The U.S. Failure in Afghanistan Is Not Pakistan’s Fault

Anatol Lieven Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021

The anger directed by Americans at Pakistan in the wake of the disorderly end of the U.S. war in Afghanistan is understandable. After all, Pakistan really did give shelter to the Afghan Taliban, something that played a vital role in the Taliban’s eventual victory. However, the reaction in Washington is also a way of avoiding an honest analysis of the comprehensive failures of U.S. policy in Afghanistan. Moreover, it misses key aspects of what motivated Pakistan’s behavior, with very important implications for how the United States itself understands and acts in the world.

To begin with, Islamabad’s support for the Afghan Taliban was not just a product of the Pakistani military’s strategic approach to the conflict in Afghanistan. It also reflected the opinion of a large majority of people in northern Pakistan, and among the Pashtun minority in particular. This was combined with a hostility to the U.S. that was among the highest anywhere in the world. The sympathy Pakistanis felt for the Taliban had its roots in the same dynamics that motivated their support for the Afghan mujahedeen against the Soviet occupation in the 1980s. It can also be seen in the context of the historical memory of Afghan resistance to the British Empire in the 19th century. 

But the U.S. refused to learn from the experience of other countries or to draw any parallels between their past roles and that of the U.S. today. When I and other observers suggested to U.S. officials in the early years of the war that they might study the Soviet failure in Afghanistan, they rejected the idea dismissively. That stubborn refusal befuddled the entire U.S. effort in Afghanistan.

As for official Pakistani policy toward the Taliban, it was largely driven by fear of India’s role in Afghanistan, as has been widely noted. But it was also shaped by concerns that the U.S. and the West would leave Afghanistan without creating a successful Afghan state, and that Pakistan, as well as Afghanistan’s other neighbors, would be left to live with the resulting mess. This is what had happened in the 1990s, and Islamabad—rightly, it turned out—feared it would happen again. 

Both a practical and an ethical issue are involved here. In the end, because of its geographic location, the U.S. faces no real existential, territorial threats. All of its foreign military operations are therefore to a greater or lesser degree a matter of choice. The countries located in regions where the U.S. conducts military operations have no such choice. They cannot pack up and go home. 

Every U.S. intervention must therefore be shaped with the wishes of regional countries firmly in mind, while recognizing that, from a practical point of view, the hostility of regional powers to Washington’s objectives will almost certainly doom any counterinsurgency effort to defeat. By the end of the United States’ presence in Afghanistan, its wider policies had meant that this presence was opposed by all Afghanistan’s most important neighbors. Pakistan was infuriated by U.S. drone strikes and what it regarded as bullying, and it feared possible U.S. support for an increased Indian presence in Afghanistan. Iran feared that Washington would use Afghanistan to attack Iran, and Tehran supported the Taliban in order to give itself the ability to strike back in the event such an attack took place. Growing hostility between the U.S. on one hand and Russia and China on the other meant that these countries opposed the presence of U.S. bases in their vicinity.

No counterinsurgency can succeed where the entire region is hostile to it. This is particularly true when neighboring countries provide safe haven to the insurgents. In such cases, great powers fighting counterinsurgencies often consider invading the neighboring countries to eliminate these safe havens. But they almost always reject the option—rightly—on the grounds that far from winning the war, doing so would only vastly expand it. .

The same logic holds true with regard to the argument made repeatedly over the years by many U.S. commentators that Washington should have “done something” about Islamabad’s behavior. What exactly the U.S. should have done, however, is never explicitly described. Invading Pakistan would have only succeeded in colossally widening the scope of the war. 

As for U.S. economic pressure on Pakistan, it was also constrained by a dilemma or ambiguity at the core of U.S. strategy in the region. On one hand, the U.S. wished to defeat or at least contain the Afghan Taliban, though as time went on this was chiefly driven by the desire to maintain U.S. “credibility.” On the other hand, Washington was still concerned with the original purpose of the invasion of Afghanistan, namely to counter Islamist terrorism. 

Any economic pressure sufficient to change its behavior would also have risked the collapse of a state that possesses more than five times Afghanistan’s population, nuclear weapons, and an army of half a million soldiers. That in turn would have created a terrorist threat that would have dwarfed Afghanistan and Syria combined. As a result, U.S. economic pressure on Pakistan was limited to the withholding of U.S. aid, which China soon replaced on a much larger scale. 

Ultimately, the U.S. needed three things from Pakistan: a crackdown on the Afghan Taliban, land routes to supply U.S. forces in Afghanistan and cooperation against international terrorism. Washington never got the first, but it did get the second and most of the third. Pakistan failed to hunt down Osama bin Laden, but it did capture and hand over to the U.S. numerous other al-Qaida leaders and operatives, and cooperated quietly with the CIA and U.K. intelligence to identify plots by Pakistanis against the American and British homelands. 

That illustrates a fundamental lesson of international affairs that the U.S. establishment would do well to study. The U.S. can rarely get everything it wants. It will often have to make compromises and settle for an uncomfortable but tolerable outcome. Living with Saddam Hussein was uncomfortable for America. Invading Iraq to get rid of him led to disaster. Losing in Afghanistan has been acutely uncomfortable for America. Destroying Pakistan for the sake of an illusory Afghan victory would have led to catastrophe on an almost unimaginable scale.

Finally, what has happened in Afghanistan demonstrates the truth of the principle that, in practice, geopolitical and military power is local and relative, not universal and absolute. The outcome of any contest between two countries will depend on the power that one of them is willing and able to bring to bear in a particular place or on a particular issue, relative to the power that another is willing and able to employ to oppose it.

Those decisions, in turn, will be determined by the location of the countries concerned and whether the issue involved is a vital or only a secondary interest for them. By those standards, just as Russia is a great power in eastern Ukraine and the U.S. is not, so Pakistan is a great power in eastern Afghanistan—and the U.S. is not. The U.S. does not have the physical power to dominate everywhere. Equally important, most Americans do not feel that most issues around the world are of vital concern to the United States. This inevitably limits the commitments and sacrifices they are prepared to make in these cases, especially over the long term. 

The lessons from Afghanistan are a case study of these principles. Future U.S. strategy should be shaped with them firmly in mind.

Kashmir Struggle News Update (weekly) JR212 Volume V

for previous update 

  https://javedrashid.blogspot.com/2020/03/kashmir-struggle-news-update-weekly.html for previous updates visit

                                                             https://javedrashid.blogspot.com/2019/10/kashmir-struggle-news-update-weekly-jr.html  and

https://javedrashid.blogspot.com/2018/12/kashmir-struggle-news-weekly-update.html,  Kindly respond with comments or news that you wish included in next weeks update at : jarad_us@yahoo.com

 Kashmir Update Week 266 (Jan 1 2024 to Jan 7 2024)

1       Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, once headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, banned by Indian government: Jan 1 2024; The Union Home Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on December 31 declared Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, Jammu and Kashmir (TeH) an ‘Unlawful Association’ under Section 3 of the anti-terror law- the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). TeH is one of the constituents of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) founded by separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani who died in 2021.

2       2023 and Kashmir: Jan 1 2024:The year 2023 for Jammu and Kashmir was a year full of ironies, paradoxes and blatant double standards — all packaged and sold under the name of economic progress, democracy and normalcy. https://thewire.in/rights/2023-a-year-of-ironies-and-paradoxes-in-jk

3       2023: Jan 2 2024:  Indian troops in their unabated acts of state terrorism martyred 120 innocent Kashmiris including four women and as many boys during the year 2023 in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. According to a report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service, today, 41 of the martyrs were killed in fake encounters and custody. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2024/01/01/indian-troops-martyred-120-kashmiris-in-2023.html

4       Property attached: Jan 4 2024: In continuation of its anti-Kashmiris’ measures, Narendra Modi-led Indian regime has attached another piece of land measuring 10 Marlas in Gandarbal district, today, under the draconian law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The attached land is situated at Revenue Estate Wakoora belonging to Lateef Ahmad Kambay, a resident of Wakoora, Gandarbal district. This brutal step is part of the ongoing policies of the Modi regime to silence the Kashmiri people from raising their voice for right to self-determination. The victim is is lodged at Central Jail Srinagar, in a fake case. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2024/01/03/modi-regime-attaches-another-civilian-property-in-iiojk.html

5       One martyred: Jan 6 2024; Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one Kashmiri youth in Shopian district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. According to Kashmir Media Service, the youth was martyred by troops and paramilitary personnel during a cordon and search operation in Chotigam area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2024/01/05/indian-troops-martyr-one-youth-in-shopian-2.html

6       Sopore massacre; Jan 6 2024; On January 6, 1993, more than 60 Kashmiris fell victim to a brutal massacre carried out by Indian security forces in the Sopore area of Kashmir. Reports from Human Rights Watch detail the acts perpetrated by Indian soldiers, who, in an indiscriminate display of violence, set fire to over 500 buildings in Sopore market. The streets became a battleground as security forces fired recklessly at passers-by, resulting in the tragic loss of more than 60 lives. Al Jazeera further reveals that over 350 shops and 140 houses were engulfed in flames due to the soldiers' relentless firing on innocent Kashmiris. One particularly incident involved the Indian Army opening fire on a bus filled with passengers, subsequently setting it ablaze, leading to the deaths of over 25 individuals https://www.samaa.tv/208737495-three-decades-later-no-justice-for-sopore-massacre-victims

7        

8       Human rights violations       

HR Violations in IIOJK

Bec

(From Jan 1989 till 30 Dec 2023)
Total Killings	96,285
Custodial killings	7,325
Civilian arrested	169,038
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed	110,509
Women Widowed	22,972
Children Orphaned	1,07,950
Women gang-raped / Molested	11,263
(Dec 2023)
Total Killings	7
Custodial killings	3
Civilian arrested	97
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed	0
Women Widowed	4
Children Orphaned	9
Women gang-raped / Molested	4
(Since 5 Aug 2019)
Total Killings	842
Tortured / Critically Injured	2,396
Civilian arrested	22,099
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed	1,113
Women Widowed	64
Children Orphaned	175
Women gang-raped / Molested	1

 

Kashmir media Service 

Kashmir Update Week 265 (Dec 25 2023 to Dec 31 2023 )

1 Justice in IOJ&K; Dec 24 2023; Dr. Fai added that the conditions of administration of justice in Indian occupied Kashmir are appalling and frightening where the justice system has failed the hapless population of the State. We know that in particular the minimum standards for the respect of the most fundamental rights and dignity of detainees are absent in Kashmir. More shockingly, these arrogations of internationally recognized norms have been codified in laws passed by the Government of India which apply only to Jammu & Kashmir, specifically, ‘The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act’(PSA) and ‘Armed Forces Special Powers Act’ (AFSPA). https://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/regional-news-details/1483

2 Custodial killings; Dec 25 2023; The families of three tribal men from Poonch have alleged that they were tortured to death by the Army after the attack in which five soldiers lost their lives earlier this week The alleged custodial killing of the three civilians identified as Safeer Hussain, 37, Mohammed Showkat, 26 and Shabir Ahmed, 32, all residents of Topa Mastandara village in Poonch district, had triggered protests on Friday. https://thewire.in/security/civilians-killed-in-the-aftermath-of-poonch-terror-attack-were-tortured-to-death-allege-families

3 Torture; Dec 25 2023; A day after three civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district were killed under as yet unexplained circumstances, the sarpanch of their village and the relatives of two of them have said they are among the villagers seen on video being brutally beaten and tortured by unidentified soldiers. Family members and neighbours of Safeer Hussain (48), Mohammad Showkat (28) and Shabbir Ahmad (25) have told The Wire that  videos in which the men are seen pleading with uniformed personnel and begging for their lives has traumatised them. https://thewire.in/rights/poonch-civilians-killed-are-among-the-men-seen-in-video-being-tortured-by-soldiers-sarpanch-confirms

4 One martyred; Dec 25 2023; Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one more Kashmiri youth in Jammu district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. According to Kashmir Media Service, the troops martyred the youth during a military operation in Akhnoor area of the district. The Indian troops also on Saturday martyred one youth in the same area. Meanwhile, unidentified gunmen killed a former Senior Superintendent of Police, Mohammad Shafi Mir in Gantmulla area of Baramulla district on Sunday morning. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/12/24/indian-troops-martyr-one-more-youth-former-police-officer-killed-in-iiojk.html

5  Killings;; Dec 26 2023;  Chairman Kashmir Council Europe (KCEU) Ali Raza Syed has urged the international community to its role to stop and custodial killings and other extra judicial murders of the Kashmiri civilians by Indian authorities in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Strongly condemning the barbaric custodial killing of three Kashmiri civilians in Baffliaz area of Poonch district of the occupied Kashmir, in a statement he said, extra judicial murders of Kashmiris should be immediately stopped. It is important to mention that three civilians Mohammad Showkat 22, Shabir Ahmad 32 and Safeer Hussain 45 were tortured to death in the Indian Army’s custody at a military torture cell in the Poonch district on Friday morning. Expressing deep regret and sorrow over killing of three civilians, he said, we are shocked that three innocent Kashmiris were detained and tortured to death by the Indian military. Then their grieving relatives received their mutilated bodies. He added, deaths of these three Kashmiris became cause of anger not only among people in IIOJK but also among the Kashmiris living Azad Kashmir and other parts of the world. https://www.dailyparliamenttimes.com/2023/12/25/kceus-chair-ali-raza-syed-for-preventing-custodial-killings-in-occupied-kashmir/

6 Hurriyat chief’s outfit declared unlawful association under UAPA for five years; Dec 28 2023;  The Ministry of Home Affairs on December 27 declared the Muslim League Jammu Kashmir (Masarat Alam faction) as an “unlawful association” under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for five years. Alam has remained in detention in Jammu and Kashmir for the past 20 years, with brief periods of release. Since 2019 he has been lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail. He was appointed chief of the separatist group — Hurriyat Conference — after the death of chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani in 2021 

 

Kashmir Update Week 264 (Dec 18 2023 to Dec 24 2023  )

1 Article  370; Dec 19 2023;In a hard-hitting interview, which is often sharply critical of the Supreme Court’s judgment on Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir, pronounced on December 11, Fali Nariman, widely considered India’s foremost constitutional expert, has said it is “totally erroneous and bad in law”. In the interview, Nariman identified four or five different errors made by the Supreme Court in two specific aspects of its judgment: upholding the dilution of Article 370 and re-organising Jammu and Kashmir, both in terms of the size of the territory as well as in terms of reducing its status from a state to a union territory. https://thewire.in/video/watch-supreme-courts-kashmir-judgment-totally-erroneous-and-bad-in-law-fali-nariman

2. Property seized: Dec 21 2023: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Narendra Modi-led Indian government continues to snatch the properties of innocent people as part of collective punishment for raising voice for right to self-determination, guaranteed by the United Nations. According to Kashmir Media Service, attaching or confiscating Kashmiris’ properties every other day in fabricated cases is a new normal and in the latest move, immovable properties of five Hurriyat activists in Ganderbal district were attached. https://www.radio.gov.pk/20-12-2023/iiojk-modi-regime-continues-to-snatch-kashmiris-properties

3. Army personal killed: Dec., 22, 2023:  Three Army soldiers were killed and three more suffered injuries in an ongoing anti-militancy operation in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, December 21.3. https://thewire.in/security/three-army-soldiers-killed-in-anti-militancy-operation-in-jks-poonch

4. Custodial killings; Dec 24 2023; The families of three tribal men from Poonch have alleged that they were tortured to death by the Army after the attack in which five soldiers lost their lives earlier this week. The alleged custodial killing of the three civilians identified as Safeer Hussain, 37, Mohammed Showkat, 26 and Shabir Ahmed, 32, all residents of Topa Mastandara village in Poonch district, had triggered protests on Friday. https://thewire.in/security/civilians-killed-in-the-aftermath-of-poonch-terror-attack-were-tortured-to-death-allege-families

5. Four martyred: Dec 24 2023:  Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three Kashmiri civilians in custody in Poonch district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.. According to Kashmir Media Service, Indian troops arrested Safeer Hussain, Mohammed Showkat and Shabbir Ahmed during a cordon and search operation and killed them in custody in Bafliaz area of Poonch district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/12/23/indian-troops-martyr-three-civilians-in-custody-in-poonch.html

 

Human rights violations                                                     

Kashmir Update Week 263 (Dec 11 2023 to Dec 17 2023  )

1 Article 370: Dec 12 2023:  Dal Khalsa leader Kanwar Pal Singh has said that Indian top court is not above politics and the Indian top court’s verdict, endorsing the Indian government’s decision to abrogate Article 370, has come on expected lines. Kanwar Pal Singh in a statement issued in Amritsar, reacting to the verdict of the Indian Supreme Court on Article 370 abrogation in Kashmir said, the Kashmiri people have been deprived of their rights for the last several decades and it would have been naive to think that the apex court would overturn government’s arbitrary decision. How can the Indian government or even the judiciary ignore the fact that the dispute is still on the agenda of the UN Security Council?”, he added. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/12/11/sc-verdict-on-article-370-indian-top-court-not-above-politics-dal-khalsa.html

2 Indian Supreme Court: Dec 12 2023: There are many parts to the judgment, and it is worth reading in full because it blends many questions of law. Nonetheless, there is one issue that stands out as the heart and substance of the case, and it is the key differentiator between a democracy and a dictatorship. In bending the framework of the constitution, the regime reinterpreted Article 367 to say that the J&K legislative assembly should be regarded as the J&K Constituent Assembly – which was dissolved in 1957 – and furthermore, since the legislative assembly was dissolved, then the governor was the representative of the legislative assembly as the Constituent Assembly. Please regard this carefully. The president, an appointee of the governing party, and the governor, another appointee of the governing party, are supposed to represent the governed. In other words, the government chooses who represents the people, not “We, the people”. https://thewire.in/rights/supreme-court-article-370-verdict-injustice-writ-large

4. China on Kashmir; Dec 13 2023: In answer to a question about the SC order, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that China’s position on Kashmir has been “consistent and clear-cut”. “The Kashmir issue, left from the past, needs to be resolved peacefully and appropriately in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and relevant bilateral agreement. Parties concerned need to settle the dispute through dialogue and consultation so as to maintain regional peace and stability," the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said. https://thewire.in/world/after-supreme-court-order-china-reiterates-position-on-kashmir

5.  Supreme Court verdict though disappointing does not come as a surprise, WKAF: The statement issued by Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum; December 12, 2023: The supreme court of India upholds the decision of the Modi Government to strip the occupied Jammu & Kashmir of special status. The verdict though disappointing does not come as a surprise. This is the same court that confirmed the death sentence on Afzal Guru, notwithstanding the fact (own admission of the chief justice) that evidence for the alleged crime was not conclusive. The judgment came "to satisfy the collective conscience of the nation." The same court few years ago issued a judgment giving the Hindu majority a right to build a temple in place of Barbari Mosque. This decision came as a shock to legal luminaries who cast aspersion on the acumen of the judges of the highest court of the land. Any single or group of individuals expecting a fair judgment from Indian courts is exhibiting his/her naivety as rule of law has been buried under BJP Hindutva rubble by the Indian government. It is evident that the decisions regarding these cases are made   within the precincts of establishment and all that is left for the judges is to narrate the judgment. Although very much expected this pronouncement is a slap on the face of freedom seeking nations and institutions of the world that eloquently expostulate for peaceful and amicable resolution of Kashmir issue. India, especially the present government has expansionist ambitions that can be detrimental, disastrous, and devastating for the whole region that includes three nuclear powered states. The appalling judgment passed today should leave no doubt in anybody’s mind that peaceful resolution of the protracted problem of Kashmir is not a part of the Indian agenda. Thus, onus is on the world bodies like United Nations to marshal all their resources to dissuade India from embarking in her nefarious designs. It must be emphasized here that today’s Supreme Court decision contravenes UN resolutions #122 and #126 adopted on January 24, 1957, and December 2, 1957, respectively. These resolutions prohibit any unilateral action targeted at changing the disputed nature of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Today’s decision in no way will dampen the spirit of Kashmiris to attain freedom from Indian occupation. The torch of liberty, peace and justice will continue to burn in the hearts of enslaved people of Jammu & Kashmir and will not be doused by these horrendous decisions. With this final destructive blow, the moral fabric of the Indian judiciary lies in tatters. The rule of law and the system of justice has been abdicated from the country and what remains is a jungle roaming with hyenas. Indian authorities are living in a fool’s paradise if they believe that by their foolish antics and cowardly decisions the voices of freedom can be subdued. The nation of Kashmir has sacrificed over 100,000 youth and the honor of over 11,000 sisters and under no circumstances they will give up their peaceful struggle for freedom and justice. As a matter of fact, the struggle will be invigorated, and the people of Indian occupied Kashmir will spare no efforts to lead it to its logical conclusion.  It is for the world to decide if   they prefer a cataclysmic outcome of this struggle or will they restrain India to ensure peace, tranquility, and justice in Kashmir. The world powers do remember what Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations said on August 10, 20219 that "the position of the United Nations on this region (Kashmir) is governed by the Charter of the United Nations and applicable United Nations Security Council resolutions."

6 China on article 370 ISC order: Dec., 14 2023: China addressed the Supreme Court of India’s order upholding the dilution of Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional autonomy for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, saying that the verdict “does not change the fact that the western section of the China-India border has always belonged to China”. On Tuesday, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that China’s position on Kashmir has been “consistent and clear-cut” – that it needs to be resolved peacefully and appropriately in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and relevant bilateral agreement – but did not explicitly refer to Ladakh. On Wednesday, she was asked about the union territory of Ladakh at the daily briefing, to which she said, “China has never recognised the so-called union territory of Ladakh set up unilaterally and illegally by India. India’s domestic judicial verdict does not change the fact that the western section of the China-India border has always belonged to China.” https://thewire.in/diplomacy/china-india-ladakh-supreme-court-article-370

7. OIC on Article 30: Dec 4 2023:  The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has expressed concern over the recent verdict of Supreme Court of India upholding the illegal unilateral actions taken by the Narendra Modi-led Indian government that repealed the special status of occupied Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August 2019. According to Kashmir Media Service, the OIC General Secretariat in a statement issued in Jeddah in reference to the decisions and resolutions of the Islamic Summit and the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers related to the Kashmir dispute reiterated its call to reverse all illegal and unilateral measures taken by the Modi regime since 5 August 2019 aimed at changing the internationally-recognized disputed status of the occupied territory. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/12/13/oic-expresses-concern-over-indian-supreme-courts-verdict-on-iiojk.html

8 British legislators in Kashmir: Dec., 15, 2023: British lawmakers attending included Kate Hollern, Jess Phillips, Sarah Owen, Steve Baker, Sara Britcliffe, Lord Qurban Hussain, Muhammad Yasin, Tahir Ali, Tan Dhesi, Debbie Abrahams, Marco Longhi and included Kashmiri leader from Indian occupied Kashmir, Muzzammil Ayyub Thakur, and others, had a detailed discussion on the Kashmir issue which has turned into a nuclear flash point in South Asia with three nuclear-powered nations bordering the UN-designated disputed territory.

Paul Bristow condemned India’s continued illegal actions in IIOJK and urged those who support the human rights of Palestinians to show the same support for the people of IIOJK. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2450033/discussion-held-in-uk-parliament-over-iiojk

 

Kashmir Update Week 262 (Dec 4 2023 to Dec 10 2023  )

1: Torture: Dec 4 2023:: As the world observes International Day of Persons with Disabilities, today, India continues to use torture systematically to disable the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir.A report released by Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, today, said brutal and inhuman torture techniques, employed by Indian troops, paramilitary forces and police personnel, have left thousands of Kashmiris disabled for life, including over 200 losing eyesight in one or both eyes in the occupied territory. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/12/03/india-uses-torture-systematically-to-disable-kashmiris.html

 

2. Let Kashmiris be given the right to self-determination: Dr. Farhan Chak: Washington, DC – December 7, 2023: The World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF) and the Kashmir Diaspora Coalition (KDC) in cooperation with Kashmir American Welfare Association (KAWA) in Washington DC, USA successfully held a private ceremony to launch Dr. Farhan Mujahid Chak’s groundbreaking work on Kashmir. His book, published by the eminent Pluto Press, is called “Nuclear Flashpoint: War Over Kashmir.’ All books at the event were sold. As Ilyasah Shahbaz, educator and the daughter of Malcolm X wrote that, “Institutionalized systematic racial persecution…against the people of Kashmir has pushed the world to the edge of nuclear conflict. Torture, unlawful killings, and the denial of basic human rights and freedoms are well-documented by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and others. Dr. Chak’s skillful analysis explains just how this unresolved crisis threatens global peace.” President of WKAF and Chairman of KDC, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Mir, stated “Dr. Chak’s eloquence and determination has rattled India since they no longer control the indigenous Kashmiri narrative.” Expressing horror at this heinous crime, WKAF Secretary-General, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai courageously stated “We stand in complete solidarity with the people of the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir no matter what the cost.  This book is proof that every generation of Kashmiris will produce those people who will challenge the false Indian narrative.’  

3  Legislation: Dec 8 2023: Two important pieces of legislation regarding Jammu and Kashmir were passed by the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday (December 6). These are the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which aims to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, and the Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aimed at amending the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004The two legislations are being viewed as an attempt by the Union government to tweak the political landscape to its advantage ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, by wooing the Kashmiri Pandits and Pahadia community of the region , Islamabad: Narendra Modi-led Indian government’s move to pass two bills in lower house of parliament, Lok Sabha, is in brazen violations of United Nations resolutions as the legislations are meant to dilute Muslim majority representation in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s assembly and opening the door on outsiders for appointments in the territory in the name of restructuring reservation rules.Kashmir Media Service in a report said that the passage of IIOJK related two bills in the Lok Sabha is an attempt to politically & economically cripple occupied territory’s Muslim population. https://thewire.in/government/parliament-passed-two-important-laws-on-jk-heres-what-they-will-do

 

Kashmir Update Week 261 (Nov 27 2023 to Dec 4 2023  )

1.     World cup; Nov 28 2023: Seven Kashmiri students charged under UAPA for raising pro-Pak. slogans during World Cup final . The Jammu and Kashmir Police in Kashmir has filed a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against seven Kashmiri students for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans during the Cricket World Cup final held recently.

2.     One martyred: Dec 1 2023:  Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one innocent Kashmiri youth, today, in Pulwama district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. According to Kashmir Media Service, the troops martyred the youth during a violent cordon and search operation in Arihal area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/11/30/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-pulwama-4.html

3.     Modi bans all protests in IO: Dec 1 2023: Modi government bans all expressions of solidarity with Palestine in Indian-held Kashmir . India’s US-aligned, Hindu-supremacist government has forbidden all expressions of support for the besieged and bombarded Palestinians of Gaza in Indian-occupied Kashmir, where half-a-million Indian security forces continue a decades-long campaign of brutal repression.

4.     Kashmir and Palestine: Dec3 2023: Since October, police have detained or placed under house arrest several Kashmiri political leaders, activists and clerics to prevent them from organizing pro-Palestinian demonstrations, according to local media and the individuals themselves. Well-known clerics say they have also been placed under home confinement, especially on Fridays, to stop them from leading congregational prayers at mosques. https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Israel-Hamas-war/Kashmir-s-anger-over-Gaza-simmers-as-India-keeps-lid-on-protests

 

Kashmir Update Week 260 (Nov 21 2023 to Nov 27 2023  )

1.     Resolution: Nov 21 2023: Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, has called for resolving the Kashmir dispute through tripartite talks involving Pakistan, India and the genuine Kashmiri leadership. According to Kashmir Media Service, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai in a statement issued in Washington said that the United Nations Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) during its 55th meeting on Friday (November 17) approved a draft resolution on the universal realization of the right of peoples to self-determination. He said, “This is one more promise given to the people of occupied lands, including Kashmir that cannot be kept. If promises are made to be broken, then Kashmir may be summoned to prove the treacherous proposition. Broken promises haunt Kashmir’s history and explain its tragedy.” https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/11/18/dr-fai-calls-for-resolution-of-kashmir-dispute-through-tripartite-talks.html

2.     martyrs of Aali Kadal : Nov 20 2023: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference leadership has paid glowing tributes to martyrs of Aali Kadal, Srinagar, on their martyrdom anniversary. According to Kashmir Media Service, Indian troops had killed noted liberation leader, Sheikh Abdul Hameed, along with his associates Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, Advocate Jamil Chaudhry,Fayaz Ahmed Sheikh, Mushtaq Ahmed Kotey, Ghulam Ahmed Mir, Manzoor Ahmed Khan,Farooq Ahmed Dar,Ghulam Nabi Butt and Pervez Bullah at Aali Kadal in Srinagar, Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, on this day in 1992. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/11/19/rich-tributes-paid-to-srinagars-aali-kadal-martyrs.html

3.     Children: Nov 21 2023:  Indian forces in their unabated acts of state terrorism and gross human rights violations martyred 919 children during the last thirty-five years in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. A report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of the World Children’s Day, today, said the children are the worst victims of India’s illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir. It revealed that 919 children are among the 96,274 people martyred by the troops and paramilitary and police personnel since January 01, 1989 till date. The report said that the killing of civilians by the forces rendered 107,934 children orphaned in the occupied territory. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/11/20/india-martyred-919-children-in-last-thirty-five-years-in-iiojk.html

4.     Attack: Nov 23 2023: An Indian army Major, a Captain and two Indian soldiers were killed and some others were injured in an attack of mujahideen in Rajouri district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.Indian army officers and soldiers were killed and injured after they launched a cordon and search operation in Baji Maal area of Rajouri district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/11/22/major-and-captain-among-4-indian-soldiers-killedin-rajouri-attack.html..

5.     one martyred: Nov 24 2023: Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one more Kashmiri youth in Rajouri district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, today, taking the number of the martyred youth to two since yesterday.According to Kashmir Media Service, the troops martyred the youth during the ongoing cordon and search operation in Kalakot area of the district. The troops martyred one youth in the same area, yesterday. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/11/23/indian-troops-martyr-one-more-kashmiri-youth-in-rajouri-2.html

6.     Kashmiri women: Nov 26 2023: The world is observing the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, today, while women in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir continue to be haunted by Indian state terrorism, injustice, atrocities, fear, agony and howls of pain inflicted by India. According to a report released by Kashmir Media Service in connection with the day, India has designed its own legal license by draconian laws to target the sanctity and dignity of the Kashmiri women. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/11/25/2352-kashmiri-women-martyred-11259-molested-by-indian-troops-since-1989.html 

Kashmir Update Week 259 (Nov 13 2023 to Nov 19 2023  )

1.     Two martyred; Nov 16 2023:  Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in Baramulla district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, today. According to Kashmir Media Service, the troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Uri area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/11/15/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-baramulla-3.html

2.     Immunity; Nov 17 2023; The recent November 9 order of a two-member tribunal, suspending the life sentence of Captain Bhoopendra Singh of the Rashtriya Rifles, who was convicted of killing three Kashmiri labourers in the Shopian fake encounter case in 2020, will only serve to reinforce that Indian armed forces deployed in IIOJK enjoy impunity, reported India-based online news portal The Leaflet. According to Kashmir Media Service, The Leaflet citing a 2012 report by the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) said that it (the JKCCS report) made a damning revelation about the impunity enjoyed by Indian armed forces in Jammu and Kashmir. The JKCCS documents human rights abuses by Indian troops in IIOJK.

