Srinagar, April 08, 2018 (PPI-OT): The Chairman of Kashmir Council Europe (KC-EU) Ali Raza Syed has said that occupied Kashmir is the most militarized zone of the world with a large deployment of occupation forces. Ali Raza Syed addressing was a ‘Meet the Press Programme at Karachi Press Club where he was received and warmly welcomed by General Secretary Maqsood Ahmad Yousafi and other office bearers of the press club.
Referring to a recent survey report of Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) headed by eminent human right lawyer, Parvez Imroz on terrible situation in Kashmir, he claimed that people of Jammu and Kashmir were living in an extreme fear and terror.
Quoting the report, he said specifically children in Kashmir are living in the most militarized atmosphere, with the presence of 7,00,000 troopers. He said, in last15 years since 2003, 318 children (in the age group of 1 and 17) have been killed and so far no one among the perpetrators of these heinous crimes has been brought to justice.
It is important to mention that Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) released the report on the impact of violence on the children of Kashmir titled Terrorized: Impact of Violence on the Children of Jammu and Kashmir (2018) on March 30, 2018. The report is an assessment of the violence against children in Kashmir in the last fifteen years and it gives data on killings, arrests, mass violence, sexual violence perpetrated against children.
The report also gives the figure of civilian casualties in last 15 years as saying, at least 16,436 people including 4571 civilians have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the same period (2003 – 2017). The numbers indicate that in the last fifteen years Kashmir in an average year witnessed at least 1,095 killings. The pattern of killings of children in the fifteen-year period suggests that children were direct targets of state violence, as part of its stated offensive to curb uprising and militancy.
About the Kashmir issue, the Kashmir Council EU Chairman said, the ongoing dispute of Kashmir is amongst the oldest unresolved issues under United Nations. Ali Raza Syed also informed the participants of the meet the press programme about activities of Kashmir Council EU in Europe.
For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org