Islamabad:The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir, Shehryar Khan Afridi has urged the world community to take notice of the travesty of justice being committed by Indian forces against the political prisoners of the territory.
According to KMS report on Thursday, he expressed these views while addressing the participants of a seminar held here at PIDE titled ‘The Iconic Prisoners of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’. Khurram Dastagir Khan of the PML-N, Dr Nadeemul Haq, Vice Chancellor of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad (PIDE), and others also addressed the seminar.
Shehryar Khan Afridi said that Indian occupational regime in Kashmir was committing crime against iconic political detainees, including Masarrat Alam Butt, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Aasiya Andrabi, Naheeda Nasreen, Fehmeeda Sofi, Muhammad Yasin Malik and Dr Qasim Faktoo.
He said the academia can play a pivotal role in spread of awareness on the miserable conditions the Kashmiri prisoners are kept in jails in mainland India. He said that the United Nations was formed to ensure justice to the oppressed nations but it has badly failed in doing so.
Shehryar Khan Afridi said the world silence over Indian steps taken after August 5, 2019, have totally exposed the double standards of the global community. He said that Indian occupational forces were committing war crimes against the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir but the world was keeping mum over Indian crimes against humanity.
He said that Academia can add value to the national narrative on Kashmir dispute and the academia needs to spread awareness among the youth on half widows, half orphans, demographic terrorism and other issues being faced by the Kashmiri people. He said India was distorting history by producing movies under its nefarious design to mislead the world and the younger generations by erasing history of Kashmiri freedom struggle.
He said that the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir was working to preserve, promote and protect the Kashmiri culture. He said that the successful holding of Kashmir Premier League (KPL) has proved to the world that in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, tyranny and oppression is order of the day while Azad Kashmir is a developing and thriving part of Kashmir.
He said that the Pakistani youth can do wonders by educating the world through social media. He said that the youth can contribute a lot to help build Pakistan’s case at the social media to help shape world opinion on Kashmir. He said that demographic change India is bringing in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is a war crime and India is blatantly committing this crime with impunity.
Ahmed bin Qasim, the son of Dr Qasim Faktoo, the longest serving prisoner of IIOJK, narrated the tales of Kashmiri prisoners. He said that Indians are erasing the names of Kashmiri prisoners. Dr Mujahid Gilani, head of the Kashmir Youth Alliance, briefed the audience on the miserable conditions of Kashmiri prisoners in IIOJK.
Khurram Dastagir said that an NGO of Kashmir had recently published tales of Kashmiri prisoners which is even unimaginable. He said that it is unprecedented in history to know that the Kashmiri prisoners faced worst torture but didn’t give in their love for freedom. He said that Pakistan needs to present Dr Qasim Faktoo as a fit case to shake the world conscience. Prof Khurram Elahi shared some verses from poetry of Allama Iqbal on Kashmir and his vision about the Muslims of the subcontinent.
Dr Nadeemul Haq, Vice Chancellor of PIDE, presented vote of thanks. He said that the youth is disillusioned and distracted and economic revival can pave the way for revival of the national pride. A small video was also run on the occasion featuring Asiya Andrabi and Dr Qasim Faktoo and their son, Mohammad bin Qasim.