3.      Six martyred: Nov 18 2023:  Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism martyred six innocent Kashmiri youth, today, in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. According to Kashmir Media Service, the troops martyred five youth identified as Sameer Ahmed Sheikh, Danish Ahmed Thokar, Hunzallah Yaqoob Shah, Ubaid Ahmed Padder and Yasir Butt during a violent cordon and search operation in Samnoo area of Kulgam district. The troops also destroyed two residential houses by using chemical substance through a drone in the area. The troops martyred another youth in a fake encounter in the garb of a search operation at Behrote Budhal in Rajouri district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/11/17/indian-troops-martyr-six-innocent-youth-in-occupied-kashmir.html

  

Kashmir Update Week 258 (Nov 6 2023 to Nov 12 2023  )

1. Jammu Martyrs’ Day; Nov 7 2023;  Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and across the world are observing the Jammu Martyrs’ Day, today, to reiterate their resolve to carry on the martyrs’ mission till they achieve their inalienable right to self-determination. According to Kashmir Media Service, hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris were martyred by the forces of Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh, Indian Army and Hindutva fanatics in different parts of Jammu region while they were migrating to Pakistan during the first week of November in 1947. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/11/06/kashmiris-observing-jammu-martyrs-day-today-2.html

2 One martyred; Nov 10 2023; Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one Kashmiri youth in Shopian district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, today. According to Kashmir Media Service, the troops martyred the youth identified as Maysar Ahmad Dar during a cordon and search operation in Kathohalan area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/11/09/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-shopian-5.html

  

Kashmir Update Week 257 (Oct 30 2023 to Nov 5 2023 )

1. Aping Israel; Nov 1 2023;  Convener of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Muhammad Safi has said that taking cue from Israel, India is aggressively pursuing the agenda of rendering the Muslim majority Jammu and Kashmir into a minority territory through genocide.  https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/10/31/taking-cue-from-israel-india-committing-genocide-of-kashmiris-safi.html

2 October human cost; Nov 2 2023; Indian troops in their continued acts of state terrorism martyred 17 Kashmiris including a woman and a child during the last month of October in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. According to the data issued by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service, today, of those martyred, 11 were killed in fake encounters and in custody by Indian troops and police in different districts of the territory. The killings by the Indian forces’ personnel in the month rendered 2 women widowed and 10 children orphaned https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/11/01/indian-troops-martyred-17-kashmiris-in-october.html

3 How an American became voice of voiceless people of Kashmir? By Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai; November 2, 2023; A memorial service was held today for Marguerite Helen Velte Hasbrouck. For out of state friends and those unable to join in person, the memorial concert and meeting was made accessible on Zoom. Marguerite Helen Velte Hasbrouck was born on October 30, 1933, in Lahore, Punjab (today Pakistan), where her father was a professor at Forman Christian College. When she was three years old, her parents brought her back to the U.S. She graduated from high school at sixteen and earned a degree in comparative government and religion at Barnard College, New York. She worked at a variety of administrative, editorial, and legal jobs including at Wellesley College. She was the editor of a computer industry trade journal. In 1987, as administrator of the Arlington Street Church in Boston, she testified at a Congressional hearing on break-ins at churches that offered sanctuary to refugees from U.S. wars in Central America. Marguerite was one of the founders of the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Policy Coalition, facilitated Alternatives to Violence Project workshops at prisons throughout New England, and received a lifetime achievement award from the Massachusetts Department of Correction for her volunteer work. As a legal worker, Marguerite served on the board of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG). Marguerite was a strong advocate and great defender of voiceless people of Kashmir. She had visited the Valley of Kashmir more than dozen times and the last time in 1989 along with her son, Edward Hasbrouck. They later published a report in ‘Peacework’ Magazine, in September 1990, “As it happened, our arrival in the Kashmir Valley in 1989 coincided with the outbreak of the latest stage of the Kashmiri nationalist struggle. It started mainly as a movement for self-determination, and its tactics were those of nonviolent civil disobedience. But as the Indian government responded with crude repression, it increasingly became a campaign for human rights and simple survival. An army of half a million Indian soldiers, police, and spies now occupies most of Kashmir and enforces martial law over ten million Kashmiris.” I knew Marguerite for over 35 years. Alas, she left us on at the age of 90. It was on October 22, 1990, that she first wrote to me and expressed her interest to attend a demonstration that was held in front of the United Nations on October 27, 1990 --  the day when India occupied Kashmir in 1947. She later sent me her passport along with completed application for getting visa to visit the Valley of Kashmir again. Marguerite wrote a letter to her Senator from Massachusetts, Senator Edward Kennedy on October 21, 1990 and copy to me in which she mentioned that “The evidence as has managed to slip by strong and consistent Indian government attempts to bury it shows clearly that India is guilty of horrendous human rights abuses in Kashmir, where it is engaged in deliberate genocide of a people in order to control a region that was promised self-determination by India and Great Britain at the time of partition in 1947 and later by the United Nations.” On another occasion Marguerite wrote to United States members of Congress, “I enclose some brief information on Kashmir. I hope that you will read it before committing yourselves, without thought, to supporting what seems to be one group of moneyed and potential political supporters over a mass of oppressed people of Kashmir.” When Raisa Gorbachev and Barbara Bush visited Wellesley college to attend graduation ceremony in 1990, Marguerite and her son, Edward Hasbrouck were standing in front of the entrance of the college, holding placards, “Kashmiris demand right to self-determination.” When Hillary Clinton was invited to give commencement address at Wellesley College in 1992, Marguerite organized a ‘Vigil for oppressed people of Kashmir.” When Harvard University, Center for International Affairs organized a lecture for George Fernandes, then the Federal Minister of India, on October 12, 1990, she attended the event along with her colleagues and took the notes which later she sent to me. She wrote at the end of her type written six pages, single space notes, “These are rough notes, roughly transcribed.” But when I compared these notes with the official 28 pages, double space transcript of Harvard University, they were as accurate as it could be. Marguerite in particular highlighted the Hindu-Muslim co-existence in Kashmir as mentioned by Mr. Fernandes in these words, “I was last in Kashmir a fortnight back…One point which people constantly make and which, I believe, needs to be made is that the property houses, orchards owned by the Pandits have not been damaged in the last one year. The apples, for instance, from these orchards, have been plucked and sold and the money has been deposited. The houses have been looked after as they were earlier by Muslim neighbors.” (Harvard U. Transcript page 8, Marguerite transcript, page 2.) Both Marguerite and Edward wrote a joint article, entitled, “Kashmiri People Struggle For Human Rights And Self-Determination.”  They elaborated that “Nonviolent demonstrations by as many as a million people are repeatedly broken up with automatic weapons fire. Thousands are wounded; hundreds killed. Those trying to aid the wounded are fired on, beaten, arrested. TIENMEN SQUARE? Kashmir. Half a million soldiers and paramilitary police seal off the region as a “disturbed area”. They are authorized to shoot to kill at any public gathering of more than four people, to arrest and detain people without charges, and to destroy property without judicial process. Houses, shops, and entire villages are burned on mere suspicion. SOUTH AFRICA? Kashmir. Twenty-four-hour curfew is imposed on entire cities for as long as two weeks without break. The economy shuts down. Food and medicine grow scarce. In house-to-house searches under curfew, “subversives” are beaten, raped, robbed, tortured, disappeared. Some prisoners die under torture, others in staged “encounters” or “escape attempts”. PPALESTINE? Kashmir.” “Neither India’s reign of terror, nor that a few Kashmiris have begun to respond to the human rights violations committed by Indian army in kind, are as surprising as that the overwhelming majority of Kashmiris — ordinary people and activists alike — remain committed not merely to the goal of freedom but to the tactics of nonviolence. Whenever the curfew is lifted or defied, Kashmiri crowds march on the U.N. offices in Srinagar to present petitions and raise slogans for a plebiscite, they highlighted. Marguerite and Edward warned that historical and political disputes give India more layers of false excuses for its conduct in Kashmir than we could begin to deal with here. But the bottom line is that there is NO excuse for these increasingly genocidal means of repression, NO excuse for the colonialism they serve. It’s that simple. Today, Edward Hasbrouck, Marguerite’s proud son has kept the candle of freedom kindled through his deep involvement with the Kashmiri political resistance. Edward wrote, Kashmir’s struggle for freedom continues, but with little support or awareness abroad, especially in the USA. In part, that’s because there are so few Kashmiri-Americans, which is why I think it’s so important for concerned on-Kashmiris like myself to speak up. India’s government continues to betray its long-standing promises of self-determination, promises made not only to the Kashmiri people but also to the United Nations.”The people of Kashmir will never forget the selfless contribution and the tireless efforts of Marguerite Helen Velte Hasbrouck. Her efforts will remain forever a milestone in the history of the freedom struggle of Kashmir. May her soul rest in peace! Ameen.

 4 Jammu massacre; Nov., 6 2023: He said that chronology of key events of Kashmir history amply demonstrates the fact that changing of demographic complexion of Muslim majority Jammu and Kashmir had always been on the cards from day one of the partition of Indian subcontinent. He said the Muslims, who constituted more than 60 percent of the population of Jammu region, were reduced to a minority after the killing of over two hundred thousand Muslims. He pointed out that stripping IIOJK of its decades-old special status by the Narendra Modi-led Indian government in August 2019 is part of this sinister design to convert Muslim majority of IIOJK into a minority. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/11/04/jammu-massacre-worst-example-of-genocide-and-ethnic-cleansing.html

 

  

 

Kashmir Update Week 256 (Oct 23 2023 to OCt 29 2023 )

1       Bijbehara  massacre; Oct 23 2023; Bijbehara carnage will remain one of the heinous crimes by Indian troops in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) A report released by Kashmir Media Service, today, said over 50 innocent Kashmiris were martyred in the Bijbehara area of Islamabad district on October 22, 1993, when the personnel of Indian Border Security Force opened fire on the peaceful demonstrators, who were protesting against the Indian military siege of Srinagar’s Hazratbal shrine It said 30 years on but the Bijbehara martyrs’ families are still awaiting justice https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/10/22/bijbehara-carnage-will-remain-one-of-heinous-crimes-by-indian-troops-in-iiojk.html

2       Two martyred; Oct 24 2023: Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred two Kashmiri youth in a fake encounter in Baramulla district. According to Kashmir Media Service, the youth were martyred by the personnel of Indian army and Border Security Force during a cordon and search operation in a fake encounter in Uri area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/10/23/indian-troops-martyr-two-kashmiri-youth-in-baramulla-2.html

3       Black day; Oct 26 2023; Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and across the world will observe October 27 as Black Day to convey a strong message to the world that they reject illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir by India. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/10/25/kashmiris-to-observe-october-27-as-black-day.html

It was on 27th October in 1947 when Indian troops had invaded Jammu and Kashmir and occupied it in total violation of the Partition Plan of the subcontinent and against the Kashmiris’ aspirations. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/10/26/october-27-is-darkest-day-in-kashmirs-history-aphc-ajk-2.html

4

 

Kashmir Update Week 253 (Oct 16  2023 to OCt 22 2023 )

1       Kashmiri support Palestine; Oct 22 2023; Two major Kashmiri organizations — the World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF) and the Kashmir Diaspora Coalition (KDC) — Saturday issued a joint statement expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, who are being subjected to deadly Israeli aerial attacks that have ravaged the enclave. https://www.app.com.pk/global/two-major-kashmiri-organizations-voice-solidarity-with-gazans-urge-unsc-to-order-ceasefire/

2       Prayers banned; Oct 22 2023; For the second consecutive Friday (October 20), Muslims were barred from offering Friday prayers at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar. Police closed down the iconic masjid apprehending protests over the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine. “For the second consecutive Friday, police officials once again closed the gates of Jama Masjid Srinagar and informed the Auqaf not to open the gates for Friday prayers,” said a press release from masjid authorities, according to Kashmir Life. https://thewire.in/rights/srinagar-friday-prayers-barred-for-second-week-at-jamia-masjid-fearing-pro-palestine-protests

3       India and Israel; Oct 22 203; Political experts and analysts in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir have said that Kashmiris and Palestinians have been victims of India-Israel evil nexus for the last more than seven decades. According to Kashmir Media Service, the political experts and analysts in their interviews and statements in Srinagar said, the illegal occupations of Muslim lands of Kashmir and Palestine are depiction of anti-Islam bond between India and Israel. They said beyond economic cooperation, India and Israel are sharing racist, violent practices to demonize Islam and Muslims. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/10/21/kashmiris-and-palestinians-victims-of-india-israel-evil-nexus-since-decades.html

  

Kashmir Update Week 254 (Oct 9  2023 to OCt 15 2023 )

1             Two martyred; Oct 11 2023; Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred two Kashmiri youth in South Kashmir’s Shopian district. According to Kashmir Media Service, Indian troops and paramilitary forces martyred two youth in a fake encounter during a cordon and search operation in Alshipora area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/10/10/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-a-fake-encounter-in-shopian.html

2             Mosque  ; Oct 14 2023; The caretakers of the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar have accused the Lieutenant Governor’s administration of closing the mosque, preventing Friday prayers, and placing the Kashmir Valley’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq — also chairman of the Hurriyat — under house arrest again. The move comes amid fears that protests against Palestinian deaths in the ongoing conflict would erupt after the prayers. A spokesman of the Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid, the caretaker body for the mosque, said that police officials had closed the gates of the mosque and conveyed that, “Friday prayers will not be allowed today”. 

Kashmir Update Week 253 (Oct 2  2023 to OCt 8 2023 )

1    Human rights: Oct 1 2023; “A global context of shrinking civic space is making it increasingly difficult to properly document, report and respond to cases of reprisals, which means that the number is likely much higher,” said Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris in her presentation to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. The report mentions the situation of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a union of various non-profit organizations based in Srinagar, and the situation of the Centre for Social Development in Manipur among other NGOs that faced reprisals. “The JKCCS, its chair, Mr. Khurram Parvez, and other members of the coalition, were reportedly subject to travel bans, ill-treatment, and arbitrary detention on counter-terrorism charges in relation to their cooperation with the United Nations,” the report said. https://maktoobmedia.com/latest-news/india-among-40-countries-where-people-faced-reprisals-for-cooperating-with-un-on-human-rights/

 2 Two martyred; Oct 2023; Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in Kulgam district. The youth were martyred by Indian troops during a cordon and search operation in Kujjar area of the district. The martyred youth have been identified as Basit Amin Butt from Frisal and Saqib Ahmad Lone from Hawoora, Kulgam. Meanwhile, a Kashmiri man Sahil Bashir Dar, resident of Wanihama, Islamabad district was injured in the firing by unknown persons. He has been shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/10/04/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-kulgam-2.html 

Kashmir Update Week 252 (Sep 25  2023 to OCt 1 2023 )

1   Facebook: Sep 3- 2023:   Nearly three years ago, Facebook’s propaganda hunters uncovered a vast social media influence operation that used hundreds of fake accounts to praise the Indian army’s crackdown in the restive border region of Kashmir and accuse Kashmiri journalists of separatism and sedition. What they found next was explosive: The network was operated by the Indian army’s Chinar Corps, a storied unit garrisoned in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley, the heart of Indian Kashmir and one of the most militarized regions in the world. But when the U.S.-based supervisor of Facebook’s Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior (CIB) unit told colleagues in India that the unit wanted to delete the network’s pages, executives in the New Delhi office pushed back. They warned against antagonizing the government of a sovereign nation over actions in territory it controls. They said they needed to consult local lawyers. They worried they could be imprisoned for treason.  Twitter followed Facebook and quietly removed the Chinar Corps’ parallel network on its platform and shared it with researchers. In private meetings with Facebook and Twitter executives, the army defended its fake accounts and said they were necessary to combat Pakistani disinformation. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/09/29/under-indias-pressure-facebook-let-propaganda-and-hate-speech-thrive.html

2 British Members of Parliament on Kashmir; Oct 2023:  A delegation of the British Members of Parliament called on the Foreign Minister, Jalil Abbas Jilani, today. The delegation included Andrew Gwynne MP, Chairman, Labour Friends of Kashmir UK, Naz Shah MP, Vice Chairperson, Labour Friends of Kashmir UK, and Sam Tarry MP, Vice Chairman, All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Kashmir.The members of the delegation expressed concern over the human rights violations in IIOJK. They maintained that all other human rights flowed from the right to self-determination. Therefore, the Kashmiri people should not be deprived of this inalienable right. https://mofa.gov.pk/british-members-of-parliament-call-on-the-foreign-minister/

3 Two martyred; Oct 1 2023: According to Kashmir Media Service, the troops martyred the youth during a fake encounter in the garb of cordon and search operation in Machil area of the district. According to Kashmir Media Service, the troops martyred the youth during a fake encounter in the garb of cordon and search operation in Machil area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/09/30/indian-troops-martyr-two-kashmiri-youth-in-fake-encounter-in-kupwara.html

  

                                  

Kashmir Update Week 251 (Sep 18  2023 to Sep 24 2023 )

1 Youth martyred; Sep 18 2023; A charred body of a Kashmiri youth, martyred by Indian troops, was found in South Kashmir’s Islamabad district of occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The body was recovered in Gadool area of the district where a massive cordon and search operation continued on the fifth consecutive day on Sunday. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/09/17/charred-body-of-youth-recovered-in-kokarnag-kashmir.html

2 Arundhati Roy on minorities in India; Sep 19 2023; “If you’re living in India right now and if you’re a Muslim, the law applies differently to you,” says an impassioned Arundhati Roy to an intimate audience at a theatre in the small city of Lausanne. It is the night before she will be awarded the prestigious 45th European Essay Prize for lifetime achievement to honour her 25 years of writing and the French translation of her book, “Azadi”, the Urdu word for freedom. The audience hangs on Roy’s every word as she discusses various pressing topics: from the dire realities of minorities in India to Kashmir and Manipur, caste, rising nationalism underwritten by corporate money, climate change and the fight of the Adivasi people. Roy magnifies the hypocrisy of democratic foreign governments attending a press-conference-free G20 Summit recently held in India in trading deals, weapons, planes, and fleets in exchange for silence.  “They know”, Roy says damningly. All G20 dignitaries, though she emphasizes the President of France, Emmanuel Macron and the President of the United States, Joe Biden who both respectively hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this year. Macron extended an invitation to Modi for Bastille Day; an act Roy finds incredulous, while Biden hosted Modi in June.  Roy’s stance is unequivocal; world governments are complicit; they know exactly what is happening under the Modi regime. They know that Kashmir was subject to the most prolonged communication blackout in a democracy. Roy says, “Today there can be no voice from there [Kashmir]. The journalists have been silenced; the press club is closed. The newspaper can only publish either advertisements or government and army press releases. Everybody has to speak up. You cannot say only Kashmiris should speak – they’re not allowed to speak.”  They know about the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 that barefacedly discriminates against Muslims. Roy’s unflinching draws parallels to Nazi Germany reminding us, “the idea of a government asking people to produce a set of documents that it will approve to decide who is a citizen and who is not was last done in Nuremberg by the Third Reich.”  They know about how the Delhi Police forced grievously injured young Muslim men lying on the street to sing the Indian national anthem while they prodded and kicked them. The imagery of a dying man while being forced to recite a national anthem is as gruesome as it is symbolic.  Roy traces the meticulous orchestration, strategic organizing and sinister weaponization of language from right-wing politicians and relentless 24-hour news cycles referring to minorities as “termites” and “illegals” and how successfully this operation has penetrated the public psyche. “When Coronavirus came, it was Muslims are spreading Corona,” echoing historical accusations against the Jewish community by the Nazis that they were spreading typhus. As Roy is awarded the 45th European Essay Prize at the Lausanne Palace, she begins her lecture by saying, “I am going to make an urgent intervention right now”. She explains that her 25 years of writing have mapped step-by-step India’s descent [although she states some see it as an ascent] into majoritarianism and then fascism. Roy has signalled a warning, heed of where India has been heading since it entered the free market and then since the BJP came into power in 1998. She humbly describes herself as a failure – while she is anything but – she says to the audience that her writing has been met with mockery and criticism even in liberal and progressive circles and has not yielded the BJP or fascism from its slow climb to power. “One has written and written and yet things have become deeper, harder, more violent and more frightening”, she says. The time for warning is over. “We are in a different phase of history”, Roy says firmly. This difference is highlighted in the recent hate crimes Roy shares with the audience: a chilling video of a teacher instructing her Hindu students to slap a 7-year-old Muslim boy. While a barbaric civil war has been burning in the state of Manipur, not only did the Manipur police hand over two women to a mob who were paraded naked through a village and gang raped but women who belonged to the same community as the rapists stood by the rapists and even incited their men to rape. Roy explains a “banality of evil”, the sickening regularity of Muslims being publicly lynched and the celebration of lynchers. The process of Muslim segregation and ghettoization, burning down hundreds of Christian churches, shutting down of Amnesty International, mysterious no-fly lists that government critics find themselves on and pressure on academics both local and foreign – they know, she compels. While Biden and Macron were fawning over Modi, Muslims were fleeing a small town in northern India, Uttarakhand, after Hindu extremists marked an “X” on their doors and asked them to leave in their open pursuit of a Muslim-free Uttarakhand. In fact, “there is nothing they don’t know about the man they are embracing”, Roy concludes. Even while knowing, the world powers have consciously chosen to give Modi oxygen. While Western governments peddle narratives of strengthening their economies and countering China’s influence and many are soon up for re-election in their home countries, Roy has a divergent perspective.  Roy does not mince her words: “This is a form of racism, they claim to be democrats, but they are racists. They don’t believe their professed values should apply to non-white countries; it is an old story of course. Democracy for themselves and fascism or whatever else for the non-white world.” Roy goes on to say, “If world governments imagine that the dismantling of democracy in India is not going to affect the whole world, they must indeed be – delusional.”  When Roy says, ‘everybody has to speak’, she is not just referring to the Indian population. While she has always detested the phrase, “giving voice to the voiceless”, she stresses the importance of voice. “It is not about speaking on anyone’s behalf”, she explains, “it is about speaking for yourself on what kind of society you want to live in”. When asked by a Swiss panellist, “What can we do?”, Roy replies – “Speak to your governments”. As the world as a whole grapples with a rising tide of nationalism and authoritarianism, Roy’s words reverberate as an undaunted clarion call. Roy tells the audience that there is a tremendous fight back against fascism in her home country, she also declares, “None of you must pretend you didn’t know what was going on”. In her closing remarks, Roy’s words cut through the air like glass taking her audience as she sometimes does in her writing to a place they fear most. She says unapologetically, “What is happening in India is not that loose variety of internet fascism, it’s the real thing. We have become Nazis. Not just our leaders, not just our TV channels and newspapers but vast sections of our population too. Large numbers of the Indian Hindu population who live in the US, Europe and South Africa support the fascists politically as well as materially. For the sake of our souls, for those of our children and our children’s children, we must stand up. It does not matter whether we fail or succeed, that responsibility is not on India alone.” https://maktoobmedia.com/opinion/listening-to-arundhati-roy-warn-about-india-at-european-essay-prize-event/

3 Two martyred; Sep 20 2023; Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred two Kashmiri youth in south Kashmir Islmabad district. The youth were killed by the troops during continued cordon and search operation in Gadole Kokernag area of the district. The Additional Director General of Police Kashmir zone, Vijay Kumar, on Tuesday claimed that two militants including Uzair Khan have been killed in Gadole gunfight. Additionally, another lifeless body was found.   https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/09/19/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-kashmir.html

4 Turkey on Kashmir; Sep 20 2023; Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan   raked up the Kashmir issue during his address at the United Nations General Assembly, advocating for a resolution through dialogue between India and Pakistan. Erdogan stressed that resolving the Kashmir conflict peacefully would contribute to regional stability in South Asia. https://www.thefinancialworld.com/turkish-president-erdogan-rakes-up-kashmir-at-un/

  

Kashmir Update Week 250 (Sep 11  2023 to Sep 17 2023 )

1       Thune- justice massacre ; Sep  2023; justice continues to elude Kangan the victim families of gory Thune-Kangan massacre for the past 33 years whose near and dear ones lose their lives at the hands of Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in Thune Kangan area on this day in 1990 in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Fifteen people, including Eng Tariqul Islam, Ghulam Muhammad Wani, Frooq Ahmed Lone, Parvaiz Ahmed, driver and conductor of the passenger bus, were martyred and a dozen were injured when the bus, in which they were travelling, was fired and burnt by the Indian BSF personnel. The victim families are still awaiting justice while the perpetrators of this heinous crime continued their state terrorism with black law, Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the territory. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/09/10/years-on-victim-families-of-thune-kangan-massacre-await-justice.html

2       Barkha Dutt on Kashmir; Sep 2 2023; Prominent Indian journalist Barkha Dutt has remained under fire from her fellow countrymen for her book “This Unquiet Land — Stories from India’s Fault Lines” for exposing weaknesses of the present-day India. Besides India, Barkha Dutt dedicated one whole chapter to Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir under title “A CHRONICLE OF KASHMIR”.While penning down her eyewitness account, Barkha Dutt wrote: “Reporting from the state [Jammu and Kashmir] in those years —my lifelong obsession with Kashmir began in the mid-nineties—was to live from crisis to crisis until the only thing your mind could play back was a constant barrage of violent or threatening memories. Curfew at the onset of dusk, silent, empty streets, the silhouette of a suspicious soldier who yelled at you to identify yourself in the gathering dark, the crash of explosions shaking you violently from your sleep, buildings burned to the ground.  The only constant about everyday life at the time was brutality and death”. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/09/11/barkha-dutts-book-very-well-deals-with-indias-weaknesses-brutality-and-death-in-kashmir.html

3       US on Kashmir; Sep 12 2023; "The Biden administration is clearly sidelining human rights in the interest of advancing partnerships with governments it sees as strategically important – and sending a message that the U.S. is willing to tolerate blatant failures to protect and uphold human rights," said Carolyn Nash, Asia advocacy director at Amnesty International. https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-accused-sidelining-vietnam-india-rights-over-strategic-interests-2023-09-12/

4       Modi  and Muslims ; Sep 12 2023;Fanatic supporters of BJP (readers must know that it is not representative of an average Indian) have torn down mosques, burnt shrines and graveyards; they have stopped Muslims on the street and have tortured them until they would yield to the demand of chanting praise for Ram, the Hindu deity; there are evidencing footages, when upon refusal to chant, the Muslims are mercilessly beaten and clubbed to death. Recently, a schoolteacher, possibly a devout follower and disciple of monstrous Modi, asked the entire class to slap their Muslim classmate as a punishment— the pupils queued up and laid their innocent, yet perennially damaging the self-esteem and respect of their classmate, a tight slap on the innocent victims face. That’s India of Modi. The world prefers to turn a blind eye to its farce of being secular. Kashmir has been on fire for almost five decades, and India with its usual disrespect to norms, attempted to rub dust in the eyes of the world opinion by wanting to host the G-20 summit in Srinagar. This blatant diplomatic insult has gone unpunished. Delegates of all countries, barring China, arrived in Srinagar to attend.  The world is besotted by over a billion people market for its goods and services. Economic interest prevails over human dignity. Kashmir, which is home to 7.5 million Muslims, has been under siege of the oppressive Indian military. Today more than 600,000 soldiers not only monitor the movements through curfews and road blocks, but are also ever ready to instigate, so that they can have opportunity to indulge in wholesale massacre, murder, rape, loot and plunder. The world conscience is numb. Again with impudence Modi’s government had the audacity to legislate and make it easier for adherents of several South Asian religions facing atrocities anywhere in the world to acquire citizenship but the legislation pointedly excludes Muslims. This is one major step taken by Modi to convert the secular nature of Indian society into an intolerant Hindu state. Modi has been at the demolition of the Gandhian-Nehruvian principles of peace and tolerance. It all started when the BJP celebrated the tearing down of the Babri mosque at Ayodhaya to build in its place a temple for Ram, the deity. He followed the celebration with a Hitlerite massacre of at least 3000 or more Muslim men, women and children in his native state of Gujarat in 2002. He was filled with pride and arrogance on being labelled a true Hindu nationalist. Modi lives with this belief, obviously that all Muslims of India are essentially Pakistanis — scratch an Indian Muslim only skin deep, and you find a Pakistani is his philosophy. In the last nine years of his rule, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits and other minorities have been beaten to cold death. Instead of dousing religious fanatical sentiments, the BJP government has been prodding die-hard Hindu elements to infuriate and later persecute Muslims. Modi’s philosophy of religious bigotry should be seen as a sign of danger to world peace— Hitler was appeased and the consequences are part of woeful history. If the world community, alongside the by and large tolerant Indian and noble Hindus do not react and stop this madness of religious frenzy at the central government level, we may witness a “Hindu Hitler” who will cleanse not just India, but the entire subcontinent and may be beyond. The madness must stop. Modi has been viciously changing the Muslim names of cities, towns and streets. The cities of Allahbad, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Aligarh, etc., are under the hammer so are the streets of New Delhi , that are named after not just Mughal Emperors but also after the many Muslim other rulers of the subcontinent. By changing names, Modi cannot rewrite history — its present status owes a debt to its glorious past of the last thousand years of Muslim rule that gave India their highest standards and mechanics of revenue collection, district management, arts and culture and above all good governance. Just as India hoodwinked its nonaligned status to the global spectators while it actually was sitting in the lap of Moscow, so is the case today of its appearance as a secular state, which surely it is not. Under Modi, India represents a communal mindset, emerging from the delusional version of Hindutva. If Rahul Gandhi and his I.N.D.I.A. association fail to check his march to win the 2024 general elections, Indians will be dancing around the pyre, upon which will burn to ashes, Indian democracy, alongside the principles of Gandhi and Nehru. If India ceases to be secular, it will cease to be India. The fault lines are many that can crack up and lead to disintegration, starting from Mizoram and others in Northeast and Khalistan in the Northwest. https://www.brecorder.com/news/40262873

5       One martyred; Sep 14 2023; Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one more Kashmiri youth in Rajouri  , the troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Khawa area of the district. This killing raised the number of the martyred youth to two in the area since yesterday. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/09/13/indian-troops-martyr-one-more-kashmiri-youth-in-rajouri.html

6       Political prisoners; Sep 15 2023; According to Kashmir Media Service, the APHC spokesman in a statement issued in Srinagar urged immediate release of Hurriyat leaders including, APHC Chairman Masarrat Aalam Butt, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Aasiya Andrabi, Dr Abdul Hameed Fayyaz, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Naheeda Nasreen, Fehmeeda Sofi, Ayaz Muhammad Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Raja Merajuddin Kalwal, Shahid-ul-Islam, Farooq Ahmed Dar, Syed Shahid Yousuf, Syed Shakeel Yousuf, Muhammad Yusuf Falahi, Muhammad Rafiq Ganai, Bilal Siddiqi, Maulvi Bashir Ahmed, Mushtaq-ul-Islam, Umar Adil Dar, Zaffar Akbar Butt, Sharief Sartaj, Hayat Ahmed Butt, Dr Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo, Ghulam Qadir Butt, Muhammad Shafi Shariati, Showkat Hakeem, Merajuddin Nanda, Zahoor Ahmed Butt, Shabir Ahmed Dar, Firdous Ahmed Shah, Jahangir Ghani Butt, Saleem Nanaji, Sajad Hussain Gul, Muhammad Yasin Butt, Malik Noor Fayaz and others languishing in different jails of India and IIOJK. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/09/14/aphc-expresses-concern-over-plight-of-kashmiri-political-prisoners-demands-their-release.html

7       War of independence not terrorism; Sep 17 2023; Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the general counsel for the Sikh for Justice (SFJ), stated on Saturday that the killings of Indian soldiers in occupied Kashmir are not due to the acts of terrorism but from the conflict with indigenous Kashmiri freedom fighters. In a video statement, the SFJ representative said that the freedom fighters were native to Kashmir and possessed the right to freedom, akin to the right of the people in Punjab, including Sikhs who had the right to reclaim their homeland from what they viewed as unlawful Indian occupation  https://dunyanews.tv/en/World/755680-Conflict,-not-terrorism-claiming-lives-of-Indian-soldiers-in-Kashmir:-SF

8       Three martyred; Sep 17 2023; Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three more Kashmiri youth in a fake encounter in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, toda. The troops martyred the youth during a so-called cordon and search operation in Uri area of Baramulla district. The troops also continued their violent search operations in different areas of Islamabad, Pulwama, Kulgam, Rajouri and Poonch districts. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/09/16/indian-troops-martyr-three-more-youth-in-a-fake-encounter-in-iiojk.html

9       False flag operations ; Sep 17 2023; Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strategy of accusing Pakistan of supporting terrorism in India to gain electoral support has once again taken center stage, with recent incidents raising concerns of false flag operations aimed at diverting attention and achieving political goals. Reports from Indian media on September 16 revealed that several officers and soldiers of the Indian Army were killed in an encounter with “terrorists” in the Uri sector of Baramulla. Just days earlier, on September 12, news of a similar alleged operation by Indian forces in Anantnag had surfaced.

