towards the achievement of demilitarization as envisaged in the resolutions of the United Nations Commission and towards the pacific settlement of the dispute, the use of such a force would deserve consideration.
Excellency, your office has an outstanding duty, accrued ever since the first assessment by UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, of the Kashmir situation, in March 1959. The people of Kashmir have a case of ‘rights and dignity’, ‘security and self-determination’ pending at the UN Security Council. Until there is a UN supervised referendum, a neutral UN force needs to be inducted into Kashmir to defend the ‘territory’, protect ‘life’, ‘honour’ and ‘property’ in Kashmir.
Excellency we shall keep your office updated on the continued violation by the Indian security forces of the three restraints placed on their behaviour, number and location.
Yours Sincerely
Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani
President-JKCHR
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