London, April 24, 2020 (PPI-OT): A conference on the human rights situation in occupied Kashmir has called upon the Modi government to halt all military operations against the political activists and release Kashmiri leaders immediately.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the moot was organised by Tehreek-e-Kashmir (TeK) UK and attended by Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan, Shadow Minister Afzal Khan MP, Lord Nazir Ahmed, Lord Qurban Hussain, Hurriyat leader Altaf Ahmed Butt, Shaista Safi and former Councillor and Deputy Secretary General TeK UK Shakil Khan. The moot was conducted through video link and the session was presided over by TeK UK President, Raja Fahim Kayani.
The forum said that people of occupied Kashmir were in double lockdown since August 05, 2019. “There is a shortage of medicine, food and life-saving drugs. “World charity organisations and other global non-government organisations (NGOs) must be given access to deliver food and medicines in occupied Kashmir where COVID-19 outbreak has also doubled the miseries of Kashmiris,” it said.
On the occasion, the AJK President, Sardar Masood Khan, said that the people of occupied Kashmir were ruthlessly being killed by Indian Army in fake encounters. World should take notice of the genocide of Kashmiris and help to release thousands languishing in different jails in India, he said. Sardar Masood Khan said that the Modi government was not taking paying heed to the orders issued by the United Nations for the safety of prisoners during the coronavirus pandemic which was unfortunate.
“Indian Army is not only killing Kashmiris in fake encounters but also violating the ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC) to target civilians to divert the world’s attention from COVID-19 in the region,” he said, adding that Indian military establishment is not using its resources to save the lives of Kashmiris and rising spread of COVID-19 in the occupied territory.
The AJK President further maintained that India is using black laws to fabricate fake cases to silence Kashmiri journalists. “During the lockdown with the introduction of new domicile law, India is trying to change the Muslim majority of occupied Kashmir into a minority by amending the law, which is a crime under international law.”
Afzal Khan MP while lamenting the state of the health sector in occupied Kashmir said that one doctor was available to 4,000 people whereas one ventilator was available for 71,000 people in the territory which shows how the medical staff was ill-equipped to tackle the COVID-19. He expressed the fear that if coronavirus spreads rapidly in the occupied valley, the people will die there like cattle. “We appeal to the UK government to put pressure on India to ensure medical facilities in occupied Kashmir and assist the British Kashmiris so they can help their brothers and sisters,” he added.
Lord Qurban Hussain said the lockdown in occupied Kashmir is not like UK lockdown where people live with honour and safety at their homes. “In IOK lockdown, people are being killed, arrested and beaten regularly by Indian forces which is barbaric and inhuman,” he said. It is time for the world to come forward and play its role to settle the Kashmir dispute as per the wishes of the Kashmiri people, he added.
Lord Nazir Ahmed pointed out that India is following and working on anti-Muslim policies from Delhi to Srinagar. “We request to the international community to come forward and ensure the food and medicine supplies in occupied Kashmir in these hard times,” he said.
Kashmiri Hurriyat leader Altaf Ahmed Butt said that TeK UK had shaken the international conscience through this teleconference on Kashmir. “The BJP-led Hindu nationalist government under fascist Modi is trying to intimidate the brave Kashmiri people with their inhumane and cruel strategies. Coronavirus has made the world realise what a lockdown is,” he added.
TeK President, Raja Fahim Kayani, said that British parliamentarians have expressed concern over human rights violations in occupied Kashmir during this double lockdown period and assured that they would speak out against the Indian brutalities.
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