  

Kashmir Update Week 249 (Sep 4  2023 to Sep 11 2023 )

1 Kashmir, Palestine and Rohingya were discussed during I|SNA Convention; Chicago. September 2, 2023; Dr. Mir added, “Fast forward to 2014, when the worst that could happen did happen not only to Kashmir but to India itself. The butcher of Gujarat, Narender Modi, the mastermind of the 2004 Gujarat Muslim Massacre, rose to power in New Delhi. It was as if Hitler was born again, this time in India. The writing was on the wall for those who could see, including the US president, Barack Obama, who lifted the 10-year travel ban to the US on Modi. The Times Magazine’s May 2019 cover page rightly called him “divider in chief” of India for using Hundutvadi ideologies to divide India on religious sentiments. In August 2019, Modi revoked Kashmir’s semiautonomous status and imposed a media and internet blackout on the state. Also, India built up a massive military in the area, coupled with a shutdown and curfew in the valley to cut it off virtually and physically from the whole world. Thousands of additional Indian troops were deployed, a major Hindu pilgrimage was canceled, schools and colleges were shut, tourists were ordered to leave, telephone and internet services were suspended, and thousands of youth and resistance leaders and activists were detained. The BJP wants to change the demographic character of the Muslim-majority region by allowing non-Kashmiris to buy land there.” “Currently, Kashmir is now a full-fledged settler-colonial project. A genocidal and ethnic cleansing plan is in place. Under the new Domicile Law, 4.2 million Indian Hindus have been issued domicile certificates. Floodgates have been opened to demographically flood Kashmir with non-Kashmiri Indian settlers to dilute the Muslim population,” Dr. Mir warned. Mir continued, “India also resorts to harsh techniques, including attacks on Muslim spaces, such as repression of educational and religious institutions, and endowments and places of worship. Thousands of innocent Kashmiri civilians of all ages have been incarcerated for variable periods in Indian prisons over the last seven decades, starting in 1947. Some of the political prisoners have been languishing in the jails for decades, like Shabir Ahmad Shah and some for years, like Yasin Malik, Masarat Aalam, Aasia Andrabi and internationally known human rights activist Khurram Parvez.” Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness Forum was the Emcee of the event. Dr. Fai said that Kashmir, Palestine and Rohingya genocide are the three important international conflicts. We do not need to tell the Palestinians and Kashmiris what they want. They should be provided the full opportunity to decide whatever they want without any external pressure or compulsion. That choice was given to Palestinians under UN Security Council resolution # 43, 46 and 48 which were adopted in April 1948; and to Kashmiris under UN Security Council resolution # 47, adopted on April 21, 1948. The denial of the right to self-determination to the people of Palestine and Kashmir is a clear danger to the international peace and security. Dr. Fai added that Rohingya genocide cannot and should not go unnoticed. More than 1 million Rohingya Muslims have fled and are living in refugee camps in different parts of the world. The pain and suffering of Rohingya Muslims are a challenge to the world conscience. Time has come that the United Nations need to intervene in all these three situations to bring peace to the region of South Asia and Middle East.

 2 EU on Kashmir ; Sep 5 2023;The head of the separatist Kashmir Council EU, Ali Raza Syed on Monday claimed in Brussels that the European Union will raise the issue of so-called rights violation in Jammu and Kashmir during the G20 Summit here. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the European Union has also reportedly said that he will share the concerns with the Indian counterparts on appropriate occasions. He also holds positions at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. https://www.dailypioneer.com/2023/india/eu-will-raise-rights-violation-in-j-k-during-g20--kashmir-council-eu-head-ali-raza.html

3 Two martyred; Sep 7 2023; Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two youth in Poonch district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.The youth were martyred during a cordon and search operation of the Indian troops in the Mandi area of the district. The search operation was going on in the area till last reports came in. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/09/06/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-poonch.html 

 

Kashmir Update Week 248 (Aug 28  2023 to Sep 3 2023 )

1 Civilian martyred; Aug 30 2023;  Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred a 42-year-old civilian in Kupwara district in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The troops martyred the civilian identified as Mukhtar Ahmad Shah during a cordon and search operation on the intervening night of 28-29 Augustin Haridal area of Teetwal, Karnah area of the district. The deceased’s body was found in Pingla Haridal village https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/08/29/indian-troops-martyr-civilian-in-kupwara.html

2 Sikh on Chinese map; Aug  31 2023; General Counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has commended China for including Arunachal Pradesh in the latest version of its standard map published earlier this week. In an official statement, Pannun pointed out that China's action is well-founded, as India is occupying Arunachal Pradesh, Kashmir, and Punjab (Khalistan), which rightfully belong elsewhere. China introduced its new "official map" on Monday, encompassing Arunachal Pradesh, the Aksai Chin region, Taiwan, and the contentious South China Sea. https://www.geo.tv/latest/507560-sfj-applauds-chinas-inclusion-of-arunachal-pradesh-in-latest-map

3 August cost of struggle; Sep 2 2023;  Indian troops in their unabated acts of state terrorism martyred eight Kashmiris in the last month of August in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).According to the data issued by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service, today, the Kashmiris were martyred in different fake encounters while three women were widowed and eleven children were orphaned by the Indian troops. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/09/01/indian-troops-martyr-eight-kashmiris-in-august.html

 

 

 

 

Kashmir Update Week 247 (Aug 21 31 2023 to Aug 27 2023 )

1.     UN on Kashmir; Aug 22 2023 ; Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, raised the alarm about the nearly decade-long detention of Gokarakonda Naga "GN" Saibaba, a long-standing defender of the rights of minorities in India. "India's persistent detention of human rights defender GN Saibaba is an inhumane and senseless act," the independent expert's statement said. The expert warned that Saibaba's health "has severely deteriorated in detention." "He should be released." https://tribune.com.pk/story/2431834/india-must-end-inhumane-detention-of-activist-un-rights-expert

2.     Line of Control ; Aug 22 2023; The Indian Army resorted to unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Nikial Sector on Monday, targeting innocent civilians which resulted in the martyrdom of a 60-year-old man, the military said. Acording to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the deceased, identified as Ghias, was a resident of Oli village in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Koti district. The incident also left three women, who were cutting grass in the fields, traumatised. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2431800/one-civilian-martyred-as-india-again-breaches-loc-truce

3.     KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN INDIAN-ADMINISTERED KASHMIR  July 1, 2023 - July 31, 2023  ; Aug 22 2023; In July 2023, Indian authorities continued to commit grave human rights violations in Indian administered Kashmir (IAK). Indian forces killed at least twelve people in IAK, including an infant  Rohingya refugee. The Jammu & Kashmir administration continued to crack down on free expression,  including by continuing to terminate public sector employees who purportedly hold dissenting or  disfavored views and eliminating celebrated Kashmiri literature from university curricula. The  administration also continued to target human rights defenders and dissenters in IAK, including through  the cancellation of passports. The administration continued to escalate forced demographic change in  the region, including through the announced distribution of public land to 199,000 people. Numerous Kashmiri journalists, human rights defenders, political activists and dissenters continue to be  arbitrarily detained. Indian authorities continue to use the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978  (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as tools for persecution, including through  preventative, prolonged and repeated detentions. In a case emblematic of the repression of Kashmiri  journalists, Aasif Sultan, arbitrarily detained on August 27, 2018, remains illegally imprisoned. As of the  date of this publication, Sultan has been detained for 1,814 days. In a case emblematic of the repression  of Kashmiri human rights defenders and civil society, Khurram Parvez, arbitrarily detained on November  22, 2021, remains illegally imprisoned in a maximum-security facility in New Delhi

4 Kashmiri lecturer suspended days after pleading against abrogation of Article 370 in Supreme Court; Aug 7 2023;  A Kashmiri lecturer was suspended from the Union Territory’s education department by the Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor’s administration in Srinagar, four days after he pleaded against the abrogation of Article 370 before the Supreme Court. The School Education Department has placed Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, a senior lecturer of political science under suspension with immediate effect for violation of provisions of Jammu & Kashmir Civil Service Regulations, Jammu & Kashmir Government Employees Conduct Rules and J&K Leave Rules.Bhat, who also possesses a law degree, appeared for himself before the Supreme Court on August 23.

 

   

Kashmir Update Week 246 (Aug 14 31 2023 to Aug 20 2023 )

1.     North Bengal; Aug 16 2023; The Bimal Gurung-led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) on Monday joined hands with two other separatist forces -- Kamtapur Progressive Party (KPP) and Beer Birsha Munda Unmilan Samiti (BBMUS) -- extending the ambit for the proposed Gorkhaland state. GJM spearheads the movement for separate Gorkhaland state proposed to be carved out of the hills of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong and the plains and Terai and Dooars in North Bengal.  https://www.socialnews.xyz/2023/08/14/gjm-joins-hand-with-two-separatist-forces-demanding-separate-statehood-for-north-bengal/

2.     Sikh protest; Aug 6 2023;  Carrying black flags, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and Dal Khalsa on the eve of India’s Independence Day staged a massive demonstration in Ludhiana against India's atrocities, injustices, political subjugation and denial of rights to Punjab and Sikhs in the last seven decades. Hundreds of activists of both the Sikh hardliner groups marched on the streets of the industrial city and held a two hour demonstration at Ludhiana's famous Jagraon bridge.  https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=169575

3.     Kashmiris observe India’s Independence Day as Black Day ; August 15 2023: Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and the world over observed the Indian Independence Day, today, as Black Day in protest against New Delhi’s illegal occupation of their homeland. The Kashmiris across the world are staging anti-India demonstrations to draw world’s attention towards the Indian brutalities in the occupied territory. The leaders said India is rejoicing on its freedom but killing Kashmiris for demanding the same. Isn’t it a matter of shame for New Delhi? They pointed out that Indian armed forces has mercilessly killed over 500,000 Kashmiris in last 76 years but is still observing its Independence Day in the territory shamelessly. New Delhi, they added, is celebrating its freedom from Britishers, today, but denying the same to the IIOJK people. .Meanwhile, Indian troops, paramilitary and police personnel were deployed in strength in every nook and corner of the territory, subjecting the people to immense discomfort.A multi-layer security blanket involving helicopter reconnaissance and drone surveillance was put in place to ensure smooth conduct of India’s Independence Day celebrations in Kashmir. Elite Special Operational Group personnel assisted by Indian army and paramilitary forces carried out area domination exercises around city centre Lal Chowk and Bakshi stadium, the venue of the main Independence Day function in the valley. The troops frisked vehicles and passersby. Posters again appeared in different areas of the territory. The posters said that India had invaded Jammu and occupied Kashmir forcibly against the will of Kashmiri people. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/08/15/kashmiris-observe-indias-independence-day-as-black-day.html

4.     One martyred; Aug 19 2023; Another innocent Kashmiri youth has fallen to the bullets of Indian troops in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The youth was injured due to the firing of the troops during a cordon and search operation in Budhal area of Rajouri district on the 5th of this month. The troops had martyred another youth in the area on the same day. The injured youth later succumbed to his injuries and his body was recovered in Dhakikot area of Reasi district, today. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/08/18/one-more-youth-falls-to-indian-bullets-in-iiojk.html

5.     Rape as weapon of war; Aug 20 2023; Political experts and analysts in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir have said that India is using rape as a military tactic to punish and humiliate the Kashmiris for challenging its illegal occupation of their homeland. The political experts and analysts in their interviews and statements in Srinagar said molestation of women during cordon and search operations in IIOJK is being used as a tool by Indian troops to terrorize the entire population. They said 11,256 cases of rape, gang-rape and molestation by Indian troops have been reported in IIOJK since 1990. The political experts and analysts referred to the Kunanposhpora mass rape as an example of targeting of the Kashmiri women by the occupation troops. Indian troops had gang-raped around 100 Kashmiri women in Kunanposhpora area of Kupwara district on the intervening night of February 23 and 24 in 1991. They said that rape is sanctioned as a matter of official policy in IIOJK. They pointed out that the Kashmiri women are facing unending trauma due to sexual violence at the hands of Indian forces’ personnel. The political experts and analysts maintained that the international rights’ bodies have documented many cases of rape and gang rape by Indian troops in IIOJK. They deplored that not a single Indian soldier or policeman involved in these crimes has been punished so far due to the impunity given to the Indian forces under draconian laws. They said that the international community must wake up to contain the sexual violence being used by India as war tactic in IIOJK. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/08/19/india-using-rape-as-a-military-tactic-to-humiliate-kashmiris-for-challenging-its-rule.html

6.      

 

 

Kashmir Update Week 245(Aug 7 31 2023 to Aug 13 2023 )

1.  One martyred: Aug 7 2023 Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred a Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmiri, today. The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Amrohi area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/08/06/indian-troops-martyr-youth-in-kupwara.html 

Kashmir Update Week 244(Jul 31 2023 to Aug 7 2023 )

1        India going to extreme right: Aug 3, 2023:Since 2014, under the rule of the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a new chapter has being authored in India’s history, whereby the country has come to deviate from the basic principles of democracy, minority rights, and executive accountability. This needs greater recognition and urgent action. Democracy is under increasing threat from authoritarianism in India. While the trappings of procedural democracy exist, the mere holding of elections does not guarantee whether people will be able to exercise their rights without fear, whether constitutional bodies will be able to act without the need to show favour, or ensure an elected government will act in ways that respect the rights of minorities. The 2014 elections in India brought the Modi-led BJP to power on the promise of delivering development and Hindu nationalism (Hindutva). The 2019 elections – where BJP election spending was at the time the highest in the world, and partly funded by a new, unique, and opaque instrument of party-financing called the electoral bonds – focused on nationalism and Hindu majoritarian appeals almost exclusively. Over the last decade, India has gone through a series of spectacular upheavals resulting from centralised and divisive decisions; these include the sudden demonetisation of a majority of the country’s paper currency in 2016, the overnight abrogation of autonomy and change of statehood for the Indian administered region of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, and the creation of a religious route to Indian citizenship with the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2021. Meanwhile, routine changes to rules, institutions, and processes that often don’t make the headlines but are radically transformative in how they seek to curb free expression, suppress political opposition, and narrow accountability have also occurred. At different times, academics and students at universities, farmers, media persons, human rights activists, tribal leaders, atheists, and sportswomen have all faced intimidation. Some have been beaten up. Others have faced charges of sedition and imprisonment for simply expressing dissent. Insurgent and indigenous populations in the country have witnessed a growing repression in response to demands for political freedoms, and religious minorities, especially Muslims and increasingly Christians, have been constantly “Othered” and attacked on fabricated charges. Muslims have faced lynchings on the sole suspicion of possessing beef. Christians have been attacked on charges of allegedly seeking to carry out faith conversions. Governing through a mix of what I have called “postcolonial neoliberal nationalism,”  the BJP is supported, controversially, by large conglomerates (like Gautam Adani and Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani from Modi’s home state of Gujarat) and a far-right, nation-wide paramilitary group called the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) with its militant Hindu nationalist family of organisations (Sangh Parivar). Hindutva adherents deploy a proliferating vocabulary of “Jihad” accusations as a way to attack Muslim fellow citizens; here, an insinuation of Jihad is made against different aspects of Muslim life and livelihood. The most prominent of these is the conspiracy theory of “Love Jihad,” which is the allegation that inter-faith marriages, particularly between Muslim men and Hindu women, are part of a sinister, planned conspiracy. Likewise, Muslims are blamed for spreading the coronavirus, for buying land, for selling vegetables (“Corona Jihad,” “Land Jihad,” “Vegetable Seller Jihad”) and much more, in turn exposing them to social ostracism or violent retaliation from the Hindu right-wing. India’s ruling party does not have a single elected Muslim member of parliament, and textbooks in the country were recently revised to delete mentions of prominent Muslim forebears or eras. The zeitgeist of Islamophobia in India is multidimensional and pervasive; it manifests in various registers so that Muslim Indian citizens are seen as suspect, Kashmiri Muslims are constructed as latent terrorists, Muslim refugees such as the Rohingya are called pests, and neighbouring Pakistan is represented as an existential enemy as opposed to a rival. Faced with growing violence, effective democracy requires functioning checks and balances, but the mechanisms for seeking accountability are often rusty and rare. Court appeals are notoriously slow and, in many significant cases, judicial quietude has been eminently on display. The television media in India is not polarised in the standard sense with different extreme perspectives on display, but uniformly disciplined through aggressive corporate takeovers and enforced political perception management. Oversight bodies, such as the Enforcement Directorate, have been selective in pursuit of cases against opposition politicians. The leader of the prominent opposition Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi, has appealed to the Supreme Court following a judgement by Gujarat High Court in which he was disqualified from parliament on the accusation of defaming the surname “Modi.” Meanwhile, there is a critical and accelerating push towards digital authoritarianism through a mix of increased surveillance and changes to legal provisions. BJP “IT cells” (Information Technology cells) farm Hindutva trolls who have been known to resort to graphic misogyny, gender-trolling, and coordinated abuse. Whatsapp is a prime means of spreading misinformation and disinformation. Social media companies censor content at government requests, which are at unprecedented levels, and the rates of internet shutdowns across provinces have also increased.  Modi’s face is plastered on every other billboard and it is well-nigh impossible to open a newspaper that does not carry his image every day. Reflecting unusual levels of narcissism in public, he once wore a suit with his own name stitched in gold all over it, and is known to crave the camera in staged settings. Meanwhile, he does not engage with serious allegations made by a governor-rank figure against his handling of Kashmir’s politics or the Pulwama attacks. Aside from courting diaspora Indians overseas through appeal to a nativist pride, and participating in choreographed spectacles with assorted far-right international leaders, he keeps to a teleprompter script, offers a highly curated and benign presence on his weekly radio program and on twitter, and touts women’s empowerment while maintaining a studious silence in the face of the most egregious violence in the country (whether it is anti-minority lynchings by Hindu mobs or savage gang-rapes such as that of the 8 year old Aasifa in Kathua in 2018 or the Kuki-Zo tribal Christian women in Manipur in 2023). The Modi myth proffers the idea of a paternal, ascetic, and efficient leader at the helm of a civilisational resurgence of India as a “Vishwa Guru” (world leader). In parallel, Modi’s foreign policy is marked by notable Indian refusals to vote at the UN against Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine and the curious absence of any reference to China in his speech following the Galwan confrontation on the Indo-China border in Ladakh. Modi’s Home Minister, Amit Shah, refers to India as having its own non-Western version of human rights – “human rights with Indian characteristics” – which is a remarkable adaptation of China’s “democracy with Chinese characteristics.” Indian and Chinese attitudes share several similarities towards the populations of contiguous regions of Kashmir and Xinjiang respectively, and the rhetoric of anti-Western assertion is common to both countries. Modi’s External Affairs Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, pushes back against international concerns of democratic erosion and escalating violence against minorities by calling for an end to colonial mentalities, thus weaponising Western history to restrict current critique. Political projects inimical to democracy in multiple countries are led by “Electorally Legitimated Misogynist Authoritarian (ELMA)” leaders who claim a monopoly on nationalism. Further, they come to power challenging neoliberalism, while profiting from crony capitalism. Along with the “Modi-fication” of the county in the last decade, India has seen its global rankings for democracy, media freedom, religious freedom, poverty, and hunger slip. Strategic minilateral engagements and the needs of economic statecraft notwithstanding, any facile Western notion that a country rapidly turning to authoritarianism can offer a counter to an authoritarian China needs careful re-examination. https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/increasing-authoritarianism-in-india-under-narendra-modi/

2. Narendra Modi Is Using Brutal Repression to Silence the People of Kashmir:BYSOMDEEP SEN: Aug 3 2023: For decades, the Indian state has suppressed the democratic rights of Kashmiris. Narendra Modi’s hard-right government is taking this pattern of repression to new extremes, with the complicity of Indian intellectuals who seek to toxify the cause of Kashmir India-controlled Kashmir is one of the most heavily militarized zones in the world, and any public display of a persistent Kashmiri national struggle meets with swift, violent, and indiscriminate repression. This pattern of silencing extends to the field of discourse as well. The Indian political mainstream views any reference to Kashmiri rights and aspirations, whether spoken or written, as a manifestation of “fundamentalism,” “radicalism,” or (Pakistani-inspired) “terrorism.” The hard-right, Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi has carried this vilification of Kashmiris to new heights. The record of the Indian state’s repressive ways in Kashmir is extensive and well documented, going back decades before Narendra Modi’s rise to power. In 1993, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report titled “Rape in Kashmir: A Crime of War.” It showed that the Indian security forces routinely targeted civilians in the course of their efforts to quell the Kashmiri independence struggle, with rape used as a tool of counterinsurgency. The report concluded that the security forces were “attempting to punish and humiliate the entire community” through systematic sexual violence against women. Another HRW report published the same year documented the routine torture of Kashmiri detainees as well as harassment and assault of health workers who were providing care. According to the report’s authors, the Indian authorities even “prevented ambulance drivers from transporting injured persons to hospitals for emergency care.” The impunity with which the Indian armed forces have operated in the Kashmir Valley receives legal sanction from the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. This piece of legislation gives them emergency powers to maintain public order in so-called disturbed areas — all of which, civil society organizations argue, violate international human rights law. There is ample evidence of this. Along with the acknowledged civilian death toll, there is the practice of enforced disappearances of Kashmiri men. Human rights activists estimated that between eight thousand and ten thousand people were “disappeared” between 1988 and 2007, approximately 60 percent of whom were civilians. People refer to the wives of the disappeared, who have often been missing for decades without being officially declared dead, as “half widows.” There have also been several discoveries of unmarked mass graves in Kashmir. Eyewitnesses claim that those graves were dug under instruction from the Indian security forces, and that they contain the bodies of the missing Kashmiri men. Since Modi took office, repression in Kashmir has been even more severe. Since 2010, the security forces have been using pellet guns as a supposedly “nonlethal” weapon for crowd control. In 2016 alone, they fired 1.2 million metal pellets in response to protests in the valley. The pellets left six thousand people injured, with 782 suffering eye injuries. Writing in the Guardian, journalist Mirza Waheed described it as an exercise in “mass blinding.”A young Kashmiri student I spoke to in Mumbai describes the conditions in the state: Stone pelting doesn’t happen that much anymore. But if anything does happen, the Indian soldiers quickly pick up anyone in sight. They will arrest you, take your paperwork, take your passport. In fact, in some cases, they will seize your property. This is normal in Kashmir. In 2019, the Indian parliament revoked Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution that granted autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir. Most significantly, Article 35A had allowed the Kashmiri Legislative Assembly to “define permanent residents.” In effect, this gave it the authority to maintain the valley’s Kashmiri identity. The Indian state has engaged in a concerted effort to settle non-Kashmiris in the region and alter its demographic makeup. Using the Jammu Kashmir Public Safety Act, a preventive detention law, the authorities have conducted raids and arbitrarily detained politicians, activists, and journalists. In 2022, pro-government journalists joined forces with the police to storm and shut down the premises of the independent Kashmir Press Club. One form of toxification is the portrayal of voices in support of Kashmir as “anti-national.” In 2020, the police booked Kashmiri photojournalist Masrat Zahra under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), accusing her of engaging in “anti-national activities.” The act allows the state to suppress any activities deemed to be against the interests, integrity, and sovereignty of the state. Zahra was charged with “criminal intentions to induce the youth” through her posts on Facebook, which mostly included archives of her previously published work. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), a specialist counterterrorism agency, also invoked the UAPA against Khurram Parvez, coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and chairperson of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD). Parvez was accused of a series of offenses such as “criminal conspiracy,” “conspiracy to wage war against the Government of India,” and “raising funds for terror activities.” A coalition of human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Front Line Defenders, denounced the charges against Parvez as an attempt to “silence and intimidate human rights defenders.”The same process of toxification applies to the written word, with articles both academic and journalistic equating the Kashmiri struggle with terrorism or Pakistan’s “proxy war.” They do not offer any substantial engagement with the call for Kashmiri rights and a national homeland. A review by Sumit Ganguly in Foreign Policy of journalist Azad Essa’s book, Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance Between India and Israel, offers a recent example. In his account of the politics of Kashmir, Essa places the national struggle at center stage. Yet Ganguly was quick to dismiss this as “polemic” and a “one-sided account,” accusing Essa of parroting a “tired Pakistani narrative” on Kashmir. When India recently paraded the delegates attending the G20 tourism meeting through Kashmir, it was meant to show the world that Modi’s government had brought normalcy, peace, and prosperity to the valley. But in stark contrast to this performance, the young Kashmiri students I spoke to fear the ongoing violence of the state security forces. They were worried about being “picked up” at the airport, detained by the local police during a random ID check, or simply made to disappear on the way home. They were equally aware that the ease with which they can simply disappear reflects the way that the Indian state has worked to make the entire Kashmiri national struggle disappear. In a country that has sharply swerved toward the right under the rule of Modi, it is not surprising that Kashmiris have been targeted, along with critical journalists and political campaigners. After all, they are the only ones standing in the way of India’s full-fledged shift to authoritarianism.

