ISLAMABAD, Aug 08 (APP): To find a solution to the Kashmir issue, Pakistan also needs to be consistent in its support of Kashmiris’ fundamental rights and their struggle. For this, synergies need to be created between public policy officials and academia to highlight this issue collectively.
This was the unanimous consensus of the speakers and participants of the one-day workshop on “Human Rights Violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK): Kashmiri Aspirations and Responsibility of International Community” organized by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) here Tuesday.
They stressed that the moral conscience of the international community also needs to be brought to life because there can be no durable peace in the subcontinent unless Kashmiris’ right to life and their basic human rights are sanctified and protected.
Dr. Amna Mahmood from the International Islamic University, Islamabad shared that capturing the towns of Gurdaspur and Ferozpur enabled the Indian military to enter the princely state of Kashmir. She provided stark statistics outlining the unprecedented suppression by the Indian government in the Occupied Valley. Unmarked graves found in the Valley in August 2011 were reported to be as high as 6700, with 10,000 missing persons reported over the past 20 years. Informing the audience of the post-Burhan Wani security situation in IOK, she informed that more than a 100 people have been killed, with 8587 arrested, and more than 15,000 injured since 2016.
Ahmad Nazir Warraich explained at length the term “international law” as a set of rules that countries follow in dealing with each other and stressed that self-determination is a core principle of international law, arising from customary international law, and also recognized as a general principle of law, and enshrined in a number of international treaties.
Major General (R) Hafiz Masroor Ahmed, Vice President, Centre for Global and Strategic Studies Islamabad said that situation prevailing in IOK is similar to that prevalent in Libya in 2011 when the UN Security Council promptly passed the resolution authorizing use of force against Qaddafi’s regime under the garb of humanitarian intervention.
Dr. Syed Rifaat Hussain from NUST pointed out several reasons why India has been able to keep the world’s attention away from its gross human rights violations in Kashmir: one, the most important is political economy factor, India’s sheer size and it becoming the second largest economy by 2030 ensures that the corporate world of North America keeps India happy.
Dr. Mujeeb Afzal from the Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Masood-ur-Rehman Khattak from the International Islamic University, Jamal Aziz, Executive Director, Research Society of International Law (RSIL), Islamabad and Ahmed Ijaz Malik from Quaid-e-Azam University also shared his views on the topic. The workshop was chaired by Professor Dr. Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema,
Earlier, the President of IPRI, Ambassador (R) Abdul Basit welcomed the speakers and participants to the workshop and hoped that the deliberations would lead to improved understanding of the issue and help create synergies towards finding a durable and peaceful resolution for the people of Kashmir.
APP Hamza /anm/VNS Islamabad