3. One martyred: Aug 6 2023: Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred a Kashmiri youth in Rajouri district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Khaws area of the district.  https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/08/05/indian-troops-martyr-youth-in-rajouri.html

4. Protest: Aug 6 2023: Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control, in Pakistan and the world over are observing today, the 5th August, as Youm-e-Istehsal-e-Kashmir to register their protest and defiance against Narendra Modi-led Hindutva Indian government’s illegal and fraudulent action taken on this day in 2019.The Modi regime, in gross violation of the UN resolutions and international law, repealed the special status of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and imposed unprecedented military siege in the territory on this day in 2019. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/08/05/kashmiris-observing-youm-e-istehsal-kashmir-today.html

 

 

Human rights violations                                                   

   

Kashmir Update Week 243(Jul 24 2023 to July 29 2023 )

1 Human rights; July 25 2023: Indian forces continued state terrorism and gross human rights violations during the so-called cordon and search operations in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.A report released by Kashmir Media Service maintained that the Indian troops, paramilitary and police personnel martyred 10 Kashmiris and arrested over a hundred people including Hurriyat activists in last two weeks in different districts of the territory.“Gross and systematic human rights violations are being perpetrated by Indian troops on daily basis in IIOJK. Modi should know that no amount of Indian brutalization will be able to subjugate the Kashmiris. World history is witness to the fact that freedom movements can never be suppressed through oppression,” it said. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/07/24/indian-troops-martyred-10-kashmiris-arrested-over-hundred-in-two-weeks.html

2. One martyred: July 26 2023: Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred a youth in Samba district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The youth was martyred by Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in Ramgarh area of the district late Monday night. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/07/25/indian-troops-martyr-one-youth-in-samba.html

3. Colonizing Kashmir: July 28 2023: Making Kashmir a case in point, historian Hafsa Kanjwal’s new book, Colonizing Kashmir, delves into the intricate processes of territorial imperialism by India - one of the leading champions of decolonisation and the non-aligned movement in the post-World War II era. Her book aims to unravel how India’s postcolonial nationalistic discourse entrenched its colonial foothold in Kashmir  Making Kashmir a case in point, historian Hafsa Kanjwal’s new book, Colonizing Kashmir, delves into the intricate processes of territorial imperialism by India - one of the leading champions of decolonisation and the non-aligned movement in the post-World War II era. Her book aims to unravel how India’s postcolonial nationalistic discourse entrenched its colonial foothold in Kashmir https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/india-kashmir-colonising-book-flawed-narrative-challenges

4. Women disappearances: July 29 2023: In a disturbing revelation, Indian government has admitted the disappearance of around 10,000 innocent women in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The Srinagar-based Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons has documented custodial disappearance of over 8,000 innocent Kashmiris after they were picked up by Indian Army, paramilitary and police personnel since January 1989. Many of those are believed to be killed in fake encounters by Indian troops in different areas of IIOJK. Human rights defenders and organizations are of the opinion that the unnamed mass graves scattered across the occupied territory contain the bodies of the victims of these fake encounter, Now the Indian Minister of State for Home, Ajay Mishra, told Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Indian Parliament, the other day that 9,765 women in the categories above and below 18 have gone missing in occupied Kashmir since 2019. He informed that in these three years, there were 1148 cases of missing girls below the age of 18 and 8,617 women aged above 18. Political experts say that mental torture, arrests, interrogation, questioning and harassment during crackdown operations and house raids by the Indian forces’ personnel and sleuths of dreaded agencies like National Investigation Agency and State Investigation Agency in Kashmir Valley and Muslim areas of the Jammu region are the main reasons behind the disturbing phenomenon. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/07/28/indian-govt-admits-disappearance-of-around-10000-women-in-iiojk.html 

Kashmir Update Week 242(Jul 17 2023 to July 23 2023 )

1 Two martyred: July 18 2023: Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two youth in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, today. The youth were martyred by the troops during a violent cordon and search operation in Poonch district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/07/17/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-poonch-district.html

2. Four martyred: July 19 2023; Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred four more youth in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, today, raising the toll to six during the past 24 hours. The youth were martyred by the troops during a violent cordon and search operation in Surankote area of the district. On Monday, the troops had martyred two youth during the operation in the general area of Poonch district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/07/18/indian-troops-martyr-four-more-youth-in-poonch-district.html

3. Two martyred: July 20 2023: Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two more Kashmiri youth in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, today. The troops martyred these youth during a violent cordon and search operation in Machil area of Kupwara district.These fresh killings raised the number of the martyred youth to eight since Monday. The troops martyred two youth in Poonch district on Monday and four others in the same district on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Indian troops shot at and critically injured two forest department employees Jahangir Ahmad and Imran Yousuf when they were patrolling during the night in Sonabanjar area of Pulwama district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/07/19/indian-troops-martyr-2-more-kashmiri-youth-in-iiojk-8-since-monday.html

 

Kashmir Update Week 241(Jul 10 2023 to July 17 2023 )

1 Kashmiri Americans Will Observe July 13^th As the Martyrs Day: Dr. Fai; Washington, D.C. July 12^h, 2023.; Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, ‘World Kashmir Awareness Forum’, made an imperative appeal for the world powers to recognize the long-standing wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people as they observe Martyrs Day, July 13^th.  It was on July 13, 1931, that the foreign occupying Dogra troops shot dead 22 Kashmiris, in cold blood, in front of Srinagar Central Jail. Since that ominous day, Kashmiris have organized peaceful protests, seminars, and conferences throughout the world.  They will observe the Martyrs Day to reaffirm their resolve to continue their struggle for self-determination and pay homage to more than 100,000 innocent men, women and children killed brutally by Indian occupation forces within the past 33 years

2 Martyrs’ Day; July 14 2023;  Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control, in Pakistan and the world over, observed the Martyrs’ Day, today, to pay homage to the martyrs of July 13, 1931 and all other Kashmiri martyrs. According to Kashmir Media Service, the shops remained closed in Nowhatta, Rajouri Kadal and several parts of the Srinagar city in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP occupation authorities did not allow people to visit Martyrs’ Graveyard at Naqshband Sahib in Srinagar to pay homage to the martyrs of 13 July 1931 who are buried there. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/07/13/kashmiris-observe-martyrs-day-3.html

 

Kashmir Update Week 240(Jul 2 2023 to July 9 2023 )

1 Kashmir is facing existential threat due to criminal negligence of world powers: Dr. Imtiaz Khan; Washington, D.C. July 4, 2023; “Currently there is religious persecution going on in Kashmir and this incident does not come as a surprise. During my recent visit when I landed in the capital Srinagar, it had appearances of Hindu holy city. Hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims are being pumped in under the pretext of visiting newly discovered religious shrines. They are being provided facilities for extended stays with the goal of finally settling them in Kashmir. Huge swaths of land are being acquired and confiscated from local Muslim population to accommodate the settlers. Fanatic Hindus from India since last 4 years have been provided domicile certificates and the process is being proceeded with high exigency. The goal is to change the demographic character of the area and transform it to a Hindu majority state. Ultimate plan is to bring in Hindu government and approach international community or UN for conducting plebiscite and with the transformation of population the outcome of this exercise will be in their favor,” this was stated by Dr. Imtiaz Khan, Professor at George Washington University Medical Center, when asked by an interviewer of Saalamedia TV about a recent incident of the forced entry of Indian occupation forces into the mosque where at gun point the worshippers were made to chant slogans for Hindu god. Dr. Khan added that it gives shivers down my spine to state that Indian occupied Kashmir is facing an existential threat and criminal negligence of world powers will facilitate the execution of this evil design. Everyday killings, molestation of women, stealing of valuables by occupation forces is continuing with impunity. In pre-Modi era they use to target the youth who were taken to army camps, murdered and their dead bodies thrown outside their homes. With the dawn of Modi era, the bodies are disposed off in the army camps and the loved ones are not provided opportunity to perform the last rites. In one such incident in the valley a practicing dentist was murdered by the occupation forces and in response to intense protests the remains were handed to the family. The amount of repression and fear instilled into the people can be gauged by the fact that the father of deceased profusely thanked the central government’s administrator of occupied Kashmir. There was no demand for inquiry into this horrendous act as the person felt that he is luckier than number of others who don’t have opportunity to have the last glimpse of their loved ones. Lot can be and needs to be done to neutralize this catastrophic scenario. It is evident that notwithstanding these horrific measures by Indian government, freedom leaving population of Kashmir will never surrender. However, region which is surrounded by three nuclear powers will become highly unstable and it is not far-fetched to presume that it will lead to a nuclear catastrophe. International community should be made aware about the potential impending cataclysm that will result due to non-resolution of Kashmir issue; Dr. Khan warned. Dr. Khan felt very dismayed to witness the recent red-carpet treatment of Modi by President Biden. This treatment has disappointed the freedom and peace-loving people in America and around the world. There are documented evidences about the mass murders committed by Modi and his cahoots. United States as a cradle for liberty and justice should take a lead role in impressing upon Modi to start negotiations with genuine leadership of Kashmir and Pakistan so that this thorny issue is resolved, and region can live in peace. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary general, ‘World Kashmir Awareness Forum’ responded when asked by the interviewer to describe the Kashmir conflict. “The Kashmir question is one of the oldest unresolved international problems in the world. It prevails in what is recognized – under international law – as a disputed territory. According to the international agreements between India and Pakistan, negotiated by the United Nations and endorsed by the Security Council, the territory’s status is to be determined by the free vote of its people under the supervision of the United Nations. Kashmir represent a government’s repression not of a secessionist or separatist movement but of an uprising against foreign occupation, an occupation that was expected to end under the determinations made by the United Nations. The people of Kashmir are not and cannot be called separatists because they cannot secede from a country like India, to which they have never acceded to in the first place. In response to another question, Dr. Fai responded that the situation in Kashmir may have been ‘manageable’ for India and certainly for the world outside, including the United States, but it has entailed the unparalleled atrocities that are being daily committed by the Indian occupation regime on innocent civilians in the Vale of Kashmir. Dr. Gregory Stanton of Genocide Watch has warned Biden Administration that Kashmir was on the brink of genocide and NY Times wrote on August 10, 2019, [Inside Kashmir, Cut Off From the World: ‘A Living Hell’ of Anger and Fear.]’ It is painful for us to note, Dr. Fai added that there was not a slightest reference to the massive violations of human rights in Kashmir when President Biden gave red carpet treatment to Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India on June 22, 2023. We wonder whether, in these humanly intolerable circumstances, it would not be more in accordance with America’s traditional concern and declared standpoint over human rights that President Biden raises the issue at the appropriate multilateral forum, like G20 which will take place in India between September 9-10, 2023.

Fai said that there were two principles involved in the Kashmir dispute. First, it is the inherent right of the people of the entire state of Jammu & Kashmir to decide their future according to their free will. Two, it is impossible to ascertain their will, except through a vote under impartial supervision in conditions that are free from compulsion, intimidation, and external coercion.

When asked about the role of great powers, Dr. Fai said that “I would like to submit that because of inaction and studied unconcern on the part of the world powers towards the people of Kashmir and given the traumatic events of the last thirty-three year in general and four  years in particular in the Valley, the people of Kashmir feel that they have been betrayed, The United Nations and the great powers have chosen not to notice what is happening to the Kashmiris, much less do anything about it.”

2 Burhan Muzaffar Wani ; July 5 3023; The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has called for complete shutdown in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir on July 08 (Saturday) on the 7th martyrdom anniversary of the prominent youth resistance leader, Burhan Muzaffar Wani who along with his colleagues sacrificed his life for the just cause of right to self-determination. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/07/04/aphc-calls-for-strike-on-martyrdom-anniversary-of-burhan-wani-in-iiojk.html

Kashmir Update Week 239(Jun 26 2023 to July 1 2023 )

1 Mosque vandalized; June 26 2023; In blatant violation of fundamental rights and sanctity of religious places Indian Army soldiers entered a grand mosque in Pulwama, vandalized it before forcing the muazzin along worshipers to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans in the mosque’s own loudspeakers in Zadoora of the area of the district. The incident triggered strong anti-protest demonstrations in the area https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/06/25/indian-army-soldiers-enter-pulwama-mosque-force-worshppers-to-chant-jai-shri-ram-in-loudspeakers.html

2 June 2023 cost of struggle for freedom; July 2 2023; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their unabated acts of state terrorism martyred seventeen (17) Kashmiris including a woman during the last month of June. According to a report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service, today, of those one was martyred by the troops in a fake encounter or in custody. During the month, at least six people were injured after Indian troops and police personnel used brute force on peaceful protesters while twenty-four civilians, mostly youth and political activists, were arrested under black laws, Public Safety Act (PSA) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA during at least two hundred twenty-three (223) cordon and search operations in the month, the report added. The troops also damaged a house while a woman was molested in the month. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/07/01/indian-troops-martyred-17-kashmiris-in-june.html

Kashmir Update Week 238 (Jun 19 2023 to Jun 25 2023 )

1.    Urgency must replace complacency in Kashmir: Washington, D.C. June 19, 2023: by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai: “Under the latest onslaught the Occupied Jammu & Kashmir is being converted from UN-declared conflict zone into a full-fledged settler-colony of the Indian fascist Hindu Rashtra. The largest foreign occupation since the 1947, Kashmir remains the largest disenfranchised polity of the world today,” this was stated by Dr. Ghulam N. Mir,  In occupied Kashmir, Dr. Khan added, the problem is radically different and of monstrous proportion. Unless India is stopped from implementing her nefarious designs Kashmir will cease to exist as a Muslim majority state. Since August 5, 2019, the incessant efforts are being made to alter the demographics of the region. Hundreds of thousands of right-wing Hindus are being given residency and provided land that has been snatched from the local Muslim population. All the high-level functionaries in the state are from India, to facilitate the implementation of evil designs. Local population is subjected to frequent and unannounced searches and during operation valuables are confiscated, women and youth targeted leading with murderous outcomes. Genuine leadership of Kashmiris, the Hurriyat conglomerate has been decapitated and majority of the leaders are languishing in jail or have been killed. One of the prominent leaders Yasin Malik has been incarcerated under frivolous charges and in all likelihood, he will be taken to gallows, unless world powers intervene. I would like to emphasize that the luxury for complacency is not there and unless serious endeavors are made the situation will emerge from where there will be no reversal.

2.    Children in Kashmir; June 19 2023; As Father’s Day is being celebrated worldwide, today, thousands of fathers in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir have lost their sons at the hands of brutal Indian troops. The unending India’s state terrorism over the past 34 years has rendered 107,903 children orphaned and 22,960 women widowed in the territory. In IIOJK, hundreds of youth have lost and damaged their eyesight due to the firing of lethal pellets by Indian troops and paramilitary forces on peaceful protesters since 2010. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/06/18/indian-state-terrorism-renders-107903-children-orphaned-in-iiojk.html

3.    Women and Kashmir: June 20 2023: Women are the worst victims of Indian forces’ barbarities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir as New Delhi is using rape as a weapon to suppress the Kashmiris’ struggle for right to self-determination. A report released by Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, today, revealed that Indian forces’ personnel had sexually assaulted over 11,259 women during the last 34 years in the occupied territory. It said India is deliberately targeting women in IIOJK to humiliate and terrorize the Kashmiris. It said like Kunanposhpora mass rape, Shopian double rape and murder, and rape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua depict the brutal face of Indian forces deployed in the occupied terriory. Around a hundred women were gang-raped by Indian troops during a cordon and search operation in Kunanposhpora area of Kupwara district on the night of February 23, 1991. Two women, Aasiya and Neelofar of Shopian, were abducted by Indian men in uniform on May 29, 2009, gang-raped and subsequently killed in custody. Their bodies were recovered from a shallow stream in the area the next morning. An 8-year-old Muslim girl, Aasifa Bano was repeatedly gang raped by Indian policemen and communal Hindus in Kathua area of Jammu in January 2018. The report maintained that so far not a single Indian soldier or policeman involved in such heinous crimes in the occupied territory had been punished. Over two dozen women are facing illegal detentions and mental torture in jails. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/06/19/india-using-sexual-violence-as-tool-to-suppress-kashmiris-struggle.html

4.    US legislators boycott Modi: June 21 2023; Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), the two Muslim women in Congress, on Tuesday said they would boycott Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming joint address to Congress. Tlaib wrote on Twitter that Modi’s “long history of human rights abuses, anti-democratic actions, targeting Muslims and religious minorities, and censoring journalists is unacceptable.” Hours later, Omar said she would also not attend. “Prime Minister Modi’s government has repressed religious minorities, emboldened violent Hindu nationalist groups, and targeted journalists/human rights advocates with impunity,” she wrote on Twitter. Omar will also host an event at the Capitol following Modi’s address with human rights experts, religious freedom leaders and other members of Congress on Indian policy issues. A group of more than 70 Democrats from both the House and the Senate have asked President Biden to make human rights the focus of his discussion with Modi during his state visit this week.  The State Department’s 2022 religious freedom report also highlighted significant human rights issues including credible reports of unlawful and arbitrary killings and extrajudicial killings by the government or its agents. A U.S. panel also recommended that the State Department designate India among others as “countries of particular concern” for violating religious freedoms. https://thehill.com/policy/international/4058718-tlaib-plans-to-boycott-modis-address-to-congress-over-treatment-of-muslims/

 

 

5.     Women in Kashmir: June 24 2023: As the world is observing the International Widows Day, today, Kashmiri women continue to suffer at the hands of Indian troops, police and dreaded agencies in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). According to a report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of the International Widows Day, today, the unabated Indian state terrorism rendered 22,960 women widowed since January 1989 till date as their husbands were martyred by Indian troops and police personnel in fake encounters and in custody. It said around 2,500 women have been forced to live as half widows during the past 35 years. The women whose husbands were subjected to custodial disappearance after arrest by Indian army and police are referred to as half widows and several of them died due to mental tension. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/06/23/22960-women-widowed-in-iiojk-since-1989.html

6.    Four martyred: June 24 2023;  Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred four Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district, Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Machil area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/06/23/indian-troops-martyr-four-youth-in-kupwara.html

7.     LoC violations; June 25 2023; Two civilians embraced martyrdom  on Saturday while one other was “critically injured” as the Indian Army opened “indiscriminate fire” at a group of shepherds at the Line of Control (LoC), the army’s media relations wing said. n February 2021, both countries had recommitted themselves to the 2003 ceasefire agreement and agreed to address the “core issues” that could undermine peace and stability Today, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement, “Today, at 11:55 hours, Indian Army, in a display of its usual inhumane approach towards innocent Kashmiris, opened indiscriminate fire onto a group of shepherds in Sattwal Sector. The ISPRidentified the martyred as Obaid Qayyum, 22, and Muhammad Qasim, 55. “Both shaheeds (martyrs) are residents of village Bara Dari Tetrinote, Tehsil Hajira, District Poonch,’ it added. he statement further said: “Driven by a newfound geo-political patronage, Indian forces have embarked on a plan to take innocent lives to satiate their false narratives and concocted allegations Ilyas pointed out that it was not the first time that India had resorted to such a horrendous act in one or the other way. There are reported incidents when they shot at and killed the innocent inadvertent crossers from AJK labelling them as infiltrators to sell to the international community New Delhi’s false narrative of cross border terrorism. Pakistan must counter such acts and allied propaganda with full force,” he tweeted. The ceasefire violation also drew severe condemnation from Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s leadership, including Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq and his predecessor Sardar Tanveer Ilyas    https://www.dawn.com/news/1761520/two-martyred-one-injured-after-indian-forces-open-fire-at-shepherds-at-loc-ispr

 

 

 

Kashmir Update Week 237 (Jun 11 2023 to Jun 18 2023 )

1.    J&K’s special status and North West India:; June 13 2023 ; That J&K’s special status was, to my mind, unconstitutionally snatched, or that the state was divided and then demoted to union territory status reflects what Niketu Iralu characterised as vengeance. It is a miserable thing to be so small that a larger group can do whatever it pleases with you. That the Nagas or others fear the fate of Kashmiris because of “how small” they are is strangely reassuring. After all, misery loves company. But, more importantly, it is also an opportunity to reassess how we negotiate the tricky terrain of identity, especially as it pertains to small or marginalized communities. https://thewire.in/rights/manipur-kashmir-disempowerment-northeast

2.    Two martyred: June 14 2023; Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district on Tuesday afternoon. The youth were martyred by the troops during a cordon and search operation in Dobanar Machhal area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/06/13/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-kupwara-today.html

3.    Five martyred: June 1 2023:  In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred five youth in Kupwara district, today. Indian troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Jumgund area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/06/16/indian-troops-martyr-five-kashmiri-youth-in-kupwara.html

4.    Hoodwinking World community: June 18 2023:  Narendra Modi-led Indian government is making one after another attempt to hide its crimes and project its so-called normalcy narrative in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. In its latest move, it has arranged a tour of a delegation retired Judges and top Jurists of India to the occupied territory. A delegation led by President of London-based International Council of Jurists and Chairman of All India Bar Association, Adish C. Aggarwala, has arrived in Jammu and will be meeting top officials of the administration of the territory. The members of the delegation will unfurl the Indian flag at Srinagar’s main Lal Chowk on Sunday. The move is aimed at misleading the Indian public about the prevailing grim situation of the occupied territory. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/06/17/modi-regimes-another-attempt-to-project-false-normalcy-narrative-in-iiojk.html

 

 

 

Kashmir Update Week 236 (Jun 5 2023 to Jun 11 2023 )

1.    Kashmiri  Children and Indian army : Jun 5 2023: Indian troops in their unabated acts of state terrorism have martyred 913 children during the last 34 years. A report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, today (June 04), revealed that 913 children were among the 96,199 Kashmiris martyred by Indian troops from January 01, 1989 till date. The report said that the killing of civilians by the troops rendered 107,903 children orphaned in the territory during the period. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/06/04/children-continue-to-bear-brunt-of-indian-brutalities-in-iiojk.html

2.    Google Bard; write-up on human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir; June 8 2023; Human rights abuses in Indian-occupied Kashmir have been a persistent issue for decades. The Indian government has been accused of using excessive force against civilians, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances. These abuses have been carried out by the Indian Army, the Border Security Force (BSF), and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The Indian government has denied these allegations, but there is overwhelming evidence to support them. Human rights groups have documented thousands of cases of human rights abuses in Kashmir, and the United Nations has repeatedly called on India to end the abuses. One of the most common forms of human rights abuse in Kashmir is extrajudicial killing. The Indian Army has been accused of killing civilians without trial, often in reprisal attacks for militant attacks. In 2010, the US State Department reported that the Indian Army had killed at least 128 civilians in Kashmir in the previous year. Another common form of human rights abuse in Kashmir is torture. The Indian Army has been accused of torturing civilians in custody, often in an attempt to extract information or confessions. In 2010, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Méndez, visited Kashmir and found that there was "credible evidence" that the Indian Army had used torture against civilians.The Indian government has also been accused of enforcing disappearances in Kashmir. Enforced disappearances are when a person is arrested or abducted by government forces and then held incommunicado, often for years. In 2010, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances reported that there were at least 1,100 cases of enforced disappearances in Kashmir.The human rights abuses in Kashmir have had a devastating impact on the people of the region. They have created a climate of fear and distrust, and they have made it difficult for people to live their lives in peace. The Indian government must take immediate steps to end these abuses and to bring the perpetrators to justice. In addition to the abuses mentioned above, the Indian government has also been accused of restricting freedom of speech, assembly, and movement in Kashmir. The government has imposed curfews, banned public gatherings, and restricted access to the internet. These restrictions have made it difficult for people to express their views, to organize protests, and to access information.The human rights situation in Kashmir is a serious concern. The Indian government must take immediate steps to end the abuses and to restore the rights of the people of Kashmir.

 

3.     

 

 

 

 

 

 

Human rights violations                                              

  HR Violations in IIOJK

(From Jan 1989 till 31 May 2023)
Total Killings	96,196
Custodial killings	7,296
Civilian arrested	167,985
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed	110,499
Women Widowed	22,960
Children Orphaned	1,07,903
Women gang-raped / Molested	11,258

 

(May 2023)
Total Killings	10
Custodial killings	4
Civilian arrested	2141
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed	1
Women Widowed	0
Children Orphaned	0
Women gang-raped / Molested	1

 

(Since 5 Aug 2019)
Total Killings	753
Tortured / Critically Injured	2,356
Civilian arrested	18,905
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed	1,104
Women Widowed	52
Children Orphaned	128
Women gang-raped / Molested	127

 

 

Kashmir Update Week 235 (May 29 2023 to Jun 4 2023 )

1       Yaseen Malik : May 29 2023:British Member of Parliament Andrew Gwynne who is also Chairman, Labour Friends of Kashmir,UK, has announced to raise the plight of people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and their struggle for the basic right and the case of illegally detained Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik with the British government, next week. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/05/29/mp-andrew-vows-to-raise-kashmiris-plight-yasin-maliks-case-with-uk-govt.html

2                   The Human Rights Situation in the Indian Sub Continent. by Pon Chandran — 03/05/2023 :I come from a Tamil culture which proclaims to the world யா A ஊேர யாவ¶A ேகளnJ “Yaadhum Oore Yavarum KeLir”, meaning “the world is one and all are my kith and kin”. I also come from a sub continent which is proud of its diversity. Diversity in languages, cultures, nationalities, faiths, regions and religions. Whereas, the present ruling establishment in India has indulged in forceful homogenisation, rather Hinduisation of culture, education and religious faiths. This is against the rights of religious, linguistic and other minorities. The indiscriminate centralisation of the administration has eroded the federal structure of the polity. Further, corporatisation and privatisation of every social domains like education, health, drinking water etc have destroyed the sustenance of the marginalised. Corporatisation has also led to the indiscriminate exploitation of the resources and destruction of Nature and thus threatening the very existence of vulnerable communities like indigenous people, and the socially and economically oppressed. All those who resist corporatization are dubbed as the enemy of the State and literally war is waged against the people who resist, thus entailing in large scale displacement, disappearances, fake encounters, torture, rape, sexual violation, custodial deaths and denial of their livelihood. This is the stark reality in the large part of Central India, North Eastern States and Jammu & Kashmir. The recent report of terror unleashed on the people of Burkapal and Planar, including sexual harassment is disquieting.The North Eastern States and J&K are still reeling under the atrocities and terror perpetrated with immunity by the Armed Forces, emboldened by the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. The legendary human rights defender Irom Sharmila went on an indefinite fast for fourteen years, to repeal this draconian law, but of no avail. The right to dissent, the core and hall mark of democracy, is obliterated by liquidating the very personalities who express their dissent. You would be wondering whether this is possible in a democracy! Well, while the civil society knows the lineage of the assailants, they go scot free as “unknown assailants”. The recent martyrdom of Gowri Lankesh (55), a renowned woman journalist and a social activist from Karnataka is a case in point. She was a great critique of the right wing hindutva politics and was a valiant defender of human rights. Prof.M.M.Kalburgi, another progressive writer from Karnataka, Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, a renowned rationalist and Communist leader Govind Pansare of Maharashtra were similarly gunned down. A BJP MLA from Chickmangalur has gone on record stating that “Had not Gowri criticised BJP, she would have been alive today”. They were assassinated for ventilating their conscience. All the four opposed the undemocratic trait of the ruling Hindutva ideology. The assassination manifest the intolerance and hate campaign harboured by the right wing political groups. It also manifests the crude culture of communal fascism nurtured directly and/or indirectly by the present ruling establishment. Human Rights defenders are being jailed under draconian laws. Dr.G.N.Saibaba, a professor from Delhi University and who is at the mercy of wheelchair for his basic mobility, is branded as a dreadful Maoist and callously incarcerated for life with three other students from JNU for “waging war against the state”. Earlier, Dr. Binayak Sen, a medical doctor and Vice President of People’s Union for Civil Liberties, incarcerated for similar charges, and let free on bail after a protracted legal battle. Mr.President, India is a signatory of ICCPR and CAT. Whereas, the vital covenants of these protocols are observed in breach. Goondas Act, was originally conceived to prevent and punish Bootleggers, drug offenders, immoral tragic offenders, forest offenders, sand offenders, slum grabbers and video pirates and such, habitual economic and social offenders. But this is being wielded against social and political activists and human rights defenders. Goondas Act was clamped against Thirumurugan Gandhi of May 17th Movement and three others for holding Candle light vigil to commemorate civilian victims in the last phase of the Eelam War. Similarly Valarmathi, a student of journalism and social activist was arrested under goondas act. She was the first woman and student activist to be arrested under the draconian law, for distribution of awareness pamphlets among students. She was discharged recently after 58 days of imprisonment. This is a blatant denial of freedom of expression and abuse of draconian law against political activists. Unlawful Assembly Prevention Act, (UAPA) and National Security Act are a couple of other draconian laws used unreasonably against social movements. It may be noted that as per the National Crime Records Prison status for the year 2015, more than 55 percent of the under trials across the country are either Muslims, Dalits or Tribals, who together constitute 39% of the total population. This only reveals how the police and judicial system is skewed against the marginalised. While we are proud of our traditions, we are also ashamed of having inherited social apartheid, which runs into several centuries. While untouchability have been outlawed, and transitional justice has been guaranteed by the founders of the constitution, there are attempts to belittle social justice, under the garb of uniformity and merit through administrative means, which serves only the corporate interest. The proposed New Education Policy and NEET, National Eligibility Entrance Test is one such instance. The system which is inherently unfair is being imposed on all the medical aspirants denying the spirit of federalism and social justice enshrined in the constitution. Ariyalur Anitha, a medical aspirant from the most oppressed community, committed suicide. In fact, the unjust system killed her, despite her excellent performance in the qualifying examination, failed to make it in NEET, as she could not afford to catch up with the expensive coaching required for it. The imposition of NEET is only an intrusion into the governance of the State governments and thus jeopardising the self determination and eventually the social justice. People’s movement against environmentally destructive programmes like Nuclear reactors, extraction of methane and hydrocarbon gases , indiscriminate quarrying of sand, and minerals are put down heavily invoking oppressive laws entailing in indefinite incarceration of large section of protestors, thus denying their liberties and freedom of expression. The independent India has incarcerated its own citizens under the laws of sedition more than what British Raj did during the Indian freedom movement! The continuing farmers suicide, owing to the monsoon failure and lack of adequate support price manifests the rulers’ indifference and neglect of the plight of the farmers. More than 160 farmers committed suicide and died of acute stress, in Tamil Nadu alone, during the last six months, caused because of failure of crops and insurmountable debts. The right of Tamil fisher folks for fishing near international waters are under threat and are being arrested and their fishing boats and nets seized and sometimes the fisher folks are killed by Srilankan Navy. More than 600 Tamil fishermen have been killed by the Srilankan Navy during the last decade without any justice. The plight of the Srilankan Tamil refugees in India is pathetic. When the Tibetan refugees get relatively a favourable treatment, the Tamil refugees are discriminated against denying basic amenities, under the guise that India is not a signatory of UN convention on refugees. Custodial deaths continues unabated. Dinesh Kumar, 20, S/o Nagaraj, Kumbakonam Taluk, Tamil Nadu was arrested by Tirupur north Police station on 22nd Aug, and was admitted in a private hospital on 23rd night reportedly in a critical condition after interrogation, perhaps using third degree methods. He was declared dead on 26th Aug. With the intervention of human rights organisations, inquest by a Judicial Magistrate was ordered. The State Human Rights Commission suo motu took cognisance of the ‘custodial death’ and ordered for a thorough probe. This came to surface owing to the intervention of the human rights bodies, whereas one is constrained to believe that many such custodial deaths are buried silently. The growing vigilante groups not only determine what one should speak, but also dictate what to eat, what to wear and what to see with whom to be and whom to love. Pehlu Khan was lynched to death by Gau Rakshaks when he was transporting Bullocks bought from cattle market. The BJP Chief Minister of Chattisgarh Raman Singh has threatened to “hang anyone who harms a cow”! Consenting to cow slaughter, in India today, is a bigger crime than causing death to humans! The amendment to Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCAA) is not only unconstitutional, violating Article 48 of the Constitution, but also un-Hindu and against the cultural and sustainable practices of religious minorities and Dalits. The cliche, justice delayed is justice denied, is still haunting the Srilankan Tamils more than eight years after the end of the genocidal war. Neither the objective of Self Determination for which the Eelam Tamils were constrained to launch their struggle nor justice done against the genocide, war crimes and the crimes against the humanity the Eelam Tamils had to undergo during the last several decades. The continuing structural genocide against the Eelam Tamils is a cause for concern. Sinhalisation, Budhistisation, militarisation of Tamil areas continue unabated. The genocidal war rendered more than 80000 as young war widows, “disappearance” of over 146000 people, orphaning several thousand children several thousands wounded. Despite this, the Sri Lankan Govt has been denying to accept any credible international investigation, under some pretext or the other. Similarly there are several prisoners, particularly Muslims, who are serving life sentence in Coimbatore prison, without getting the benefit of remission. What is permitted for others is being denied to these prisoners stating that they are imprisoned in the “bomb blast case”! Instead of granting remission to the prisoners based on their behaviour during their tenure in the prison, these prisoners are denied the advantage of remission referring to the crime for which they were lodged in the jail. Thus these prisoners are awarded double punishment, which is unconstitutional and against natural justice. Finally, when one third of the Indian population live below the poverty line, who cannot afford one square meal a day, the Central Government is thrusting on the mass of people, projects, under the guise of ‘Science, modernisation and development’, which are neither nature centric nor human centric. The Bullet train project is one such, which is a drain on the tax payer’s money and which could have been augmented for providing amenities like health and education, which are the basic rights. In conclusion we will have to reiterate that the denial of Environmental justice, social, cultural and economic justice and self determination of various nationalities, as enshrined in the UN Human Rights Charter, have led to the denial of human rights and human dignity. Similarly denial of civil rights by the State tantamount to denial of inalienable human rights. Hence the need for the urgent intervention of the international community invoking the principle of Right to Protect. Thank you Pon Chandran Joint Secretary PUCL, Tamil Nadu. ponniah.chandran@gmail.com

 

 

3. Article 370 and Article 371: Jun., 2, 2023: In an outspoken interview, where he has said many things that will annoy the Modi government but also Thuingaleng Muivah, Niketu Iralu has said that the failure of the Indian paramilitary forces to restore order in Nagaland seems “deliberate”. Iralu is one of the most respected elder statesmen of the Naga community and the nephew of the legendary leader A.Z. Phizo. In an interview with The Wire, Iralu questioned the total silence from Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Manipur. “Why is the prime minister not saying a word? Is he the prime minister only of the BJP? Or of all of India?” Iralu added that this is “a very dangerous situation for India”. Iralu said that the abrogation of Article 370 was “vengeance”. He said “what happened in Kashmir is not worthy of India”. He said that the entire North East is worried that something similar could happen to Article 371. https://thewire.in/security/watch-manipur-failure-to-restore-order-seems-deliberate-is-rss-targeting-churches-why-is-pm-modi-silent

4. One martyred: Jun 2 2023:  Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred one youth in Rajouri district. The youth was martyred by Indian troops and paramilitary during a cordon and search operation in Dassal Mehari area  of the district. Indian troops martyred a civilian in Samba district. Indian army and Border Security Force personnel killed the civilian near Mangu Chak border outpost in Samba.In the early hours of Thursday morning, the troops killed one person in Samba area, an Indian Border Security Force spokesperson said. The incident took place near Mangu Chak border outpost in Samba sector,( https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/06/01/indian-troops-martyr-civilian-insamba.html?fbclid=IwAR0OsOcZYWKoFKwdXo8Src47Xlb3Zk0YrMcZpgZTRCsdOvfmS-BC6EqKWXk)    https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/06/02/indian-troops-martyr-one-youth-in-rajouri-2.html

5. One martyred: Jun 3 2023:  Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one more youth in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, today.The troops martyred the youth in a fake encounter during a cordon and search operation in Dassal Mehari area of Rajouri district of Jammu region.  The troops martyred one youth during a similar operation in Mangu Chak area of Samba district of Jammu, yesterday. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/06/02/indian-troops-martyr-one-youth-in-rajouri-2.html

Kashmir Update Week 234 (May 22 2023 to May 28 2023 )

1       Ashok Swain @ashoswai; May 21 2023; China, Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia boycotted the G20 meeting in Srinagar. It happened when Pakistan is economically and politically struggling to survive. This shows the terrible state of Modi's foreign policy. ://twitter.com/ashoswai/status/1660730398182178819

2       LAC; may 21 2023; In the strategically significant area of Depsang plains in Ladakh, China’s People’s Liberation Army has demanded the creation of a 15-20km buffer zone or no patrol zone inside India-claimed lines as a precondition for disengagement, Kolkata-based The Telegraph reports, citing an official from the The ITBP official told the newspaper that the Chinese side made the latest demand during the 18th round of corps commander talks last month and reiterated it during subsequent military talks at lower levels. “The Chinese want a buffer zone with a width of 15-20km inside Indian territory as part of the disengagement process from the Depsang Plains. During negotiations, India rejected the demand and instead agreed to a 3-4km buffer zone, but the Chinese refused to budge,” the official was quoted as saying. The biggest buffer zone created during disengagement in various other areas on the LAC is of 10-km length on the north bank of Pangong lake, between Finger 4 and Finger 8. Many military veterans have alleged that these buffer zones are mostly on the Indian side and work to India’s detriment but there has been no official response from the Modi government. “The Chinese army is already entrenched 18km inside India-claimed lines and now wants a buffer zone of another 15-20km. It’s apparent that they are working aggressively to establish a revised status quo along the Line of Actual Control in the region,” the official said. Depsang plains in the DBO sector is one of the areas where no disengagement has taken place between the two sides, despite numerous rounds of talks between military commanders at various levels. For more than three years, PLA has blocked the Indian patrols at Bottleneck or Y-junction to deny them access to five patrolling points in the area – PP9, PP10, PP11, PP12 and PP13. A research paper submitted by the Leh SP during the DGPs’ conference in Delhi in January this year had highlighted that India had lost access to 26 of its 65 patrolling points (PPs) in eastern Ladakh following the Chinese incursion in 2020. In late April, after meeting Rajnath Singh in Delhi, China’s Defence Minister General Li Shangfu had said that the border situation was “generally stable” and that both sides had maintained communication through military and diplomatic channels. This was also how China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang termed the border situation on May 4 in his meeting with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, adding that the two countries had to “draw lessons from history and steer bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective” https://thewire.in/security/depsang-ladakh-china-india-buffer-zone .

3       G 20: May 21 2023; India’s aim to have G20 meeting in Kashmir is to legitimize its illegal occupation: Dr. Fai;New York, May 22, 2023.:Kashmiri American diaspora held a peaceful protest in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York city to convey to G20 countries including the United Nations that holding a G20 meeting in disputed territory of Kashmir is meant to engineer a façade of normalcy in Kashmir. The digital trucks were also rented which displaced the messages: “G20 risks legitimizing India’s illegal occupation of Kashmir” “G20 in Kashmir violates UN resolutions” “G20 in occupied Kashmir enables genocide” “Say NO to G20 in Kashmir” ”Modi: face of Fascism”, “ “End the Occupation: Free Kashmir”, “Demilitarize Kashmir”, “India: Release All Political Prisoners.” “India is holding the third G20 working group meeting on tourism today in disputed territory of Kashmir. Such a meeting is in contravention of more than 16 substantive resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. These resolutions which were agreed upon by both India and Pakistan remain still unfulfilled. By holding G20 meeting in Kashmir, India would like to give an impression of normalcy and the presence of G20 countries in Kashmir will unintentionally provide the seal of approval to reckless and thoughtless decision of Modi Administration,” said Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum. Dr. Fai appealed to the G20 countries to listen to Professor Fernand de Vareness, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, who warned the G20 countries that “By holding a G20 meeting (in Kashmir) the Government of India is seeking to normalize what some have described as a military occupation by instrumentalizing a G20 meeting and portray an international ‘seal of approval’, despite what Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human rights, told the UN Human rights Council a few weeks ago was a @worrying human rights situation in the Kashmir region.” .

4       Yasin Malik. : May 27 2023; India’s dreaded National Investigation Agency (NIA) has moved the Delhi High Court seeking the death penalty for Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik. The JKLF chief was arrested in March 2019 and remains presently lodged in New Delhi’s infamous Tihar Jail. He was booked under various sections of draconian law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Indian Penal Code (IPC). https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/05/26/indias-dreaded-nia-moves-delhi-hc-seeking-death-sentence-for-yasin-malik.html

 

Kashmir Update Week 233 (May 15 2023 to May 21 2023 )

1        G 20: May 1 2023: China and Türkiye are among the G20 member countries that are likely to skip the tourism working group meeting next week in Srinagar, Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, while several other countries will have low-level participation in the event. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Srinagar on May 22-24. Earlier, China skipped the G20 meeting held in Arunachal Pradesh in March after expressing displeasure over the event. The holding of an international event in a disputed territory is also a violation of the UN Charter. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/05/18/china-turkiye-likely-to-stay-out-of-g20-meeting-in-iiojk-indian-media.html

2       G 20: May 21 2023:  The G20 Working Group meet on Tourism set to be held in Srinagar on Monday, China confirmed that it won’t attend the event, even as the Indian government announced that Turkey and Saudi Arabia have yet to confirm their attendance, indicating they too are likely to skip the meeting. Indian daily The Hindu reported that Saudi Arabia has not yet registered for the event, and Turkey has chosen not to attend. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/05/20/china-wont-attend-srinagar-g20-meeting.html 

Kashmir Update Week 232(May 8 2023 to May 14 2023 )

1        Israel and Kashmir: May 8 2023: In utter violation of the UN-recongized disputed status of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi has awarded contract of mining in two sites, located along the Line of Control in Kupwara on 99 years lease, to an Israeli company. This has been confirmed by a leaked official agreement of lease between the Indian government and the Israel-based Arava Mines firm. The agreement has come to fore wherein the Israeli company has been given Nichahama and Hangnikott mining sites in the occupied territory. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/05/08/india-gives-away-mining-sites-along-loc-in-iiojk-to-israeli-company-on-99-years-lease.html

2       India cannot suppress the sentiments of Aazadi in Kashmir: by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai: May 12, 2023: “Repeat a lie often enough and people will believe it.” Joseph Goebbels.The fallacious statement made by the most celebrated Indian diplomat, Dr. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs during SCO meeting in Goa on May 5, 2023, that “Jammu-Kashmir Was, Is And Will Always Be India's Integral Part,” deserves some clarification. It also needs to be supplemented by some observations from the Kashmiri perspective. First, the assertion makes a mockery of the United Nations Charter and International Law. Dr. Jaishankar knows it well that his erroneous outburst regarding Kashmir violates the United Nations Security Council resolutions which were agreed upon by both India and Pakistan. Indian official position was articulated by Sir Goplaswamy Ayyangar, Indian delegate to the United Nations at the Security Council on January 15, 1948 that “the question of the future status of Kashmir, whether she should withdraw from her accession to India, and either accede to Pakistan or remain independent, with a right to claim admission as a Member of the United Nations – all this we have recognized to be a matter for unfettered decision by the people of Kashmir, after normal life is restored to them.” Second, it is a historical fact that when the Kashmir dispute erupted in 1947-1948, the United States, Great Britain and France took the stand that the future status of Kashmir must be ascertained in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of the territory. The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution # 47, on April 21, 1948, which was based on that unchallenged principle.  So, the idea that ‘Kashmir is an integral part of India’ is in contravention to India’s international obligations. Any such suggestion is an insult to the intelligence of the people of Kashmir. Third, Kashmir is not and cannot be regarded as an integral part of India because under all international agreements, which were agreed by both India and Pakistan, negotiated by the United Nations, endorsed by the Security Council and accepted by the international community, Kashmir does not belong to any member state of the United Nations.  If that is true, then the claim that Kashmir is an integral part of India does not stand.  Fourth, If Indian contention was correct then why Ms. Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights said on July 8, 2019, that both India and Pakistan should give the people of Kashmir right to self-determination. She added that the people of Kashmir should be included in all talks between India and Pakistan. Fifth, does the Dr. Jaishankar remember that Ms. Helen Clark, the Prime Minister of New Zealand told the Parliament on October 15, 2004, that, “It is perfectly obvious to the whole world that Kashmir is a flashpoint for tensions between the two countries.  Most countries do not regard it as simply an internal affair.” Sixth, it may be helpful to narrate a story here of a distinguished diplomat of India, Barrister Minoo Masani, former Indian Ambassador to Brazil. The story was published in Dalit Voice, Bangalore, India on August 1, 1990. Ambassador Masani wrote, ‘A lady asked me other day, ‘why Gorbachev would not agree to the Lithuanian demand for independence from the Soviet Union.’ I countered with the question: ‘Do you believe that Kashmir belongs to India?’ ‘Yes, of course’ she said. ‘That is why?’ I said, ‘There are too many Russians who wrongly believe that Lithuania belongs to the Soviet Union, just as you believe that Kashmir belongs to India.’ Seventh, even one of India’s well-known authors, Ms. Arundhati Roy confirmed it by saying   'It's (Kashmir) not ever been really a part of India, which is why it's ridiculous for the Indian government to keep saying it's an integral part of India.'Eighth, my viewpoint was confirmed by a survey conduct by Robert Bradnock - an associate fellow at the London-based think-tank - Chatham House on May 26, 2010, that 74 % to 95 % of the people of the ‘Valley of Kashmir’ want Aazadi. Ninth, Dr. Jaishankar should look back and refresh his own memory when he told Mike Pompeo, American Secretary of State in Bangkok on August 2, 2019, that, any discussion on Kashmir will only be with Pakistan and only bilaterally. (The Times of India, August 3, 2019). So, it is fair to say that India will get nowhere by explaining away Kashmir as an integral part of India. India is promoting this narrative because she trembles at any attempt to resolve the Kashmir crisis because she is frightened by its outcome.’ When a former Defense Minister, Krishna Menon, was questioned as to why India would never hold a free self-determination election in Kashmir, he confessed that all of India's political leaders knew it would lose. And would 900,000 soldiers be needed in Kashmir if the main opponents to India's occupation were but a handful of militants”?  The question answers itself.This is the time that world powers, including the United States should realize that given a chance, the people of Jammu & Kashmir could be instrumental in providing a way out of this catastrophic cycle of violence. Kashmiris are an educated people. They have a strong tradition of peace and religious tolerance. They have a developed political consciousness. Their land is rich in national resources and economic opportunities. Kashmir has an abundance of fertile land, vast forests, a network of waterways which could produce enough hydro-electric power to support not only its own people, but large areas of India and Pakistan. And mor importantly, Kashmir’s unsurpassed natural beauty has attracted tourists throughout history. Lastly, it is a simple task for heavily armed military troops to maim and cripple the civilian population and muzzle the voice of political leaders, like, Shabir Shah, Yasin Malik, Masarat Aalam, Aasia Andrabi, etc., journalists, like Asif Sultan, Irfan Mehraj, Fahad Shah, Gowhar Geelani, and human rights defenders, like Khurram Parvez. What is difficult, however, and what is necessary, is to harness the strong feelings of the Kashmiri people for peace, justice and Aazadi (freedom)!

3       Kashmiri artists: Mar., 14, 2023: A growing number of Kashmiri artists abandon social media, fearing retaliation by the authorities. But some continue to use their channels to shed light on human rights violations - even at risk to their safety. In March 2018, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, a 47 year-old Kashmiri poet known as Madhosh Balhami, was composing a lyric of a poem about dowry on the porch of his home in Balhama village when two militants appeared brandishing AK-47s and firing rounds into the air.  https://www.fairplanet.org/story/kashmir-human-rights-censorship-youtube-artists/

 

 

 

 

Kashmir Update Week 231(May 1 2023 to May 7 2023 )

1        Pakistan must reiterate its principle stand during SCO meet: Dr. Mir: May 3, 2023; Chairman, Kashmir Diaspora Coalition (KDC), Dr. Ghulam N. Mir has welcomed the remarks made by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the foreign minister of Pakistan, when he articulated the Pakistan’s policy towards Kashmir not only in the regional platforms but also at international fora. Foreign minister was representing the sentiments of the people of Indian occupied Kashmir when he said, ‘India must end its gross human rights violations in IIOJK; reverse its unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019 including demographic changes; repeal draconian laws; allow UN-mandated investigations into cases of extrajudicial killings and; implement relevant UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.’ Foreign minister added that ‘I want to remind our Kashmiri brothers and sisters that Pakistan will never sit back and watch silently while Kashmiris continue to suffer Indian atrocities.’ Now, the foreign minister has decided to participate in the forthcoming summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to be held on May 4-5, 2023, in Goa, India. While realizing fully that SCO is an important multilateral intergovernmental organization which deals with regional development and regional security issues, KDC believes that Pakistan should have abstained from its participation. However, while in India, the foreign minister must make it clear that there will be no bilateral talks unless Modi Administration reverses Article 35 A and in particular ‘Domicile Law’ which is designed to change the demography of Jammu & Kashmir. SCO summit provides an opportunity to foreign minister to reiterate the principle stand of Pakistan that it reaffirms its unwavering support for the right of self-determination of the people of Jammu & Kashmir and must make it clear that only a just and peaceful resolution of Kashmir in accordance with the wishes and aspiration of the people guarantees regional development, peace, and stability. Foreign minister’s interaction with his counterparts as well as Indian media provides him an opportunity to spell out the controversial decision of G20 to have its meeting in internationally recognized disputed territory of Kashmir. He must tell his counterparts that its aim is to divert global attention from the core issue of the occupation of a people without their consent.  It creates ambiguity around the matter and undermines the legitimacy of the Kashmiris' demand for a plebiscite in accordance with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. He must also demand the unconditional release of all political prisoners who have been wrongfully detained under politically motivated ‘Unlawful Activities Prevention Act’ (UAPA) which is designed to harass, assault and imprison Kashmir’s human rights activists, political leaders, and journalists. One prime example is Khurram Parvez, an internationally recognized human rights defender about whom Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur has said, ‘Khurram Parvez is not a terrorist. He is a human rights defender.

2       Two martyred: May, 4, 2023: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred two Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district. The occupation troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Machil area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/05/03/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-iiojk-7.html

3       SCO: May 6 2023: Bilawal told Pakistani journalists, who were in Goa to cover the SCO, that the onus to normalise ties was on India. He reiterated that India had to withdraw Aug 5, 2019 actions. While he raised the issue of Kashmir https://tribune.com.pk/story/2415281/how-hope-turns-into-despair-in-goa

4       Two martyred: May 7 2023:  In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism, today, martyred two more Kashmiri youth in fake encounters in Baramulla and Rajouri districts. The troops martyred one youth in the garb of a cordon and search operation in Kunzar area of Baramulla. The troops martyred another youth in the ongoing military operation in Kesari area of Rajouri https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/05/06/indian-troops-martyr-two-more-youth-in-iiojk-5.html

Kashmir Update Week 229 & 230(Apr 17 2023 to Apr 30 2023 )

1       Innocents sentenced: Apr., 26, 2023: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, India’s dreaded National Investigation Agency (NIA) has awarded life-imprisonment to three innocent Kashmiri youth in a fake funding case. The Special Judge of the NIA in Jammu, Ashwani Sharma, handed down life-imprisonment to the youth Majid Ali Sheikh, Shah Nawaz and Majid Amin. The youth were arrested by Indian Army Intelligence and Special Operation Group on December 28, 2004 near Tarore, Bari Brahmana area when they were travelling in a vehicle from Delhi to Jammu. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/04/25/ndias-nia-awards-life-term-to-three-innocent-kashmiri-youth.html

 

  

Kashmir Update Week 228 (Apr 10 2023 to Apr 16 2023 )

1       Margdarshan Resolution: Fact or fiction  by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai; April 9, 2023 ; I came across a statement in ‘Scoop News,’ made by Dr. Ajay Chrungoo, Chairman, ‘Panun Kashmir’ that ‘The return and rehabilitation of the persecuted Kashmiri Hindus is possible only when Margdarshan Resolution is adopted by the state of India.’ As we know that ‘Margdarshan Resolution’ demands a homeland for Hindus of Kashmir.’ I am aware that this has been the consistent approach of Dr. Chrungoo all along. His outlook was the same when he invited me to meet with him at formerly Jurys Hotel (Now the New Dupont Hotel: 1500 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036).  Dr. Chrungoo expressed his anger and displeasure about the situation in the Valley. He made his inner feelings known to me by saying that Pandits were forced by majority community to leave their homeland in 1989-1990. He told me that ‘Pandits trusted their Muslim compatriots who let them down.” I told him that we are acutely conscious of the suffering of Pandit community, and our concern embraces his community and its current predicament.  The fact is that the Muslim community did not let Pandit community down. You have so isolated yourselves from Kashmir that not once, have you raised a voice against the barbarities being committed by Indian army on civilian population there. We ask you that you release yourselves from the dark mental confinement which bars the sight of your own future, I politely countered him.  I added that Pandits let themselves be swayed by a chronic mistrust of their Muslim compatriots. They fell into a trap devised by those who do not – and cannot – wish Pandit community well. Rather than seek an understanding with the leading elements of the Kashmiri Resistance Movement, they became willing victims of a scare campaign carefully plotted by the enemies of the resistance, led by Governor Jagmohan. The brutal forces of Indian occupation wanted you out of Kashmir in order to misrepresent – indeed, to disfigure – the resistance as an anti-Hindu campaign and also to clear the field for acts of mass slaughter, rape and arson. I doubt that you can be happy with the results. This was a fatal blunder. That is the sad part of the story. The happy part is that the blunder is reversible.  I told him that the time has come for you to extricate yourself from India’s fatal grip and reattach to Kashmir. In Kashmir, you have same future as your compatriots. In India, you have no future at all.  Then Dr. Chrungoo put forth before me the plan of a separate homeland for Pandits. I told him that I see in it an attempt on part of the Government of India to create a state within the state and a ploy to make Kashmir next Palestine after robbing people of their land and driving a wedge between different communities. These separate homelands can be designed to change the demography of Kashmir. The design seems to invite people from other parts of India and in particular belonging to RSS. No one will know who resides there. The identity of residents cannot be verified by anyone except the government which has the design and the capability of changing the demographics in any manner they choose. After decades, history proved me right when India enacted Domicile Law in 2021 to change the demography of Kashmir.  I pointed out that Kashmiri Pandits have their religious monuments and symbols situated in the midst of the areas of majority community. If they want their separate homeland outside majority community areas, how are they going to have access to these monuments and how are they going to protect them?  My viewpoint later after years was proved correct when Sunil Shakhdar, former president of Kashmir Samiti Delhi and chairman S K Foundation, rejected the composite township proposal. He blamed the Central Government for “embarrassing the community by arbitrarily deciding about their fate and the manner in which they would like to go back to claim their homes and hearths in Kashmir.” “We treat the proposal for separate townships with same disdain while reserving our right to return to the Valley with honor and dignity and with our heads high,” Shakhdar said.  Mr. Sanjay Tickoo, Chairman of Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti, likewise said that “the separate zones will set a dangerous precedent.” He added, "Wherever there is minority (community) it should live with the majority.”  I proposed to Dr. Chrungoo that the best solution of this dilemma is that the Pandit brethren should return to the Valley and the majority community must open their hearts and minds in order to give them moral support and sense of security. The rights and culture of Kashmiri Pandits must be respected and protected at all costs.   Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a contributing editor to the Indian Express published “Sinking Valley” on April 15, 2017, “The roots of the Kashmir problem are deep, and the point should not be to gloat at one government’s failure. The deep gulf between what the Indian state wants and what Kashmiris in the Valley want has always been unbridgeable…It’s a fool’s errand to think that coercion alone will win India Kashmir….for the moment, Kashmir has been lost on Modi’s watch.”  And former Indian Army Chief, General Ved Prakash Malik spoke to Sandip Dighe of the Times of India on April 25, 2017, “It is not solely the task of the Indian army. Conflict resolution has to be done at the political level.  A political solution is the final solution.”  Kashmiri leadership has all along suggested that there is no military solution to the Kashmir problem. It is a political conflict and needs to eb resolved through peace tripartite negotiations between Governments of India & Pakistan and the Kashmiri political resistance leadership. 

2       Iftaar dinner in Washington to remember oppressed people of Kashmir :Washington, DC. April 9, 2023.:World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF) organized an Iftaar dinner to express its appreciation to the brethren of Azad Kashmir ancestry, Pakistani Americans and friends of Kashmir for their continued support. The board has experienced their dedication, commitment, and generosity over the years to strengthen the cause of Kashmir in corridors of power here in Washington, DC, New York and beyond. Umer Khalil recited the verses from Quran and Javaid Kousar, a well-known journalist in DC metropolitan area offered salutation on Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Imam Naeem : …And we build in ourselves this quality of serving others, standing up for their rights if they are being oppressed and persecuted. So let us strive for the freedom of our brothers and sisters in Kashmir and Palestine. Let us stand against oppression and fight for Justice and Peace  Imtiaz Khan stated that Indian government has substantially increased the level of terror unleashed on the people of IOK. Youth continues to be martyred and incarcerated & properties destroyed. Indian agencies are exploiting the silence of world community and violating the human rights of the people never witnessed before. He appealed to the people of AJK to muster all their resources in this country and propagate the Kashmir cause with increased vigor. He stated that Kashmir is considered a paradise of Asia and with grace of Almighty it cannot for long remain a domain of murderous Indian government. Mongi Dhaouadi, President, Tunisian United Network highlighted the meaning of fasting and its relevance with the oppressed people all over the world. Month of fasting makes us feel compassion and empathy towards the needy, destitute, poor, hungry, and less fortunate in our community. When a person is fasting and feels the pain of hunger, he should reflect on those who have been in this situation not only for days but often for weeks and months. Islam wants to inculcate this feeling among Muslims to become helping hand for all those people irrespective of their religion, culture or creed. This is the time, he emphasized that we need to remember our brethren in Palestine, Myanmar, Kashmir, and beyond. Dr. Akbar Khawaja, Strategist and Educator said India is oppressing the people of Kashmir for decades and spreading violence to stop them from demanding fundamental rights of freedom. Indian occupation forces have tried through all inhuman and cruel methods to crush the freedom struggle, but they could not kill the desire of the people of Kashmir for their right to self-determination. Sardar Zubair Khan said that Kashmiris on both sides of the Ceasefire line are like brothers and sisters and wish to maintain that national kinship here at the United States. We need to fight the Indian occupation together through all peaceful means available to us until freedom is achieved. Shoaib Irshad, General Secretary, Kashmir American Welfare Association (KAWA) told the participants that we know it well that you all have invested your time and energy to pursue the right of the people of Jammu & Kashmir -- right to self-determination. You are the ones who have kept the candle of freedom kindled through your deep involvement with the Kashmiri political resistance by attending conference, seminars and holding rallies in Washington, New York and beyond. That cannot be ignored. Sardar Zarif Khan, Emcee of the program thanked the audience for their participation. He applauded the role of the leadership of Kashmiri & Pakistani American community and said it was a fact that whenever we gave you a call you always responded in the positive. Thereby, you have become the symbol of compassion, humanity and kindness for the cause of Kashmir.

3       Lal Chowk massacre; Apr. 11, 2023;  In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Srinagar’s Lal Chowk massacre of 1993 which exposed the repugnant masquerade of the Indian government is considered even after completion of 30 years today as one of the grisliest incidents of brutality and gross human rights violations committed by Indian troops and paramilitary personnel. On 10th April 1993, a large section of Srinagar including Lal Chowk was burnt to the ground by Indian paramilitary troops. More than 60 houses, five commercial buildings, 150 shops, two official buildings, shrines, schools were completely burnt to ashes. A total of 47 innocent civilians were burnt alive and over 125 were killed by Indian Border Security Forces (BSF).  https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/04/10/lal-chowk-massacre-completes-30-years-of-violent-act-today.html

  

Kashmir Update Week 227 ( mar 27  2023 to Apr 3 2023 )

1       UN on Kashmir: March 24 2023: India must immediately end its crackdown against Kashmiri human rights defenders, a UN expert said today, after renowned Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez was arrested in a second case on terrorism charges. “Indian authorities appear to be intensifying the long-standing repression of Kashmiri civil society,” said Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. “The State must respect its human rights obligations and be held accountable where it violates them.” On 22 March 2023, Khurram Parvez, already detained since November 2021 on accusations of terrorism, was arrested in a second case after two days of interrogation by the National Investigation Agency, India's main counter-terrorism body. He is accused of financing terrorism under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, through his work with the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). Prior to Parvez’s arrest, a former associate of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS), human rights defender and journalist Irfan Mehraj, was arrested in the same case on 20 March 2023 from Srinagar and immediately transferred to New Delhi. Former associates and volunteers of the JKCCS are facing coercion and intimidation from the authorities. “The Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) carries out essential work monitoring human rights. Their research and analysis of human rights violations are of huge value, including to international organisations seeking to ensure accountability and non-repetition of abuses,” Lawlor said. The expert called for the release and the closing of the investigations against Kashmiri human rights defenders.“Time and time again, the Government has been called upon to address the fundamental issues with the country's anti-terrorism framework and its misuse to smear and silence human rights defenders,” Lawlor said. “The arrest and detention of persons for exercising their human rights are arbitrary. There must be accountability and remedy where such abusive actions are taken.”   https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/03/india-un-expert-demands-immediate-end-crackdown-kashmiri-human-rights

2       Rayees Ahmad Butt : Mar., 31, 2023: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, several journalists and members of civil society paid rich tributes and condolences to martyred journalist, Rayees Ahmad Butt, on his first martyrdom anniversary. Indian troops martyred a young Kashmiri freelance journalist, Rayees Ahmad Butt along with a youth during a cordon and search operation on this day last year in Rainawari area of the Srinagar city. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/03/30/iiojk-journalist-rayees-butt-remembered-on-his-martyrdom-anniversary.html

3       Martyrs: Mar., 31, 2023: The Convener of All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK), Mahmood Ahmed Saghar has paid glowing tributes to renowned liberation leader Ashfaq Majid Wani and other martyrs of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/03/30/saghar-pays-glowing-tributes-to-ashfaq-majid-wani-other-iiojk-martyrs.html

4       Arunachal Pradesh; Apr 4 2023: China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a statement in which it said it had “standardised” the names of 11 places, including five mountains, in what China calls its southern Tibet region. The statement included a map that showed the 11 places renamed by China as being within “Zangnan”, or southern Tibet in Chinese, with Arunachal Pradesh included in southern Tibet and China’s border with India demarcated as just north of the Brahmaputra River.  a spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry said the name changes were “completely within the scope of China’s sovereignty”.  “The southern Tibet region is Chinese territory,” the spokesperson, Mao Ning, told a regular media briefing in Beijing on Tuesday . https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/4/india-rejects-chinas-attempt-to-rename-places-in-disputed-areas

5       Arunachal Pradesh : Apr., 6 2023: The Chinese government on Sunday announced it will “standardise” the names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh. The map released by China shows parts of Arunachal Pradesh instead as inside the southern Tibetan region, that China refers to as Zangnan. The list also includes a town close to Itanagar, capital of Arunachal Pradesh.

6       Rwanda genocide: Lesson to prevent yet another one in Kashmir by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai:  April 9, 2023: Today, on 7 April, the world community commemorates the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda . Dr. Gregory Stanton, Chairman, Genocide Watch spoke to ‘The WIRE’, “We’ve learned over the years that we should not ignore these early warning signs. We knew that there were very early warning signs, for instance, in Rwanda five years ahead of the time when the genocide there happened. We warned, no one did anything about it. We tried to even warn the President of the country.” He added “The reason we try to warn is (that) our objective is prevention. If you warn after the genocide is over, it’s too late. Unfortunately, that’s usually been the response of most of the international community.” Dr. Gregory Stanton has also warned the world community that Kashmir was at the brink of genocide.  “So many of the early stages of genocide are already present. We don’t wait until it is a full out mass killing campaign to declare genocide. There are early warning signs of genocide now and that’s what we believe is the situation in Kashmir,” Dr. Stanton eloquently stressed “I don’t see a strong foreign policy yet coming out of the Biden administration. I would make it part of our policy that we need to communicate to Mr. Modi that the US will not tolerate the kind of intolerance that he is preaching if we are going to have a good economic relationship with India.” Any effort to stop genocide and resolve the Kashmir conflict requires confronting the issue directly and honestly, and that is something that seems difficult for the Government of India to do. India does not want to resolve the Kashmir conflict but to dissolve it. India wants Kashmir issue to be buried under the rug when the issue is raised in the international community by alleging that it is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and no one else’s business. It could be strictly a bilateral issue if forthrightness was involved. The people of Kashmir do not wish anybody to take a partisan side. Kashmiris are convinced, nevertheless, that impartial observers would support the Kashmir cause based on universal principles, democratic values, rule of law and international justice. Therefore, we believe that the American response to the Kashmiri situation must be based on the principles of the right of a people with a distinct historical and cultural identity to decide their own future; the sanctity of international agreements worked out by the United Nations; a peaceful and stable subcontinent free from the possibility of a regional nuclear exchange; and the consistent application of human rights standards. Such an approach could lead to a just and peaceful resolution of the 76-year-old dispute that would be a lasting credit to U.S. foreign policy under the Biden administration. On the other hand, reluctance to undertake such an initiative neither contributes to a long-term strategy of global peace and security nor answers the demands of human conscience and the principles of justice. We firmly believe that peace in the region would benefit not only those who are directly impacted by this conflict – Kashmiris - but India as well. Sounder minds must prevail.  More rational methods of dealing with differences must be sought. Repeating the same mistakes while expecting different results has long ago been found to be the path of failure. Seventy-six-years should demonstrate a need for a change in policy, a policy that acknowledges the need for coming together in a process that accepts the right of all people to determine their own destiny.

 

Kashmir Update Week 227 ( mar 27  2023 to Apr 3 2023 )

1       UN on Kashmir: March 24 2023: India must immediately end its crackdown against Kashmiri human rights defenders, a UN expert said today, after renowned Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez was arrested in a second case on terrorism charges. “Indian authorities appear to be intensifying the long-standing repression of Kashmiri civil society,” said Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. “The State must respect its human rights obligations and be held accountable where it violates them.” On 22 March 2023, Khurram Parvez, already detained since November 2021 on accusations of terrorism, was arrested in a second case after two days of interrogation by the National Investigation Agency, India's main counter-terrorism body. He is accused of financing terrorism under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, through his work with the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). Prior to Parvez’s arrest, a former associate of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS), human rights defender and journalist Irfan Mehraj, was arrested in the same case on 20 March 2023 from Srinagar and immediately transferred to New Delhi. Former associates and volunteers of the JKCCS are facing coercion and intimidation from the authorities. “The Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) carries out essential work monitoring human rights. Their research and analysis of human rights violations are of huge value, including to international organisations seeking to ensure accountability and non-repetition of abuses,” Lawlor said. The expert called for the release and the closing of the investigations against Kashmiri human rights defenders.“Time and time again, the Government has been called upon to address the fundamental issues with the country's anti-terrorism framework and its misuse to smear and silence human rights defenders,” Lawlor said. “The arrest and detention of persons for exercising their human rights are arbitrary. There must be accountability and remedy where such abusive actions are taken.”   https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/03/india-un-expert-demands-immediate-end-crackdown-kashmiri-human-rights

2       Rayees Ahmad Butt : Mar., 31, 2023: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, several journalists and members of civil society paid rich tributes and condolences to martyred journalist, Rayees Ahmad Butt, on his first martyrdom anniversary. Indian troops martyred a young Kashmiri freelance journalist, Rayees Ahmad Butt along with a youth during a cordon and search operation on this day last year in Rainawari area of the Srinagar city. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/03/30/iiojk-journalist-rayees-butt-remembered-on-his-martyrdom-anniversary.html

3       Martyrs: Mar., 31, 2023: The Convener of All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK), Mahmood Ahmed Saghar has paid glowing tributes to renowned liberation leader Ashfaq Majid Wani and other martyrs of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/03/30/saghar-pays-glowing-tributes-to-ashfaq-majid-wani-other-iiojk-martyrs.html 

Kashmir Update Week 226 ( mar 20  2023 to mar 26 2023   ) 

1       Kashmiri journalist arrested: Mar. 23 2023; Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj has been arrested by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) under “terrorism” charges as New Delhi continues its crackdown on journalists in the Muslim-majority Himalayan region. NIA, India’s top “anti-terror” agency, in a tweet on Tuesday said the arrest took place a day earlier due to Mehraj’s collaboration with the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), an organisation directed by jailed human rights activist Khurram Parvez.  Parvez was arrested on “terrorism” and other charges in November 2021. Mehraj, who is the founding editor of Wande Magazine, worked with TwoCircles.net website. He has reported for several international media organisations, including Al Jazeera and Deutsche Welle.  India’s Hindu-nationalist government has jailed several journalists as part of its intensifying crackdown on media freedom since 2019. Kashmiri journalist Fahad Shah, who ran the Kashmir Walla website, was arrested last February, while Asif Sultan has spent more than five years in jail. He was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA, a law under which bail is nearly impossible to get. “Mehraj has been researching and writing consistently on important issues, from the plight of Kashmiri Pandits to encounter killings and these charges, under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), will result in a silencing of the kind of stories he wrote about,” co-founder Geeta Seshu said.“Journalists in Kashmir are arrested, raided, issued show cause notices, offloaded from airplanes and defamed as ‘anti-national’. The authorities must stop this systematic targeting of independent journalists in Kashmir, who seek to practice their profession without fear or favour.” Amnesty India called for the journalist’s immediate release, saying the arrest in connection with a “terror funding case” is “a travesty”. “Human rights defenders such as Irfan Mehraj should be encouraged and protected, not persecuted,” Aakar Patel, chair of the board at Amnesty International India, said in a statement on Tuesday. Parvez in January won the Martin Ennals Award, one of the world’s most prestigious human rights prizes, along with two other campaigners from Chad and Venezuela. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/21/kashmiri-journalist-irfan-mehraj-arrested-under-terrorism-charges

2       Biden Administration must insist on transparency in Kashmir: Dr. Fail : March 23, 2023: Once again, the United States Department of State has issued its latest report on human rights practices around the world. The report was issued on March 20, 2023.  The section on India (around 39 pages) contains graphic documentation of human rights violations being committed by the Indian military and paramilitary forces in Jammu & Kashmir. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, ‘World Forum for Peace & Justice’ underscored that the scale of gripping wrongdoing in Kashmir dwarfs what was witnessed in Bosnia and East Timor prior to international intervention, yet the world powers have watched the people of Kashmir suffer like spectators at the Roman Coliseum. That complacency gives at least the impression that Kashmiri lives and hopes are worth less than those of others. This report Fai added at least takes the veil of secrecy off of India’s crimes against humanity. Perhaps now the United Nations can share the outrage felt by the people of Kashmir.Here are the excerpts of the report given below.: While as “Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP)’ has reported that there are 8 to 10 thousand persons who have disappeared in Kashmir, Amnesty international echoed, “India: ‘If they are dead, tell us’ – ‘Disappearances’ in Jammu and Kashmir.” The State Department report mentions the following regarding disappearances. “In March 2021, UN special rapporteurs asked the central government to provide details regarding allegations of arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings, and disappearances in Jammu and Kashmir, including the status of Naseer Ahmad Wani, who disappeared in 2019 after being questioned by army soldiers. The location of Wani was still unknown at year’s end.” The report adds: “On July 29, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance and UN special rapporteurs expressed concern over continued allegations of lack of identification, protection, and preservation of large numbers of unmarked single and mass burial sites in Kashmir, including the failure to conduct proper forensic investigations, efforts to search for the forcibly disappeared, and the lack of progress in identifying the remains of individuals buried therein in accordance with international standards. The rapporteurs stated they were concerned by reports of intimidation and harassment against individuals and civil society organizations, including human rights defenders and journalists, who called for investigation and accountability.” The report details many instances where the use of draconian laws has given sense of total impunity to the Indian army in Kashmir. It states, “The Public Safety Act (PSA), which applies only in Jammu and Kashmir, permits authorities to detain persons without charge or judicial review for up to two years without visitation from family members.  In April, the press reported that more than 500 persons remained in detention under the PSA in Jammu and Kashmir.” It is pertinent to mention here that Amnesty International calls PSA as,’Lawless law.’ The State Department report cites the example of “Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez, who was arrested by the NIA for “terror funding” and “conspiracy” in November 2021, continued in detention. His pretrial detention has been extended at least five times by the NIA Special Court in New Delhi.” Meanwhile, Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on HRD said, “Khurram Parvez is not a terrorist. He is a human rights defender.” As we know that Committee to Protect Journalist has said that news media in Kashmir is at the brink of extinction. The State Department report says that, ”noted journalists working in Jammu and Kashmir continued to face barriers to free reporting through communications and movement restrictions…As of July 21, two journalists from The Kashmir Walla, an online newspaper, remained in detention.  In June, the State Investigation Agency in Jammu and Kashmir arrested Abdul Alaa Fazili, a one-time contributor to The Kashmir Walla, under the UAPA for a November 2011 article. The State Department report also added, “Kashmiri journalist, Aasif Sultan, detained since 2018, under the UAPA, was rearrested before his release on bail in April under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), which allows for detention for up to two years without trial…In Jammu and Kashmir, police arrested journalists Fahad Shah and Sajad Gul under the UAPA and PSA.  According to Human Rights Watch, at least 35 journalists had faced assaults, police interrogations, raids on their places of work, fabricated cases, and restrictions on movement in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019.” The report continued that “On July 2, immigration authorities at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi prevented Pulitzer-award winning photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo (Kashmiri) from travelling to France, where she was scheduled to attend a book launch event.  According to Mattoo, the immigration authorities did not state any reason for stopping her.  In October, authorities prevented Mattoo again from boarding a plane on her way to the Pulitzer Prize ceremony in New York, despite her having a valid ticket and visa, without explanation according to media sources. It is well documented that the bloody occupation has resulted in massive human rights violations, particularly targeting women and children. The sanctity of women has been violated, in a gruesome and unforgiving fashion. The State Department report says, “Women in Jammu and Kashmir, northeastern states, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh, as well as vulnerable Dalit or tribal women, were often victims of rape or threats of rape.” Dr. Fai warned that “Human rights will continue to be violated as long as political and civilian killings continue unabated, torture and rape remain widespread, civil liberties are suspended, and international human rights groups and United Nations Thematic Rapporteurs are prohibited from gaining access to Kashmir.” Dr. Fai urged the Biden Administration to insist on transparency in Kashmir to build moral suasion against the massive and systematic human rights violations there perpetrated by Indian occupation forces with impunity.

3       One martyred: Mar 25 2023: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district, today. The youth was martyred by the troops during a cordon and search operation in Tangdhar area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/03/24/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-kupwara-4.html

Kashmir Update Week 225 ( mar 13  2023 to mar 19 2023   ) 

1       Bucher papers: Mar 2, 2023:A series of letters, which India’s current government has tried to keep classified, paint a weak picture of the Indian army’s position in its 1948 war with Pakistan, and that then-Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was urged to agree to a ceasefire by his most senior general. According to a Guardian report, Mr Nehru was advised by Gen Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher – who was the commander in chief of the Indian army – to compromise with Pakistan due to their military’s inability to withstand a long military operation.The letters can have significant political consequences for India’s nationalist government – led by Prime Minister Modi – which had discredited Mr Nehru’s decision to compromise with Pakistan on the status of Kashmir as an ill-informed “blunder”, the Guardian said. Indian-held Kashmir was illegally stripped of its special status in 2019, which gave the region constitutional autonomy. The Modi government justified its decision by suggesting that Mr Nehru had made a mistake. Bucher papers reveal top general advised India’s first PM to pursue ceasefire with Pakistan in 1948 .The correspondence from Gen Bucher shows that Mr Nehru’s decision was not a blunder, and that he was acting on his top commander’s advice that a political compromise was needed. In his message to Mr Nehru, on November 28, 1948, Gen Bucher warned of fatigue among Indian troops in Kashmir, adding that an “overall military decision was no longer possible”. Revealing Indian army’s weak positions on the battlefield, he wrote: “Army personnel evince two weaknesses, lack of training in the junior leaders, tiredness and ennui in the other ranks … In brief, the army needs respite for leave, training, and vitalising.” There were also reports that Pakistan was planning to bomb Indian positions from the sky and was building roads to maintain and advance its positions. Raising these concerns with Gen Bucher, Mr Nehru wrote “It is clear to me that we cannot rely on Pakistan remaining on the defensive.” “In the event of Pakistan continuing their persistent shelling and offensive operation and our not being able to check this there, there is every likelihood of war taking place with Pakistan.” In a later letter on Dec 28, Gen Bucher finally advised a ceasefire, saying “I am afraid we cannot take military action to stop every road-building operation by Pakistan. May I suggest a political approach to this problem.” The war ended with a ceasefire on Jan 1, 1949, and Mr Nehru provided special status to the state of Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir, giving the region autonomy. https://www.dawn.com/news/1741380/nehrus-letters-dispel-modi-narrative-on-kashmir-blunder

 

2       Modi and Gujarat : Mar 4 2023: Panelists at the National Press Club (NPC) have urged the US media to hold Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi accountable for the 2002 Muslim massacre in Gujarat. The panel included people who have first-hand connections to the events and they “called for news media in the US to expose the key role of Mr Modi, Gujarat state government leader at the time, in making it happen,” an NPC statement said The demand was made after a BBC documentary, India: The Modi Question, was screened at the National Press Club (NPC), Washington this week and the audience included representatives of various US media outlets. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/03/13/us-panel-calls-for-holding-modi-accountable-for-gujarat-massacre.html  

Kashmir Update Week 224 ( mar 6  2023 to mar 12 2023   ) 

1       Celebrating International Day of Disarmament offers no hope to Kashmiris: Dr. Fai; Washington, March 5, 2023; The Secretary General of the United Nations and those who are interested in the world peace, know it well that Kashmir is the only international conflict which can bring two rival countries – India and Pakistan – to the brink of nuclear catastrophe, said Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, ‘World Forum for Peace & Justice.’ Fai quoted President Bill Clinton who said that Kashmir was the most dangerous place on earth; and former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark who said, “Kashmir is a nuclear flashpoint.” Dr. Fai suggested that let’s get a quick snapshot of the problem: If you had half a dozen soldiers from a foreign country stalking your neighborhood block day and night, watching your every move, noting when you come and go, who your children are playing with, and who you talk to in your neighborhood, demolishing your houses, changing the demography of your state? What would you think if occasionally you would see these soldiers arrest one of your neighbors and then go into his house, ransack it and dishonor the womenfolk? What’s your take if another neighbor came out and complained to the soldiers and they simply shot him on the spot, labeling him a threat under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which is nothing more than a license to kill? How would you feel when you know that this kind of thing isn’t an occasional incident that happens once every six months or even once a month. This is daily life in Indian occupied Kashmir? How would you feel except to resist the occupation? There is a resistance smoldering beneath the surface of this occupation that belies every notion that India is actually in control and managing its colonial possession. Fai apprised that Kashmir Valley currently has more than 900,000 military and paramilitary troops occupying an area with no more than 9 million people. Having so many troops in this small country whose size is no greater in square miles than the U.S. state of Tennessee should certainly be a cause for concern by anyone. This is more than three times the number of troops the U.S. had at the height of the Iraq War. Why are they there? Where’s the war? The answer is given by Yashwant Sinha, leader of BJP and former India’s foreign minister, who said, “there is no question of losing (Kashmir). We have lost Kashmir;” and P Chidambaram, leader of the Indian National Congress and former India’s finance minister, who said, “We have practically lost Kashmir.” “The cry for azadi (Freedom) has simply gotten louder. As such the level of tensions between India and Kashmir; and India and Pakistan show few signs of letting up any time soon. It has been consistently a witch’s brew that has done nothing but engender evil throughout the whole region,” Fai warned. India continues to create convenient excuses to ignore the people’s demands for self-determination. But ignoring the decades old problem of refusing to resolve the question of Kashmiri sovereignty and self-determination has not only led to deep unrest among the Kashmiris; it has also led to two wars between India and Pakistan. That they are now both nuclear-armed states raise the stakes dramatically and calls for action to defuse these tensions immediately. Perhaps it’s time the world powers, particularly, the United States take this seriously. The answer is plain as day for anyone. Kashmir has international legitimacy, having numerous UN Security Council resolutions which have given the right to self-determination to the people to decide their destiny. They should once and for all be honored. The clock is ticking. Every day that passes without resolution of Kashmir dispute is one day closer to a cataclysm that will reach far beyond the borders of all countries involved

2       Turkey and Kashmir: mar 7 2023; The raising of the Kashmir issued by Turkey and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the 52nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has unnerved India so much so that it even made a mention of the little consignment of relief good, New Delhi sent to Ankara for earthquake victims. India was baffled by the move to the extent that it not only denounced the Turkey’s Erdogan government but went as far as to even slam the High-Level Segment of 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/03/06/raising-of-kashmir-issue-at-un-by-turkey-unnerves-india.html

3       One more International Women’s Day: One more year of death, destruction, and rape in Kashmir: Dr. Fai; Washington, D.C. March 7, 2023; “On behalf of the women and children of the world who continue to be the innocent victims, we hope that the ‘Platform of Action’ which was adopted by the UN during the ‘Fourth World Conference on Women’ on 15 September 1995, suggest implementation of a special program to rehabilitate the women and children of all conflicts in all situations. We also hope that the sixty-seventh session of the ‘Commission on the Status of Women’ which started yesterday (March 6 – 17, 2023) at the United Nations will put these issues in a high priority. And, in particular, the women of Kashmir still have confidence in the mechanism of the United Nations and its sense of justice. But there are limits even to hope. They are often assailed by despair because of the half-hearted response of the international community to their tragic situation. Unfortunately, the passivity and the silence of the world powers of course unwittingly, have given the sense of total impunity to the occupation authority in Kashmir,” said Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, ‘World Forum for Peace & Justice’ on the eve of ‘International Women’s Day.’ Fai cited the reports of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNHCHR) on Kashmir that were issued on June 14, 2018 & July 8, 2019. The reports contains graphic documentation of human rights violations being committed by the Indian military and paramilitary forces in Jammu & Kashmir. It marked a significant step towards greater international recognition of serious abuses committed against Kashmiris by the Indian army. The reports further illustrated that “One significant case that illustrates the state’s failure to investigate and prosecute allegations of sexual violence and addressing impunity for sexual crimes in Kashmir is the Kunan-Poshpora mass rape, which took place 27 years ago and for which attempts to seek justice have been denied and blocked over the years by the authorities at different levels.” But, unfortunately, even these reports failed to take the veil of secrecy off of India’s crimes against humanity, Fai added. Fai drew the attention of the United Nations to another report issued by The New Delhi based NGO, ‘The Citizen Bureau’, published in ‘The Daily Citizen’ on February 24, 2014: “The rape of women in Kunan-Poshpora villages in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir is a 23 old saga of complicity, duplicity, and a massive cover up in which powerful institutions like the Army, the media, and the state and central governments were involved. The victim’s quest for justice has been deliberately blocked, with the perpetrators of the terrible crime getting completely away as a result.” “Do You remember Kunan-Poshpora” documentary evidence of five brave Kashmiri women scholars wrote these words on page 1, “This book is about one night in two villages in Kashmir. It is about a night that has refused to end for 24 long years, a night that holds stories of violations, injustice, oppression and falsehood, as well as acts of courage, bravery and truth. This book is about Kunan-Poshpora.” Devina Neogi, Ramaiah Public Policy Officer, wrote in ‘Journal of International Women's Studies,’ in May 2022. “The conflict in Kashmir has created havoc in the lives of the people, and the women have suffered the most, from physically auscultation to being raped, from losing their family members to being tortured in jails.” Zohra Batul, tried to shake the conscience of the world leaders by writing in the blog of London School of Economics, namely, Engenderings, “The reality of Indian democracy is most conspicuously exposed in Kashmir, a truth that no nationalist Indian wants to hear.” Amrit Wilson wrote in ‘The Peninsula (July 4, 2014): ‘When will the Kashmiri nightmare end?’ She added “Horrific violence has been faced by the women, with rape used as a “weapon of war to punish, intimidate, coerce, humiliate and degrade”. “The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), imposed in 1958 in all so-called ‘disturbed areas’ of India, provides the army and paramilitaries with almost total impunity, enabling them to arrest people without a warrant and on mere suspicion of their planning a terrorist act and allowing the security forces to “fire upon or otherwise use force even to the causing of death”. “The violated Kashmiri women ask what action has been taken to enforce the writ of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women,” Fai concluded.

4       Ro Khanna and Hindu nationalism; Mar 9, 2023: Khanna said that, having spent much of his career in Northern California's Silicon Valley, he has been immersed in Indian American issues for years. The rising tide of Hindu nationalism is on the forefront of the diaspora’s collective consciousness; from professional spheres to college campuses, reports of Islamophobia and casteism abound in South Asian spaces. Khanna hasn’t shied away from such conversations, and his vocalness has sparked outrage from right-wing Indian Americans. In 2019, 230 Hindu and Indian American entities wrote letter criticizing Khanna for denouncing Hindu nationalism (also known as Hindutva) and for advocating religious equality on the subcontinent.  “It’s the duty of every American politician of Hindu faith to stand for pluralism, reject Hindutva, and speak for equal rights for Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhist & Christians,” Khanna tweeted at the time. They also criticized Khanna for joining the Congressional Pakistan Caucus and for speaking out against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s revoking the state of Kashmir’s autonomy

5       Universal human rights & security cooperation; mar 9 2023; Stop Arming Human Rights Abusers Act imposes universal human rights and humanitarian conditions on security cooperation with the United States. The bill establishes red lines based on internationally recognized gross violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law. It creates a bipartisan, independent commission modeled after the US Commission on International Religious Freedom that will be responsible for making recommendations about countries to list and delist under this law. Once a country is determined to have crossed those lines, it automatically triggers a prohibition on security aid of any kind, arms sales including those controlled by the Commerce Dept. (tear gas, etc.), and exchanges with U.S. law enforcement. At the same time, it requires the State Department to actively work with the country in question to enact transitional justice mechanisms for the victims. https://omar.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-omar-introduces-stop-arming-human-rights-abusers-act-sahraa  

 

   

Kashmir Update Week 223 ( Feb 27 2023 to mar 5 2023) 

1       Naz Shah;  Feb 27 2023; Jammu Kashmir Self Determination Movement International team led by Founder Chairman Raja Najabat Hussain has welcomed the speech by Naseem Shah, also known as Naz Shah, a British Labour Party MP, in the UAE at the ‘Global Summit of Women 2023. Naz Shah in her address discussed in detail Islamophobia, female leaders and their role in peace building, social integration and driving prosperity https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/02/27/jksdmi-praises-mp-naz-shah-for-her-address-at-uae-event.html

2       One martyred; Feb 28 2023: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred one Kashmiri youth in Pulwama district. The youth was martyred by Indian troops during a cordon and search operation in Padgampora area of Awantipora in the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/02/28/indian-troops-martyr-kashmiri-youth-in-pulwama.html

3       human rights ; mar 3 2023;US secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that he raised human rights issues during his meeting with Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday. https://thewire.in/diplomacy/discussed-human-rights-issues-in-meeting-with-jaishankar-blinken

 

 

 

  

Kashmir Update Week 222 ( Feb 20 30 2023 to Feb 26 2023) 

1       Bucher papers; Feb 21 2023; Fearing that the release of a set of “sensitive” documents regarding Kashmir from 1947 could impact foreign relations, India “may prevent” the declassification of the letters, a Guardian report said. According to internal government documents seen by the outlet, the letters known as Bucher papers may contain military and political arguments pertaining to the reasons that made first Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru call for a ceasefire with Pakistan and gave a special status to India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. It highlighted how the region of IIOJK “was given a separate constitution, a flag, and autonomy over all matters except for foreign affairs and defence” for decades which was seen as a pivotal measure for protecting the rights of Kashmiris in the Muslim-majority state. https://www.dawn.com/news/1737993

2       Women and occupied Jammu and Kashmir ;Feb 23 2023 : The miseries and victimization of Kashmiri women by the Indian troops and police personnel continue unabated in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.This was revealed by a report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of the Kashmiri Women’s Resistance Day, today. The Day is observed on both sides of the Line of Control every year to pay tribute to the struggles and sacrifices of the survivors of mass rape and torture in Kunanposhpora. Call for the observance of the day as Women’s Resistance Day was, first, given by Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society and supported by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference in 2014. Indian troops had gang-raped around 100 women of all ages from eight to eighty years old on the night of February 23 in 1991 during a siege and search operation in Kunanposhpora in Kupwara district. The report maintained that at least 682 women have been martyred by Indian troops since January 2001 till date. It pointed out that since January 1989, the unabated Indian state terrorism rendered 22,957 women widowed while Indian forces’ personnel have molested 11,256 women. It said that thousands of women lost their sons, husbands, fathers and brothers in the occupied territory who were subjected to custodial disappearance by Indian Army, police and paramilitary personnel.The report pointed out that over two dozen women and girls including Hurriyat leaders, Aasiya Andrabi, Fehmeeda Sofi and Naheeda Nasreen, were facing illegal detention in different jails of IIOJK and India. They are being victimized only for the reason that they represent the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and their demand for the right to self determination, it said.The report deplored that despite the passing of thirty-two years, justice continues to elude the victims while the troops involved in heinous crime are roaming free. It said that the memories of Kunanposhpora mass rape are still fresh in the minds of the Kashmiri people. It said, the impunity given by India to its troops under draconian laws is the main reason behind the Kunanposhpora-like tragedies. “Kunanposhpora mass rape is a glaring example of Indian troops’ brutalities in IIOJK. It is a blot on the so-called democratic face of India, which is using rape of women as an instrument of state terrorism in IIOJK. Kunanposhpora tragedy is a proof of institutionalized violence being using by India and the war crimes perpetrated by Indian troops in Kashmir,” it said. The report maintained that India is employing rape as a military tactic to humiliate the Kashmiris and break their resolve for freedom from its subjugation. It said that New Delhi must be pressurized to reopen Kunanposhpora mass rape case to bring perpetrators to book. India must be held accountable for the heinous crimes perpetrated by its troops against the Kashmiris, it added. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/02/23/thousands-of-women-martyred-molested-in-iiojk-since-jan-1989.html 

Kashmir Update Week 221 ( Feb 13 30 2023 to Feb 19 2023) 

1       One martyred; Feb 16 2023: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/02/16/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-kupwara-3.html 

Kashmir Update Week 220 ( Feb 6 30 2023 to Feb 11 2023) 

1       Dr Mahathir Mohamad ; Feb 6 2023; Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former prime minister of Malaysia and renowned global statesman, said on Sunday that the plight of the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) had worsened since the abrogation of the occupied valley’s autonomous status in August 2019. While the rest of the world imposed lockdowns to contain the spread of Covid-19, India imposed a lockdown on IIOJK to contain protests and opposition to its emergency law and revocation of the autonomous status of the occupied territory, he added. “If lockdowns in other parts of the world were intended to save human lives and further sufferings, the lockdown on Jammu and Kashmir resulted in the exact opposite and worst,” he added. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2399555/malaysias-mahathir-voices-concern-over-plight-of-kashmiris-in-iiojk

2       Massive bulldozer action ; Feb 9 2023; The ongoing so-called anti-encroachment drive by the administration in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir has snowballed into a major controversy The massive bulldozer action across the occupied territory has triggered protests at several places, as the administration declared land cultivated and inhabited by people for generations as illegal encroachment. Even some arrests have been made by the authorities in Jammu in connection with protests against the authorities’ drive. Bulldozers are being used to demolish structures and homes across the occupied territory particularly in the Kashmir Valley and Muslim-majority areas of Jammu region. The opposition says bulldozers are being used on communal lines, NDTV reported. The drive, which started in January, was supposedly meant to retrieve land allegedly encroached upon by many, including politicians and senior state officials, NDTV said, adding when the order set off an outcry, IIOJK Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and officials of his administration said only the encroachments by the “high and mighty” will be targeted in the drive, but a mass eviction drive is being carried across the territory. According to an order issued by the revenue department last month, all district collectors have been directed to retrieve state land, leased land, common use land, and also grazing land. Since then, a massive anti-encroachment drive is underway, thousands of acres of land has been snatched from locals, and numerous constructions demolished.The drive has left thousands of families vulnerable, facing prospects of homelessness and livelihood challenges, the NDTV report concluded. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/02/09/thousands-face-eviction-as-bulldozers-roll-across-iiojk-report.html

3       Muhammad Maqbool Butt ; Feb 11 2023; illegally detained Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Masarrat Aalam Butt, paying glowing tribute to prominent Kashmiri leader, Muhammad Maqbool Butt, on the eve of his 39th martyrdom anniversary has said the Kashmiri people are duty-bound to safeguard the martyrs’ sacrifices by taking their mission to its logical conclusion. Masarrat Aalam Butt in a message sent from New Delhi’s infamous Tihar jail reiterated the APHC’s call for complete shutdown tomorrow. He said the Kashmiris will never forget their heroes. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/02/10/masarrat-aalam-pays-glowing-tribute-to-maqbool-butt.html 

Kashmir Update Week 219 ( Jan 30 2023 to Feb 4 2023) 

1       Shopping complex demolished; Feb 02 2023; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the authorities demolished a shopping complex of Hurriyat leader, Qazi Yasir, on Thursday morning in south Kashmir’s Islamabad town.The shopping complex owned by Idara-e-Tahqeeqat-e-Islami, headed by Qazi Yasir, was located near a stadium in the town https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/02/02/iiojk-authorities-demolish-hurriyat-leaders-shopping-complex-in-south-kashmir.html

 

 

Kashmir Update Week 218 ( Jan 23 2023 to Jan 28 2023) 

1       false flag operation ; Jan 26 2023;Pakistan's intelligence agencies have exposed another false flag operation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi regime in India on the country's Republic Day on January 26 in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), The Express Tribune learnt on Wednesday. As per details, the false flag operation is planned to be carried out by the Indian Army and the police in the occupied valley. Sector Poonch has been chosen near the Line of Control (LoC) for this purpose. Under the plan, Bashir would use some local people to try to enter IIOJK by planting bombs or improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from Jashkwal area of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on the Pakistani side. This action will be shown as a "failed" attempt near a mosque in Occupied Kashmir. Under the plan, the Indian Army and police will also reveal fake recoveries. DSP Prashana is supervising the false flag operation. The plan is to show a fake recovery by ambushing the troops of the Dogra Regiment of 93 Brigade. The purpose of the false flag operation is to spread the propaganda of ‘infiltration’ in IIOJK to the world. However, the Pakistani intelligence agencies exposed the whole plan in advance, handing a big shock to the Modi government. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2397677/spy-agencies-expose-another-indian-false-flag-operation-in-iiojk

2         Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday (Jan 23) questioned the surgical strikes and accused the government of peddling lies,  Singh alleged that the government did not agree to the CRPF request of flying its personnel from Srinagar to Delhi and 40 soldiers sacrificed their lives in Pulwama in 2019 to a terror attack. “They talk of surgical strikes. They claim to have killed so many people but no proof is given. They are ruling by peddling a bundle of lies,” the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, who has often courted controversy with his comments, said. In a tweet in Hindi later, he said, “From where did the terrorists get 300 kg of RDX in Pulwama incident? DSP Davinder Singh was caught with terrorists but then why was he released? We also want to know about the friendship between the prime ministers of Pakistan and India.” In his video message attached to the tweet, Singh said 40 CRPF personnel sacrificed their lives in Pulwama, but this government has not been able to reveal from where three quintals of RDX came. “Besides, the government has not been able to answer where is DSP Davinder Singh, who was caught involved with terrorists. Why was he let free and why was a case of treason not registered against him? We would also like to know from the prime minister as to what kind of relations he has with Pakistani prime minister that both are praising each other. At least, he should answer these questions,” the Congress leader said in a video message. Supporting his party colleague Digvijaya Singh, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera shared his tweet and video message and said Prime Minister Modi should answer questions on Pulwama and not hide behind the armed forces. “The question is to the Modi government. Without hiding behind our brave army, Modi ji should answer: How did RDX reach Pulwama? Why was DSP Davinder Singh released without investigation? What kind of relation does Modi ji have with Pakistan that you call ISI to Pathankot,” Khera said. Hindu https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/01/23/no-proof-of-indias-surgical-strike-against-pakistan-digvijay-singh.htm

3       Republic Day ; Jan 17 2023; Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and across the world observed Indian Republic Day, today, as Black Day in protest against India’s continued denial of Kashmiris’ right to self-determination. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/01/26/kashmiris-observe-black-day-across-globe-today-2.html

4        Modi ;Jan 28 2023; India under Modi's rule. ICYMI - 6 months ago, we produced a CJWS episode that pointed to smoking gun evidence of Modi's complicity in the Gujarat genocide. watch here: https://youtu.be/EM7MQD3i4oQ 

Kashmir Update Week 217 ( Jan 16 2023 to Jan 21 2023) 

1 Colonizing Kashmir ; Jan 14 2023; A Book “Colonizing Kashmir” written by Hafsa Kanjwal will available in the market in July 2023. This 336-page book explains that the Indian government has made Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir the world’s most militarized zone. Hafsa Kanjwal is an Assistant Professor of South Asian History at Lafayette College Pennsylvania United States. Drawing upon a wide array of bureaucratic documents, propaganda materials, memoirs, literary sources, and oral interviews in English, Urdu, and Kashmiri, Kanjwal examines the intentions, tensions, and unintended consequences Indian policy. She reveals how the Kashmir government tailored its policies to integrate Kashmir’s Muslims while also showing how these policies were marked by inter-religious tension, corruption, and political repression.  She urges us to question triumphalist narratives of India’s state formation, as well as the sovereignty claims of the modern nation-state. https://dnd.com.pk/the-book-colonizing-kashmir-written-by-hafsa-kanjwal-will-available-in-market-in-july-2023/281468

2 Two martyred; Jan 17 2023: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two youth in a fake encounter in Budgam district. Indian troops and paramilitary forces during a cordon and search operation stopped a vehicle at main Chowk near court area of the district. The troops dislodged the youth from the vehicle and shot them dead on spot. The locals said that the youth were killed in cold blood. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/01/17/indian-troops-martyr-two-kashmiri-youth-in-budgam-fake-encounter.html 

 

Kashmir Update Week 216 ( Jan 9 2023 to Jan 15 2023) 

1 G 20 on IOJ&; Jan 8 2023; According to the foreign ministry, India is solely responsible for widespread atrocities and egregious human rights violations in IIOJK. Indian forces have killed 639 innocent Kashmiris as a result of extra-judicial killings since 1947, according to reports. In blatant violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions, international law, and the 4th Geneva Convention, India seeks to change the demographic structure of the occupied land. It is a mockery that the international community cannot accept the holding of any G20 related meeting or event in IIOJK in any circumstances. https://malaysiandigest.com/exploring-the-potential-implications-of-pakistan-joining-the-g20/

2 The deplorable situation of the Muslim nation; Dr Amira Abo el-Fetouh; December 30, 2022; For me, the state of our Islamic nation breaks my heart. Indeed, every Muslim is saddened by the weakness and humiliation that our Islamic nation has witnessed. The nation has strayed for decades and whenever it tries to get back on course, it becomes more strayed and scattered. Its enemies speak out against it with hostility and who call Muslims terrorists, they fight Islam under the guise of "fighting terrorism" and utilise Arab rulers who appointed them in their countries, as spearheads in this malicious war.The new year comes with the threat of dividing Yemen into two; separating the south from the north as part of a conspiracy by the United Arab Emirates, which armed and financed the separatists, claiming it had withdrawn from the Saudi-led coalition. The UAE destroyed Yemen, bombed the homes of Yemenis while they were sheltering within them, killed thousands of Yemenis and destroyed the country. 2023 will witness a worsening situation for Palestinian, with racism, abuse and the murder of Palestinians rising, especially as the extreme right-wing Netanyahu government takes office. There is no sign of hope for the establishment of the Palestinian state that they have been promising since the Oslo Accords, while the Zionist enemy continues to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque and shoot peaceful worshippers. Zionist settlers are storming the mosque and desecrating it, and in spite of the oppression, humiliation and abuse that Palestinians are subjected to, the "civilised" world remains inactive.Should I highlight what is happening to the Muslims in Myanmar or the Uyghurs in China and the various types of torture and the systematic oppression they face, obliterating their lineage and uprooting their existence by the criminal fascist racist regime in China? It is tragic and shameful to hold an Arab-Chinese summit on the land of the Two Holy Mosques without mentioning these victims. Or should I talk about the Muslims of Kashmir after India abolished the self-governance of the Muslim region of Kashmir? The first country that hastened to support India's decision was the UAE. The Emirates described the Muslims of Kashmir as terrorists. Here I remember what happened to Timor and how they seized and separated it from the Muslim state of Indonesia under the pretext that its inhabitants are Christians. They established a state whose population does not exceed 900,000 people, but Kashmir, whose Muslim population exceeds 13 million citizens, is not allowed to be an independent state or be annexed to Muslim Pakistan, instead they stripped it of its self-governance status. What about what is happening in Syria, and the conspiracies that are planned to divide and occupy its land by the Russians and the Safavids? In Libya, colonial countries are competing to gain a part in Libya for their own interest, they use their agent Haftar to strike the capital, Tripoli, and kill its peaceful people who are defending their country and dignity, and today he plans to separate Cirenaica from Libya! Today, Iraq is witnessing Iranian victories, as Tehran appoints presidents and governors who are directly affiliated with it to the extent that one of its leaders said Iran occupies the capitals of five Arab states; Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Bahrain. Yes, Iran or the Safavid state as it was called took over these five countries.It is a new year, but nothing is new this year.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221230-the-deplorable-situation-of-the-muslim-nation/?mc_cid=73c5aedf48&mc_eid=f50a97be6b

Demand for Statehood | Ladakh outfits harden their stance

 

3 Ladakh; an 9 2023;In the intensification of demands raised since the striking down of Kashmir’s special status in 2019 and bifurcation into two Union Territories, two of the main socio-political bodies of the UT of Ladakh - the Leh Apex Body (LAB ) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) - have hardened their stance on securing Statehood. The two bodies ​​on Saturday rejected the high-powered committee constituted by the Union Home Ministry to ensure the protection of land and jobs for the people of the UT and ​​to resolve its “outstanding issues”. The LAB and KDA members said that they would boycott the MHA committee as it had not been mandated to discuss the four key demands raised by them. These are Statehood, constitutional safeguard under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, formation of Public Service Commission and reservation of jobs for the youth of Ladakh, and creation of two separate parliamentary constituencies for Leh and Kargil. The sixth schedule in the Constitution protects tribal populations, providing autonomy to the communities through the creation of autonomous development councils which can frame laws on land, public health, agriculture etc. Presently, 10 autonomous councils exist in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. According to the 2011 Census, Ladakh’s population is 2.74 lakh, of which nearly 80% belong to tribal communities. Civil society groups have been making these demands since 2019 and the fear of big businesses and conglomerates taking away land and jobs from the local people has contributed to the situation.

 

The 26-member LAB or the Peoples Movement for Constitutional safeguard under the sixth schedule, was formed in 2020. Its members have been alleging that decisions in the Leh council are being dictated by bureaucrats and that the UT administration is allotting land bypassing the council. They have also alleged the stagnation of recruitment in government jobs. Now, rejecting the MHA’s high-powered committee announced on January 2, the two bodies in Ladakh held an emergency meeting in Jammu and threatened to intensify agitation over the issues highlighted by them. They have decided to hold a protest rally in Jammu on January 15 followed by a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi in the third week of February. The hardening of the stance by the UT’s socio-political outfits indicates that the impasse with the Centre has also deepened. While the UT has shut down at least twice and protested on several occasions in the past three years over these demands, the Centre has not shown keenness in giving any special status to Ladakh. The MHA has said that the main objective for the inclusion of tribal populations under the sixth schedule is to ensure their overall socio-economic development, which, the UT administration has already been taking care of.

4 Two martyred; Jan 08 2023; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism have martyred two Kashmiri youth in Poonch district The troops martyred the youth in the night long operation in Balakote area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/01/08/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-iiojk-6.html

5 Kashmir Diaspora ;Jan 9, 2023 ;Kashmir Diaspora Coalition, a coalition of six international Kashmir diaspora advocacy organizations, issued the following press statement to denounce the radical Hindutva-led Indian Home Ministry’s inflammatory declaration of Esteemed Dr. Asif Maqbool Dar as illegal under the international law. On January 7, 2023, the Hindutva-led Indian Home Ministry declared the highly respected Kashmiri diaspora leader, Dr. Asif Maqbool Dar, a renowned anesthesiologist, as a 'terrorist' under its infamous Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Dr. Asif Maqbool Dar is not an Indian citizen. He is an advocate of the right to self-determination for the people of the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This right is accorded to all peoples under international law and relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions, especially Resolution 47 passed on April 21, 1947  of Jammu and Kashmir Similarly, we condemn their illegal incarceration of journalists, human rights defenders, political leaders and demand they withdraw their foreign military from neighborhoods in Kashmir. Lastly, we appeal to the UN, OIC, EU, Organization of American States, African Union, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International to intervene and stop India’s genocide in the disputed territory Kashmir.

6 US and Kashmir; Jan 14 2023; Pakistan on Friday said it would welcome facilitation by the United States to break the stalemate with India on the longstanding Kashmir dispute. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2395705/pakistan-to-welcome-us-facilitation-on-kashmir-talks-with-india

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                      

Human rights violations

(From Jan 1989 till 31 Dec 2022)
Total Killings	96,163
Custodial killings	7,282
Civilian arrested	165,428
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed	110,496
Women Widowed	22,954
Children Orphaned	1,07,892
Women gang-raped / Molested	11,256

 

(Dec 2022)
Total Killings	7
Custodial killings	7
Civilian arrested	43
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed	1
Women Widowed	2
Children Orphaned	5
Women gang-raped / Molested	0

 

Kashmir media Service

Kashmir Update Week 215 ( Jan 2 2023 to Jan 8 2023) 

1 2022 and IOJ&K; Jan 2 2023; In 2022, J&K saw the fulfillment of the controversial delimitation exercise that attracted allegations of foul play. Six new assembly seats went to Jammu, even though its population is less than that of Kashmir. Kashmir, on the other hand, was awarded only one new seat.. The manner in which existing seats were split into two or more units and amalgamated into entirely new constituencies also invited suspicion. That was because the seats that were wiped off the map were those that usually granted victory to parties like the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The other significant event that took place in J&K in 2022 pertains to press freedom . The crackdown on the media in 2022 was extended to academia as well. In April, the government barred the faculty and the principals of the government degree colleges in J&K from planning any foreign visits on “private affairs” without seeking an approval from the administrative department In 2022, the government finally allowed the armed forces to go about earmarking ‘strategic’ areas. In January, the army declared 129 acres of land in Gulmarg and 44 acres in Sonmarg as ‘strategic areas’. https://thewire.in/rights/jk-in-2022-a-series-of-mostly-unfortunate-events..

2 Human rights  and IOJK  ; Jan 2 2023; n Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their unabated acts of state terrorism martyred 214 innocent Kashmiris, including one woman and five young boys, during the year 2022. According to a report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service, today, 57 of the martyrs were killed in fake encounters and custody The report said, the killings by the troops, paramilitary and police personnel rendered 13 women widowed and 35 children orphaned while 10 women were molested, abused or disgraced by the men in uniform during the year. It said that Indian forces destroyed 44 residential houses and structures. The Indian authorities did not allow people to offer Friday prayers for 14 times at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar besides disallowing other religious functions like Muharram processions, Shab-e-Baraat, Shabe Qadr and Eid Milad-un-Nabi (SAW) gatherings in the occupied territory. The report said that resistance leaders  continue to remain in detention in Delhi’s Tihar Jail in fake cases. The report maintained that over 4,000 of people  remained in different jails of IIOJK and India under the black laws, Public Safety Act (PSA) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The report pointed out that since 5th August 2019, when Narendra Modi-led fascist Indian government revoked the special status of IIOJK, Indian troops, paramilitary and police personnel have martyred 730 Kashmiris till date.It added that 96,163 Kashmiris have fallen to the Indian bullets during the last 34 years in the occupied territory. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/01/01/indian-troops-martyred-214-kashmiris-in-2022.html .

 

3 Right to Self-Determination Day ; Jan 5 2023;Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and the world over will observe the Right to Self-Determination Day, tomorrow, with the pledge to continue their liberation struggle till it reaches its logical conclusion. According to Kashmir Media Service, call for observance of the day has been given by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference It was on 5th January in 1949 when the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution supporting the Kashmiris’ right to decide their future by themselves under a UN-supervised plebiscite. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2023/01/04/kashmiris-to-observe-right-to-self-determination-day-tomorrow.html

4 Mobile billboard trucks in Washington and New York lighted up messages demanding right to self-determination in Kashmir.; Washington. January 5, 2023; The World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF), a Washington-based advocacy body, displayed razor-sharp messages on mobile billboard trucks in Washington & New York, calling on the United Nations to fulfill its pledge towards the people of Jammu & Kashmir – right to self-determination. The electronic screens on the mobile digital trucks carried messages such as: "UN obligated to implement its resolutions on Kashmir;” “Land grab operation in Kashmir is economic terrorism”;  “Freedom for all: Freedom for Kashmir”; ”Stop Indian military & demographic terrorism in Kashmir”; “Indian occupied Kashmir: Most densely militarized settler colony”; “Hold India accountable for war crimes in Kashmir”;  etc.  .“Our objective was to target the policy makers in Washington and New York as well as the passersby to let them know that crimes against humanity are being committed in the so-called largest democracy – India - and that the Biden Administration is giving preferential treatment to India because of its commercial interests,” Dr. Mir said. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai said that it was on January 5, 1949, when the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) worked out the concrete terms of settlement in close and continuous consultation with both India and Pakistan. As both governments formally signified their acceptance of the commission’s proposals, they constituted an international agreement as binding as a treaty. A ceasefire was immediately enforced. The Commission then started negotiations to draw up a plan for the withdrawal of Indian and Pakistan armies from the State in a manner and sequence that would not cause disadvantage to either side or imperil the freedom of the plebiscite. Progress towards a solution was, however, blocked, Dr. Fai added, by India’s refusal to accept that the withdrawal of forces on the two sides should be balanced and synchronized. Recognizing that its people would never freely vote accession to India, it contrived excuse after excuse to frustrate a plebiscite Sardar Taj Khan, organizer of the event in New York called upon the United Nations Secretary General to impress upon the parties concerned to create an atmosphere for a free and impartial plebiscite in Kashmir that will guarantee peace and prosperity in the whole region of South Asia. Sardar Taj added that RSS extremist ideology has become a huge problem not only for the Muslims of India but also for other minorities, including Christians and Dalits.   

Kashmir Update Week 214 ( Dec 26 2022 to Jan 1 2023) 

1 Four martyred; Dec 28 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred four Kashmiri youth in Jammu district, today. The troops martyred the youth in a fake encounter in the garb of a cordon and search operation after arresting them when they were traveling in a truck in Sidhra area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/12/28/indian-troops-martyr-three-kashmiri-youth-in-jammu.html

2 Kashmir and Impasse at the United Nations; Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai ; December 29, 2022 ; Kashmir is a dispute recognized by the United Nations. It holds the infamy as the most dangerous place on the planet. The 76-year-old conflict in that disputed, divided, devastated, and illegally occupied territory is the bone of contention of the nuclear tension in the region of South Asia. Without a just and lasting peace in Kashmir that vindicates self‑determination, trying to reduce missile and nuclear arsenals; and bring normalcy in the region of South Asia will be an exercise in futility.  By all customary moral and legal yardsticks, 23 million people of Jammu & Kashmir enjoy a right to self-determination. The princely state, after British suzerainty for a century, achieved independence on August 15, 1947, when British jurisdiction lapsed. At that time, Kashmir had chosen neither accession to Pakistan nor to India, which had been created as separate nations through a British partition along largely Hindu-Muslim communal lines.Nothing regarding partition or the lapse of British control required Kashmir to renounce independence for absorption in a neighboring nation. Sir Gopalaswami Ayyanger, the Indian delegate to the United Nations spoke on January 15, 1948, at the Security Council, “When the Indian Independence Act came into force, Jammu and Kashmir, like other states, became free to decide whether it would acceded to the one or the other of the two dominions, or remain independent.”  Kashmir was overwhelmingly Muslim, with Pandits, Buddhists, and Sikhs featured as welcome religious minorities. The ecumenical religious atmosphere in Kashmir found expression in inter-religious friendships, neighborhoods, businesses, and mutual celebration or respect of religious holidays. Its rich array of religious adherents has historically lived side-by-side and enjoyed neighborliness and fast friendships across religious divides.  Sir Benegal Rama Rau, Indian delegate to the United Nations said at the Security Council on March 1, 1951, “India should like at this stage to try to remove some of the misconceptions and prejudices that appear to have gathered round this subject.  The Kashmir question is not a Hindu – Moslem question as so often represented or misrepresented.”  He further said that “The people of Kashmir are not mere chattels to be disposed of according to a rigid formula; their future must be decided on their own interest and in accordance with their own desires.”  The Maharaja ruling over Kashmir, however, was an oppressive Hindu whose tyranny had sparked an indigenous insurgency. The then Prime Minister of India, Pandit Nehru, had voiced a consensus view that sovereignty in princely states like Kashmir had devolved on their respective peoples as of August 15, 1947; and, that the peoples’ voice should prevail in a plebiscite over the sovereignty ambitions of ruling maharajas in cases ofconflict. In two other princely states – Hyderabad & Junagarh -- where the rulers were Muslim, Nehru enforced his view by flexing India’s military muscles. In Kashmir, Nehru championed a plebiscite to determine its sovereign destiny. Accordingly, India sponsored plebiscite resolutions before the United Nations Security Council, which wereadopted in 1948 & 1949.  The United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) worked out the concrete terms of settlement in close and continuous consultation with both India and Pakistan. These were crystalized in two resolutions adopted on August 13, 1948, and January 5, 1949. As both governments formally signified their acceptance of the commission’s proposals, they constituted an international agreement as binding as a treaty. A ceasefire was immediately enforced. The Commission then started negotiations to draw up a plan for the withdrawal of Indian and Pakistan armies from the State in a manner and sequence that would not cause disadvantage to either side or imperil the freedom of the plebiscite. Meanwhile, a distinguished American, Admiral Chester Nimitz, was designated as the Plebiscite Administrator.  Progress towards a solution was, however, blocked by India’s refusal to accept that the withdrawal of forces on the two sides should be balanced and synchronized. India, however, was soon undeceived of its delusions over Kashmir's political yearning.  Recognizing that its people would never freely vote accession to India, it contrived excuse after excuse to frustrate a plebiscite.  When the United Nations proposed arbitration, a reference to the World Court, or any other method of resolving minor demilitarization quarrels, India nixed them all.  After a few years, it dropped all pretense of acceding to a referendum by unilaterally proclaiming its annexation of Kashmir.  India's proclamation has never been accepted by the United Nations, which continues to list Kashmir as disputed territory and subject to the Security Council's self-determination resolutions.  Not a single politician in India believes for a second that a majority of Kashmiris would prefer accession to India to independence. Yashwant Sinha, leader of BJP and former India’s foreign minister said, there is no question of losing (Kashmir). We have lost Kashmir. P. Chidambarum leader of Indian National Congress and former India’s finance minister said, “We have practically lost Kashmir.” That explains India’s stubborn resistance to implementing the U.N. Security Council’s plebiscite resolution which India itself sponsored. Today, the Government of India has deployed a staggering 900,000 military and paramilitary forces in Kashmir at stupendous monetary costs to suppress indigenous aspirations for freedom and justice. Human rights violations perpetrated with impunity are as grimly regular as the rising of the sun in the east and the setting in the west. Since the beginning of the latest phase of freedom struggle born in 1989 from another rigged election, over 100,000 Kashmiris have died in conflict. Indeed, the grim deaths have become so routine that they are reported in major newspapers like car accidents—buried in the back pages with two or three lines of ink. Every independent human rights organization that has surveyed the Kashmiri landscape has expressed horror and outrage at the human rights inferno created by India, for example, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Genocide Watch, and even the two reports issued by the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights.  Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani, President, JKCHR wrote to the UN Secretary General that “Modi Government has carried out a dangerous act of aggression against the people of Kashmir and has savaged all existing obligations pending under UN Security Council Resolutions.”  Adlai Stevenson, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations  proved prophetic when he said on February 24, 1964, “It is a matter of the greatest regret to my Government, as it is to so many governments here represented, that India and Pakistan have been unable to reach a  settlement either through the mechanism set up by the Security Council or in bilateral talks, and that this dispute continues to occupy so much of the time of the international community… “It must be recognized by both countries that the problem of Kashmir cannot be settled unilaterally by either party. It can only be settled, as I say, by agreement and compromise, taking into account the free expression of will of the people concerned.”   It’s, therefore, clear that Kashmir needs a strong and determined will and the genius of an imagination that has the negotiating skills and knows how to bring people together.  The people of Kashmir still believe that there cannot be a better agency than the Secretary General of the United Nations himself to mediate or facilitate between the parties concerned. Secretary General has no ambition to assert dominance while as great powers do. Mediation by the Secretary General would be free from the jealousies and the ambitions that characterize individual initiative. The Secretary General will have to remain under no obligation to please any particular power or particular set of powers or groups. Yes, there will be resistance from India but if India is impressed with what she would gain by a just settlement of the Kashmir dispute, her negativity may not be insurmountable. But persuading India may take time. In the interim, several measures should be taken to ease the misery and tensions of the people of Jammu & Kashmir. Human rights organizations should be given greater access. India’s occupation forces should be thinned. All political prisoners should be released. Emergency laws which give India’ army immunity for human rights crimes should be repealed. Domicile law which is designed to change the demography of Kashmir should be revoked. There should be freedom of speech, expression, opinion, and assembly given to all peoples irrespective of their political beliefs. 

3 Kashmir House based on concept of self-sufficiency & financial independent: Dr. Mir;Istanbul, Turkiye. December 30, 2022; Being conveniently located in the heart of the bustling city of Istanbul, the leadership of Kashmir House under the leadership of Dr. Mubeen Shah should serve the Kashmir cause well.” Dr. Mir explained that besides being a Physician Dr. Mubeen Shah has served as the Chairman of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and a liaison between the Chamber of Commerce and the largest and most authoritative civic-political alliance of Jammu and Kashmir. After Modi’s regime abruptly abrogated the internal autonomy of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, stripping millions of Kashmiris of their freedoms Dr. Mubeen Shah was arrested and jailed in India before the regime had to yield under foreign pressure and release him. He sought refuge in Malaysia and finally gained citizenship in Turkey. He has now dedicated his life to the cause of freedom of Kashmir and was elected Senior Vice-Chairman of the Kashmir Diaspora Coalition in October 2022 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The coalition is composed of six Kashmiri diaspora advocacy organizations based in the US, UK, EU, Canada, Turkiye and the Middle East. We all congratulate the Kashmir House for working hard to establish the center. It also provides a peaceful venue for Kashmiri diaspora to peacefully commiserate while away from home, busy with work and study for a better future. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai  said  Every time he visits the KH, he gets enthused while talking to the team of KH which is headed by physician turned into successful businessman, Dr. Mubeen Shah. Dr. Shah has been able to create successful partnership with like-minded NGOs in the area. It is always a joy, Dr. Fai said to discuss the history and more importantly the strategy of plan of action with Dr. Mubeen Shah. Dr. Fai added that Dr. Shah’s formula for Kashmir is simple but powerful. He has the clarity of vision about the future of Kashmir…the aspirations of the people of Jammu & Kashmir must be respected and ultimately ascertained. He consistently stresses that Kashmiri diaspora must get united on one single agenda item, i.e., right of self-determination, no ifs and no buts. Isn’t this an idea worth pursing?

3 Human rights in IO&K; Jan 1 2023; An annual report prepared by Legal Forum for Kashmir (LFK) delineates the situation of human rights in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK). Like previous years, 2022 again witnessed bloodshed of Kashmiris and silencing of Kashmir’s civil society, arbitrary arrest of human rights defenders, journalists and religious clergy.The unparalleled censorship and blackout on all forms of media coverage about the ongoing situation in the war-trampled region has made it more vulnerable for human rights organizations and media to work freely. The year witnessed the killings of 181 freedom activists besides the extrajudicial killing of 45 civilians. It said 24 Indian troops were killed during the year. Indian troops launched 200 Cordon and search operations (CASOs) and Cordon and Destroy Operations (CADOs). The CASOs and CADOs also left 212 residential houses vandalized and destroyed at the hands of Indian occupying forces. There were 169 instances of Internet blockade. In January 2022, thousands of acres of land in Gulmarg and Sonamarg area of Occupied Kashmir were declared as ‘strategic areas’ and given to Indian military. This is a brazen violation of International Law governing the disputed nature of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir On multiple occasions Indian state agencies have taken prisoners out and killed them in military operations. Torture and Sexual violence continues to be used as a weapon of choice. Resistance and dissent have been criminalized as Indian state continues to use masquerading language and cloaked terminology to hoodwink international community.The Indian authorities in IIOJK have terminated services of at least 40 employees, citing their affinity to resistance ideology. This social, cultural, economic and political disempowerment is carried to infuse fear among Kashmiri populace and create coercive disciplining.GOI is recruiting retired security personnel from all over India for civilian posts in OJK. Religious freedom remains curtailed for the Muslim majority region. It has been 198 weeks in the last six-years that Kashmir’s largest mosque, Jamia Masjid remains locked down. Dozens of Imams and preachers were routinely harassed, while many of them were booked under draconian laws like UAPA and PSA. Massive administrative and legislative changes arming and aiding the Indian settler colonial project saw massive land grabs by Indian defense and Hindu right-wing capitalists paving way for demographic change. In a bid to disempower native Muslim population, India extended voting rights to all the Indian citizens living temporarily in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. These arbitrary orders tantamount to changing the demography of occupied Kashmir and implemented coercively and incessantly. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/12/31/lfk-report-paints-bleak-picture-of-human-rights-in-iiojk.html 

Kashmir Update Week 213 ( Dec 19 2022 to Dec 25) 

1 Three martyred; Dec 21 2022;   In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three Kashmiri youth in Shopian district, today (Dec 20) . The youth were martyred after they were arrested by the troops and later killed in a fake encounter in the garb of a cordon and search operation in Munjh Marg area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/12/20/indian-troops-martyr-three-kashmiri-youth-in-fake-encounter-in-shopian.html....

 

2 Young man missing; Dec 24 2022; A young man from north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, who was detained by the Army on December 15, has gone missing, prompting his family to stage a protest in Srinagar to demand his whereabouts. The Army has, however, said that the missing person “fled” from their custody Abdul Rashid Dar, who drives a mini load-carrier to make a living and also runs a family-owned tent shop, was having dinner at around 8:30 pm last Thursday when a team of Army soldiers from 41 Rashtriya Rifles unit posted in Trehgam knocked at the door of his house in Kunan village of the frontier district of Kupwara. In the evening, the family was told by local officials that the Army has intimated the police that Rashid fled from their custody when he was being taken to Marhama.  . https://thewire.in/rights/kupwara-abdul-rashid-dar-missing-army-custody 

 

Kashmir Update 211 & 212 (Weekly Kashmir update 211 Dec 5 2022 to Dec 18 2022)

1 OIC on Kashmir; Dec 11 2022; Hissein Brahim Taha, the secretary general of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed solidarity with Kashmiris and expressed support for their right to self-determination in accordance with resolutions of the UNSChttps://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/11-Dec-2022/oic-chief-expresses-full-support-to-kashmiris-right-to-self-determination

2 British trade and human rights ; Dec 12 2022; Urging the international community to act fast on ending illegal occupation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and in Palestine by India and Israel, the British government was on Saturday urged to apply sanctions on states which violate human rights without any discrimination. “In particular all trade between Britain and any other state must be consistent with international law. British Trade both with Israel and India is inconsistent with international law particularly when it comes to the arms trade,” the resolution added.   https://tribune.com.pk/story/2390648/human-rights-for-all-british-moot-questions-uks-trade-with-india-israel

3 Troops Clash; Dec 12 2022; Indian and Chinese troops faced off in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Friday, December 9, which led to minor injuries on both sides, confirmed military sources in the know of things. According to The Hindu, the clash took place at Yangste in Tawang and “several Indian soldiers were injured”. Some of them also sustained fractured limbs and are currently recuperating at a hospital in Guwahati. Around 600 Chinese troops were present when the clash took place, the news outlet added. https://thewire.in/security/indian-chinese-troops-clash-along-lac-several-injured-military-sources

 

 

4 Ankara on Kashmir; Dec 11 2022;    we participated in the conference titled ‘The narrative of occupation and scopes of international law: A preview of Occupied Kashmir’ organized under the auspices of International Kashmir Congress held in Ankara, Turkiye. That international community has failed the people of Indian occupied Kashmir for many decades. That India has flagrantly violated international law, norms, conventions, and treaties in the course of implementation and its unlawful occupation, with the criminal intention of colonizing and annexing Kashmir. That the Indian state is aggressively pursuing a fascist agenda in occupied Kashmir and has been perpetrating the war crimes, crime against humanity and crime of aggression and doing so with total impunity and zero accountability. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/12/12/declaration-on-the-ankara-conference.html

5 Ankara Declaration; Dec, 12, 2022; International Law and the UN cannot be effective unless they are politically implemented. Under these circumstances the civil societies throughout the world have a huge role to play in shaping a political strategy that complements the legal analysis, and finally brings justice to the people of Kashmir. To achieve liberation for Kashmir depends above all on fulfilling the inalienable right of self-determination, which has been withheld by India for 75 years." Prof. Richard Falk Three days international Kashmir Congress was held in Ankara That India has flagrantly violated international law, norms, conventions, and treaties in the course of implementation and its unlawful occupation, with the criminal intention of colonizing and annexing Kashmir.  That the Indian state is aggressively pursuing a fascist agenda in occupied Kashmir and has been perpetrating the war crimes, crime against humanity and crime of aggression and doing so with total impunity and zero accountability.  India, which is an electoral autocracy, has been cynically deceiving the world by adhering to the empty forms of democracy, peace and justice without any intention of acting in conformity with these ideals, it has done this to hoodwink international community into believing that the fate of Kashmir is subject to India’s legitimate authority which in reality is manipulated by its fake constitutionalism. 

That India in continuation of its colonial project has deprived the Kashmiri people of the mirage of limited safeguards that were derived from United Nation Security Council resolutions (UNSC); That India had long been brutally repressing the movement for exercise of Kashmirs’ human rights, above all the inalienable Right to Self-determination; India has relied on intense coercion ever since 1947, these policies were intensified by the decrees put into effect by India in August 2019. We reject India’s aggression, illegal occupation, coercion, and denial of the sacred right of self-determination in all forms. That we implore the international community finally to act in accord with the principle of ‘Injustice anywhere is threat to justice everywhere’. That we, the Kashmiris, victims of India’s aggression are duty bound to protect our land, people, culture and freedoms and uphold rights as guaranteed by international law. That the indigenous population is under threat and has every right and duty to resist oppression and uphold the rights of self-defense against the perpetrators of ‘Crimes against humanity’, ‘War crimes’ & ‘Crimes of aggression.’ That the failure of international community and its institutions in occupied Kashmir are discrediting the UN, drawing into question its very existence and validity.  That India disregards and undermines the international justice system which is encouraging fascists, autocrats and aggressors throughout the world, likewise, to oppress freedoms and violate International human rights, international humanitarian laws and International criminal law.  That the UN Charter which describes and mandates intervention in case of violation of international peace and security should abandon double standards and discriminatory enforcements and it is long overdue that the Charter be implemented in occupied Kashmir to the full extent of the law.That in Kashmir’s rightful and long struggle for self-determination we appeal and advocate unconditional solidarity by the International community and urge an immediate end in aiding and abetting India’s atrocities, crimes and Human rights violations and act in accordance with its moral and legal responsibilities, not only for the sake of the long-suffering people of Kashmir, but for the benefit of all peoples throughout the world that seek a just world order based on the observance of the rule of Law and respect for the rights of all. 

 

6 India supports terrorism; Dec 4 2022; Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Tuesday that there was “clear evidence” of India carrying out terrorist activities in Pakistan, adding that the government has decided to present the matter before the international community. “Today, the matter that we are putting before you […] we have evidence of India’s involvement in it,” Sanaullah said, referring to the Johar Town blast in Lahore last year. In June 2021, a powerful blast near the residence of Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed in Johar Town had killed three people and injured 24 others, including a police constable. Six-year-old Abdul Haq, his father Abdul Malik, 50, and a young passerby died in the explosion that left a four-foot-deep and eight-foot-wide crater on the road and damaged several houses and shops nearby. Days after the incident, the then information minister Fawad Chaudhry and national security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf told a press conference that the mastermind of the attack was “an Indian citizen and he is associated with [Indian intelligence agency] RAW”.Earlier this year, Dawn reported that the Punjab CTD had claimed to have arrested the mastermind as well as the facilitator of the Johar Town bomb blast from Balochistan. They were identified as Samiul Haq and Uzair Akbar. In the press conference today, IG Mehmood briefed on the investigation of the blast and revealed that the authorities had reached the culprits. The official recalled that the police had traced the suspect within 16 hours of the incident. “And within 24 hours we arrested three terrorists. “The first character was Peter Paul David who was caught through [the details] of his vehicle. Sajjad Hussain, who was arrested alongside, was David’s assistant,” he said. Ziaullah, Mehmood continued, was arrested on Peter’s identification and “we found out that he was the main culprit behind the attack”. “Eid Gul and his wife were arrested after 5-6 days. Gul was the person who David gave the car to and he outfitted it with ammunition and bombs,” he said, adding that the video of the blast showed Gul coming out of the vehicle. After Gul’s interrogation, the CTD was finally able to arrest Sami ul Haq, who Mehmood claimed was the main handler of the RAW-sponsored terror activities in Pakistan. “Subsequently, we got Haq’s red warrants issued through Interpol. After that, purely on an intelligence and investigation basis, we were informed this person was entering Pakistan and we arrested him on April 22 along with his brother-in-law.” The police official further revealed that Haq’s brother-in-law, identified as Uzair Akbar, assisted him in terror activities. “We also found out about Naveed Akhtar, who did the surveillance and selected the target. “Naveed was a labourer in the Middle East and was in jail because he could not pay his fine. A RAW agent approached him and told him that he would pay his fine, but then, Naveed would have to engage in terror activities against Pakistan,” Mehmood said in the press conference. He added that as soon as Naveed was arrested, several terror activities were thwarted. “When we arrested Sami ul Haq, Naveed was unaware of his arrest. Sami ul Haq told us that he was about to meet Naveed on May 10. We were then able to apprehend Naveed as well.” As the investigation continued, Mehmood said, more RAW agents were uncovered. “We also found out that close to a million dollars of terror financing was done through India to spread terrorism in Pakistan through different channels,” he revealed, adding that all the arrested persons have been sentenced to death three times by the court. Mehmood also said that the CTD had clear evidence “which is undeniable about India and RAW’s involvement”. Meanwhile, Sanaullah said that the Foreign Office would, henceforth, raise this matter before the world. “India will be exposed because there is clear evidence that it is directly involved.”He pointed out the Johar Town blast case was “complete” in which culprits were caught and substantial evidence was found. “Thus, we have decided to put it before the international community as it will have its own weight and impact.” The minister added that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) had support from the RAW for terrorist activities in Pakistan. https://www.dawn.com/news/1726154/clear-evidence-of-india-carrying-out-terrorist-activities-in-pakistan-rana-sanaullah

 

7 Terrorism and India; Dec 15 2022;Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said on Wednesday that “no country had used terrorism better than India” as she called on the international community to take note of New Delhi’s attempts to destabilise Pakistan.  “To play on the back of the attention of the world on terrorism and to play the victim, no country has benefitted from it better than India.”  She highlighted that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had already held a press conference a day earlier on the blast in Lahore’s Johar Town in 2021. She said earlier in the day, the foreign secretary called the diplomatic corp and shared a “dossier”, containing evidence of India’s involvement in the incident, with them. “This dossier, as you already know, has details, evidence of how India has found to be fully behind this particular incident which led to the loss of lives. And we do not, unlike our neighbours, go the next day and blame one country or the other. We waited till we had strong hard evidence to be making the case we are making today.” In June 2021, a powerful blast near the residence of Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed in Johar Town had killed three people and injured 24 others, including a police constable. Six-year-old Abdul Haq, his father Abdul Malik, 50, and a young passerby died in the explosion that left a four-foot-deep and eight-foot-wide crater on the road and damaged several houses and shops nearby. Earlier this year, Dawn reported that the Punjab CTD had claimed to have arrested the mastermind as well as the facilitator of the Johar Town bomb blast from Balochistan. They were identified as Samiul Haq and Uzair Akbar.Taking about the Lahore blast, Khar said there was clear evidence of the terrorist attack being “planned and supported” by India. “It reflects India’s persistent hostility towards my country and the use of terrorist proxies to achieve terrorist objectives.” Khar went on to say that some of the perpetrators of the attack had been brought to justice, but also said that the “masterminds and the facilitators” remained at large and “under Indian state patronage and protection”. She highlighted that India continued to operate as a “rogue state”. “A country that tries to deny the existence of UNSC resolutions […] shows what type of a mindset this country has.” She went on to say that India had been paralysing the UNSC sanctions regime by blocking listing of Indian terrorists actively aided and financed by the Indian state. She also shared the names of four Indian nationals the listing of whose names was blocked, namely Govinda Patnaik, Parthas Arti, Rajesh Kumar and Mr Dumgara  She said that the international community, particularly the UN and FATF, had the responsibility now to hold India accountable for its terrorist actions. “We are looking for accountability. The Lahore incident, for us, is a test case for the credibility and integrity of international counter-terrorism and counter financing of terrorist regimes. The world must show that efforts to counter-terrorism are non-discriminating. The international conscience cannot be held hostage to what are clearly political and economic exigencies of the time.” She said that Pakistan had shared the dossier with members of the UNSC and would also share it with the UN secretary general. “We hope that they would look into this evidence and fulfill their responsibilities It further stated that the foreign secretary asked the international community to hold India accountable for its crimes. https://www.dawn.com/news/1726314/no-country-has-used-terrorism-better-than-india-hina-rabbani-khar

 

8 British parliament on Kashmir; Dec 17 2022;   British parliament hosted the National Student Conference on Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), with the participation of students, British lawmakers and activists from across the country. “When you talk about rape as a weapon of war and having treated so the women that it occupies, that it rules over, that it claims to secure, there is a certain tyranny that the world can understand,” said British Shadow Minister Jess Phillips about IIOJK.

She said that India has used rape as a weapon of war in IIOJK to persecute the local population against their demand for right to self-determination British MP Debbie Abraham, who is also chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Kashmir, also attended the conference. Expressing concern over the situation of human rights in IIOJK, Phillips said the right to self-determination is the end goal for Kashmir. “I pledge that going forward we will seek to do some real international work with women of occupied area (of Kashmir) … with women’s rights activists around the world,” she added. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2391385/british-parliament-hosts-national-student-conference-on-iiojk

 

Kashmir Update 210 (Nov 28 2022 to DeC 4 2022 struggle of Kashmir’s for freedom 

1 The Kashmir File; Dec 2 2022;Unfazed by the widespread criticism of his comments against the Hindi film " The Kashmir Files", Israeli director and IFFI international jury chair Nadav Lapid said he stands by his remarks as he "knows how to recognise propaganda disguised as a movie". Reacting to the backlash he received for calling " The Kashmir Files" a "vulgar" and "propaganda" movie, Mr. Lapid said making bad films is not a crime, but the Vivek Agnihotri directorial is "crude, manipulative and violent". https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/nadav-lapid-stands-by-his-comments-on-the-kashmir-files-says-can-recognise-propaganda-disguised-as-a-movie/article66205377.ece

2 12 martyred ; Dec 2 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their unabated acts of state terrorism martyred 12 Kashmiris during the last month of November. According to the data issued by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service, today, of those killed five were martyred in fake encounters and in custody. Indian troops, paramilitary and police personnel arrested 78 people, mostly youth, activists, students and a woman under black laws Public Safety Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 190 cordon and search operations in the territory. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/12/01/indian-troops-martyr-12-kashmiris-in-november.html

3 Human rights in India; Dec 4 2022; The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has said the US State Department has turned a blind eye by not including India in the list of “countries of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act. “There is no justification for the State Department’s failure to recognise Nigeria or India as egregious violators of religious freedom, as they each clearly meet the legal standards for designation as CPCs  https://thewire.in/rights/religious-freedom-uscirf-slams-omission-of-india-in-us-state-depts-particular-concern-list

 

 Human rights violations

 

 

(From Jan 1989 till 31 Oct  2022)
Total Killings	96,145
Custodial killings	7,270
Civilian arrested	165,307
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed	110,495
Women Widowed	22,951
Children Orphaned	1,07,887
Women gang-raped / Molested	11,256

 

(Oct 2022)
Total Killings	14
Custodial killings	6
Civilian arrested	47
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed	1
Women Widowed	1
Children Orphaned	7
Women gang-raped / Molested	0

 

 

Kashmir media Service

Kashmir Update 209 (Nov 21 2022 to Nov 27 2022 struggle of Kashmir’s for freedom,

 

 

1 One martyred; Nov 21 2022: Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one more Kashmiri youth, today(Nov 20, in Islamabad district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The troops martyred the youth in a fake encounter during a military operation in Bijbehara area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/11/20/indian-troops-martyr-one-more-youth-in-iiojk-7.html   

2 One martyred; No/ 22 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one more youth in Jammu district. The unarmed youth was martyred by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) in Arnia area of the district. The BSF claimed that on suspicion, the troops asked the youth to stop, but he moved on without paying attention to the call, which prompted the troops to open fire on him killing him on the spot. However, on searching, nothing objectionable was found from him, the BSF spokesperson admitted. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/11/22/indian-troops-martyr-a-youth-in-jammu.html

3 One more reminder from the UN experts about Khurram Parvez; Nov 23, 2022; Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNHCHR) issued a statement on November 22, 2022, “One year in detention: UN experts demand immediate release of Kashmiri activist Khurram Parvez.” Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, ‘World Forum for Peace & Justice’ said that the statement is a significant step towards greater international recognition of the serious abuse and misuse of draconian law, ‘Unlawful Activity Prevention Act’ (UAPA) which has been employed to silence the human rights activists like Khurram Parvez and journalists who dare to speak out about the human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir. The statement takes the veil of secrecy off of India’s crimes against innocent human rights champions with the hope that the world powers can share the outrage and anger felt by the people of Kashmir. The joint statement by world renowned UN experts states that “The arrest and detention of Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez has a chilling effect on civil society, rights activists and journalists in the region, UN experts warned today, reiterating their call for his immediate and unconditional release by the Indian Government.” It is worth mentioning here that Mary Lawlor, UN Rapporteur on Human Rights Defender has earlier said on November 22, that “I’m hearing disturbing reports that Khurram Parvez was arrested today in Kashmir & is at risk of being charged by authorities in #India with terrorism-related crimes. He’s not a terrorist, he’s a Human Rights Defender.” Dr. Fai added that it is clear that the Indian Government is violating the very principles of human decency and democratic freedom against the promoters and proponents of human rights. In Kashmir.

The UN experts statement further says, “We are dismayed at the continued deprivation of liberty of Mr. Parvez, in what is increasingly proving to be an act of retaliation against a human rights defender for his tireless work documenting and reporting serious human rights violations, including enforced disappearances and unlawful killings in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir,” the experts said on the one-year anniversary of his arrest.

“We reiterate our serious concerns about the amendment of the applicable legislation which allows the designation of any individual as a ʽterroristʼ, bypassing the requirement to establish membership or association with banned groups, and its application as a means of coercion against civil society, the media, and human rights defenders in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir,” the experts said. Dr. Fai said that it is heartening to note that the UN experts have taken the situation very seriously, when they stated  “We call on the Government of India to end reprisals and intimidation of activists and civil society organisations, including of those like Mr. Parvez who share information and testimony on human rights violations with UN human rights bodies and mechanisms.” Fai hoped that the saner elements within the Indian public square will persuade the Government of India to explore the avenues to solving the root cause of the problem – the unfulfilled promise of self-determination as guaranteed by successive United Nations Security Council resolutions. The experts:  Aua Baldé (Chair-Rapporteur), Gabriella Citroni (Vice-Chair), Grażyna Baranowska, Luciano Hazan, Angkhana Neelapaijit, Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances;  Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism and Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

Kashmir Update 208 (Nov 14 2022 to Nov 20 2022 struggle of Kashmir’s for freedom,

 

 

1      We cannot sacrifice high moral ground in the name of commercial deals in Kashmir: Dr. Fai; Istanbul. November 12, 2022.;“We are grateful that ASSAM Islamic Union Congress is seized of the important matters relating to the public order and security which has been recognized over the years as an essential condition for the enjoyment of human rights. In many parts of the world, the first requirement is to promote and protect their right to life, which is being denied not because of deep seated structural problems but due to violence, encouraged or condoned by the states,” this was stated by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, World Forum for Peace & Justice, during 6^th International ASSAM Islamic Union Model Congress held in Istanbul, on November 12, 2022. Dr. Fai spoke on the subject of, “Principles and procedures of the organization for public order and internal security in India: The case of Kashmir.” Brig. General Adnan Tanriverdi, President of ASSAM opened the conference and Professor Datuk Osman Bakar, Islamic philosopher and Fellow at Doshisha University, Japan was the keynote speaker. 60 scholars, academics, diplomats from 25 countries attended the Congress. Fai explained that public order, internal security, and peace in Kashmir rides on two seemingly conflicting realities. Kashmir will be chronically convulsed until its sovereignty is determined in accord with the wishes of the Kashmiri people. Contrary to what some have said, Kashmir is not a territorial dispute between Pakistan and India. And it is not a dispute provoked by foreign infiltrators or extremists.  It is not a struggle between theocracy and secularism. Kashmir is every bit as much about self-determination as was East Timor or Southern Sudan in 1999 and 2011 respectively. The second reality is Fai added that India holds 99% or more of the political and military cards in Kashmir.  No outside influence has exerted more than trivial direct influence over India’s Kashmir rule or diplomacy. For more than 75 years, the United Nations Security Council has not lifted a finger to enforce its plebiscite resolutions concerning Kashmir. Neither the United States nor NATO would risk a single soldier for Kashmiri self-determination. India’s superpower status in South Asia and global stature explains why progress towards peace in Kashmir has been zero for more than 75 years. All the periodic dancing and jousting between India and Pakistan have been at best sound and fury signifying nothing. Even from a purely economic perspective, if not from concern over peace, security, genuine democracy and observance of human rights, the restoration of normalcy in South Asia deserves to be a policy goal for the world’s only superpower – United States. The Kashmir dispute being the key cause of conflict and bone of contention of nuclear confrontation, its marginalisation can hardly serve long-term interests of the world powers, Fai analyzed. Fai elaborated that India justifies its action in Kashmir by claiming its territorial rights over Kashmir which violates all the international agreements that she agreed upon at the United Nations. However, to defend this claim, India has passed a series of laws that empower its military and police forces to act against the Kashmiri people in violations of international standards. In this context, India has ‘legalized’ arbitrary arrest, wanton destruction of property and has given soldiers and police the right to conduct searches without warrant. Ignoring the application of international humanitarian law, India has granted its armed forces ‘shoot-to-kill’ powers against the people of Kashmir. Very recently, India arrested Khurram Parvez, one of the internationally known human rights activist. India said that Khurram Parvez is a terrorist. While as, Mary Lawlor, the United Nations Special rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders said, “Khurram Parvez is not a terrorist. He is a human rights defender. Yasin Malik, one of the prominent leaders of Kashmir is facing the life and death situation in notorious Tihar Jail in New Delhi. Shabir Shah, well recognized leader of All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) has spent 35 years, Masarat Aalam, newly elected Chairman of APHC 17 years and Asia Andrabi, Chairperson, Dhukhtaran-e-Millat 7 years in jail respectively. “Amnesty International (AI) called detentions under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act as lawless law.” AI wrote that “Hundreds of people are locked up on spurious grounds under the Public Safety Act in Jammu and Kashmir every year…repealed and that detainees are released immediately or tried in a court of law; Fai stressed. Fai expressed his frustration by saying that India cannot sweep all this under the galicha. The truth is too painfully obvious. Isn’t it time that world powers ask the people what they really want?  Perhaps that would force the parties to deal with what is at the heart of their differences, the aspirations of the people. Fai appealed to the conscience of Biden Administration that trade and commercial deals are important but not at the expense of the high moral ground, American exceptionalism has always claimed. Moral values, universal principles and human rights are the very essence of even being called civilized.Dr. Fai can be reached at: WhatsApp: 1-202-607-6435. And gnfai2003@yahoo.com

2      India and human rights; Nov 15 2022;India’s human rights record was examined as part of the Universal Period Review (process), a peer-based evaluation mechanism under the UN Human Rights Council. This is the fourth time India has gone through this evaluation process, the last time being in 2017.With concerns about the status of human rights activists to the foreign funding of NGOs, suggestions called for an urgent review of anti-terror laws to strengthen freedom of expression.The United States representative lamented that “despite legal protections, discrimination and violence based on gender and religious affiliation persist”. She recommended the “broad applications” of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and similar laws against human rights activists, journalists, and religious minorities. “The application of anti-terror legislation has led to prolonged detentions of human rights defenders and activists, often in a pre-trial status,” said the US diplomat in Geneva. Canada also agreed that India needed to ensure legislation, especially the UAPA, was compliant with international human rights laws to strengthen media freedom.The US also called for “transparency of license adjudications related to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and create easier pathways for NGOs to appeal adverse government decisions on FCRA licenses”. Similarly, Estonia said India should review the FCRA and UAPA to “ensure freedom of expression, assembly and association and the protection of civil society organisations and human rights defenders”. Similar recommendations were made by other European countries, including Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium. Luxembourg urged for the release of “all detained human rights defenders”. The Italian side conveyed that India should “ensure a safe and enabling environment for civil society, as well as freedom of expression and media freedom and ensure accountability for violations”. Finland had explicitly called for bolstering the implementation of the Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2014 and providing universal protection to all whistleblowers. The Irish representative expressed concern “about the application of the FCRA, under which over 6,000 NGOs have had their operating licences revoked”. Among Latin American countries, Mexico and Uruguay both proposed effective legal and legislative frameworks to protect human rights defenders. https://thewire.in/world/india-human-rights-record-un-upr-process-breakdown

3      One martyred; Nov 20 2022; Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one more Kashmiri youth, today, in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The troops martyred the youth during a military operation in Nawshera area of Rajouri district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/11/19/indian-troops-martyr-one-more-youth-in-iiojk-6.html

Kashmir Update 207 (Nov 7 2022 to Nov 13 2022)  

1      Biden on illegal Occupation; Nov 1 2022; “I will keep your message in mind as we work to meet the challenges of our time," he added. Referring to problems in various parts of the world, Biden held in his two-page letter that “America cannot afford to be absent on the global stage. Our political and economic leadership will remain committed to the most cherished values and stand with our friends around the world committed to strengthening international peace and stability.” Biden concluded in his letter by asserting that his “administration has restored diplomacy to the centre of the foreign policy, working in close cooperation with allies and partners to protect liberty, sovereignty, and shared future.” In return, Raja Muzaffar said that he was grateful to US President Biden for his response.“It reflects how much his administration is concerned about the situation in the internationally-acknowledged disputed Jammu Kashmir State,” the Kashmiri leader observed in a press statement. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2385033/promoting-freedom-integral-part-of-us-policy-biden-to-kashmiri-leader

2      Jammu Massacre in 1947: Nov 07 2022: Members of Kashmiri and Pakistani community and their supporters  alongwith Kashmir Digital Van gathered outside Indian High Commission to commemorate the Jammu Martyrs’ Day. In the first week of November 1947, hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris were martyred by the forces of Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh, Indian Army and Hindu fanatics in different parts of Jammu region while they were migrating to Pakistan. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/11/07/protesters-along-with-kashmir-digital-van-gather-outside-indian-high-commission-in-london.html

3      Junagarh ; Nov 10 2022;  November 09 is the Black Day for Junagarh as it was on this day in 1947 when India landed its troops and forcibly occupied the Muslim-ruled State in sheer violation of international law. An analytical report released by Kashmir Media Service in connection with the fateful day said India illegally occupied Junagarh State through an act of brazen aggression and continues to occupy it even after the passage of 75 years. It maintained that Pakistan has a rightful claim on Junagarh state owing to a genuine Instrument of Accession to this end. Nawab Mahabat Khan, the then governor of Junagarh, signed an agreement of accession to Pakistan in accordance with the ideology of the country on 15 September 1947. The report said that it was the dream of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah that Junagarh should be part of Pakistan. It said only the people of Junagarh have the right to decide its political future.The report pointed out that India is illegally holding both Kashmir and Junagarh and Pakistan is committed to continue its efforts for their liberation from Indian illegal occupation. Kashmir and Junagarh are two international issues needing a solution, it said, adding that the international community including the UN must play an effective role to liberate the two regions from Indian illegal occupation. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/11/09/november-09-is-black-day-for-junagarh.html

4      Six arrested; Nov 11 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops have arrested six youth in different areas of the Kashmir valley. The troops during house raids arrested Bilal Ahmed, Wahid Ahmed, Javed Ahmed, Mushtaq Ahmed and Bashir Ahmed in different areas of Kupwara and Baramulla districts. Indian police registered cases against all the individuals under black law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act at Kupwara Police Station. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/11/10/indian-troops-arrest-six-youth-in-iiojk.html

5      one martyred; Nov 12 2022; Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, today, martyred one more Kashmiri youth in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in the Kaprin area of Shopian district  https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/11/11/indian-troops-martyr-one-youth-in-shopian.html

Kashmir Update, 206; Week  (Oct 31,2022 to Nov 30, 2022) 

1      One martyred; Nov 11 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one youth in Kupwara district, today.The youth was martyred by the troops during a cordon and search operation in Keran area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/10/31/indian-troops-martyr-youth-in-kupwara-today.html

2      Four martyred; Nov 2 2022; four Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism, today, martyred four more Kashmiri youth in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The troops martyred three youth during a cordon and search operation in Awantipora area of Pulwama district.Another youth was martyred by the troops during a similar operation in Semthan area of Islamabad district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/11/01/indian-troops-martyr-four-more-youth-in-iiojk-4.html

Kashmir Update, 205; Week  (Oct 24,2022 to Oct 30, 2022)

 

 

1      October 27^th: the Tyranny continues in Kashmir: Washington, DC. October 27, 2022; Raising the slogans of Azadi, a large number of Kashmiri Americans and their supporters and friends staged a demonstration in front of the Indian embassy in Washington, DC at which Barrister Sultan Mahmood Choudhary, President Azad Jammu Kashmir and other speakers drew attention of Biden Administration to the grave human rights situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir and urged the administration to intervene in facilitating a meaningful tripartite dialogue between India, Pakistan and genuine leadership of Jammu & Kashmir. The participants  waved placards reading: “Indian Forces: Out of Kashmir” “Stop Killing in Kashmir” “Demilitarize Kashmir” “U.N. Implement Resolutions on Kashmir” “US Can Stop Genocide in Kashmir,” “Wake Up Wake Up: UN Wake Up.” Barrister Sultan Mahmood Choudhary warned that the deadly silence of the world powers over gruesome human rights abuses by the occupation forces in Kashmir has given India a virtual license to kill innocent Kashmiris. The government of India has to stop viewing Kashmir from the prism of Pakistan. Pointing out that hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, tortured, jailed, and are missing, Barrister said that no struggle of such magnitude could be sponsored by an external party. Barrister warned that Kashmir is facing worst kind of oppression unleashed by Indian army. Innocent people are being killed, maimed, blinded, incarcerated, tortured and humiliated by the occupational forces. India is using its military might to crush the peaceful resistance movement of Kashmir. And this all is being done with impunity. He underlined it was imperative that self-determination be granted to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to maintain peace and stability in the region. Dr. Ghulam N. Mir, President, World Kashmir Awareness Forum & Chairman, newly constituted “Kashmir Diaspora Coalition” said  October 27 remains etched in our memory and our conscience. It was the day India decimated our dreams of a free nation. The savage uncalled-for invasion was to become a long national nightmare for millions of Kashmiris. Dr. Mir added that while our brothers and sisters in Azad Kashmir have been enjoying the fruits of freedoms across the border, their dream of being a part and parcel of one united free Jammu and Kashmir remains unfulfilled. We, the people of the Occupied Kashmir wish our Azad Kashmir well and thank them for their unwavering support as we wage our struggle for freedom from Indian occupation and now a dangerous settler-colonialism. “Kashmiris are victims of multiple periods of genocide starting in 1947 and 1948 and multiple genocides in 1990s. Now Kashmir is a case of full-fledged ethnic cleansing, demographic change, and settler-colonialism. We ask the UN and the world community to stand up and speak out against Indian state terrorism and allow Kashmiris to exercise their right to self-determination under relevant UNSC resolutions. This is the only way an impending humanitarian catastrophe can be avoided, Dr. Mir demanded. Dr. Fai highlighted that our objective of peaceful protest was to draw attention of the Biden Administration to the situation in Kashmir and to exert pressure on the government of India and to resolve dispute over Kashmir and help stop human right violations in Indian occupied Kashmir. “The genuine test of how much we care about such abuses is what we do about them, not just what we say about them. And the United Nations, despite all its shortcomings still seems an ideal place to begin with a serious plan of action,’ Fai stressed. Sardar Sawar Khan, former Advisor to the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir said, “The United Nations has unfinished business in Kashmir. There exist several United Nations resolutions that clearly state the people of Jammu & Kashmir have the right to determine their own future through a free, fair and impartial vote. We are asking the United Nations to follow on its commitment to the people of Kashmir. He hoped that a new dawn of prosperity, peace and stability will be guaranteed when the Kashmir dispute is resolved to the satisfaction of the people of Kashmir . Aftab Shah, a well-known businessman from New Jersey highlighted that Indian army is conducting a campaign of slaughter in Kashmir. Each day they shoot and kill civilians; detain and brutally torture innocent Kashmiri men, women and children. He added that there is no freedom in Kashmir, only death, destruction and oppression. Raja Liaqat Kayani, President, Kashmir House, Washington said that the Indian army is engaged in serious human rights abuses in Kashmir, and we believe that world powers need to know that the so-called ‘world’s most populous democracy’ is a grave offender of the most basic of human rights.’ Sardar Sajid Sawar expressed his sadness that no civilized nation, not even the United States seems to be concerned with the human rights atrocities being committed in this unfortunate land of Kashmir Not a single word has been uttered by them against human rights violations taking place in Kashmir. Akram Butt, a familiar businessman of the community said, “Each day that India kills innocent civilians, it strengthens the sentiments of Aazadi amongst the general population in Indian occupied Kashmir. The right of self-determination is the right of Kashmiris that was guaranteed under UN Security Council resolutions . Sardar Zarif Khan, main emcee of the rally said that nothing better could be said about human rights in Kashmir. Every human rights group that has examined the convulsed scene in Kashmir has reported harrowing human rights violations, including tens of thousands of extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, plunder, arbitrary arrests, and ruthless suppression of free speech and press. The United States State Department annual human rights report invariably paints an ugly human rights dispensation in Kashmir.

 

2 Human rights violations

 

(From Jan 1989 till 30 Sep 2022)
Total Killings	96,148
Custodial killings	7,274
Civilian arrested	165,400
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed	110,498
Women Widowed	22,950
Children Orphaned	107,880
Women gang-raped / Molested	11,256

 

(Sep 2022)
Total Killings	17
Custodial killings	10
Civilian arrested	140
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed	4
Women Widowed	0
Children Orphaned	0
Women gang-raped / Molested	0

 

Human rights Kashmir media Service

Kashmir Update, 204; Week  (Oct 17,2022 to Oct 23, 2022)

 

1     One martyred; Oct., 20, 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one youth in custody in Shopian district. The youth Imran Bashir was arrested by the troops during a cordon and search operation on Tuesday after a grenade blast in which two Indian laborers were killed in Hermain area of the district. The troops then took him to Nowgam area of the district and killed him in a fake encounter. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/10/19/indian-troops-martyr-one-youth-in-shopian-during-custody.html

2     UN Chief chides India: Oct., 20, 2022: UN chief Antonio Guterres chided India during a visit on Wednesday over its human rights record, which critics say has regressed under Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  “As an elected member of the Human Rights Council, India has a responsibility to shape global human rights, and to protect and promote the rights of all individuals, including members of minority communities,” Guterres said in a speech in Mumbai. Guterres  pointedly said that the understanding that “diversity is a richness … is not a guarantee”.“It must be nurtured, strengthened and renewed everyday,” he said.Citing independence hero Mahatma Gandhi and India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru — both of whom have become hate figures for some in Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party — Guterres said their values need to be guarded by “condemning hate speech unequivocally”.India must do this “by protecting the rights and freedoms of journalists, human rights activists, students and academics. And by ensuring the continued independence of India’s judiciary”, he said.“India’s voice on the global stage can only gain in authority and credibility from a strong commitment to inclusivity and respect for human rights at home,” he said, adding that “much more needs to be done to advance gender equality and women’s rights”.“I urge Indians to be vigilant and to increase your investments in inclusive, pluralistic, diverse communities and societies,” Guterres said. In February, UN rights experts called for an end to “misogynistic and sectarian” online attacks against one particular Muslim woman journalist who was a fierce critic of Modi.     https://www.dawn.com/news/1715853/un-chief-antonio-guterres-chides-india-on-human-rights-record 

Kashmir Update, 203; Week  (Oct 10,2022 to Oct 16, 2022)

 

1     Germany on IOK; Oct 10 2022:Pakistan has rejected the “unwarranted remarks” by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ (EAM) official spokesperson regarding Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto  with his German counterpart in Berlin wherein the two spoke about the United Nations’ role in resolving the Kashmir dispute, according to a press release by the Foreign Office (FO) on Sunday.In the press conference, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had said: “Germany also has a role and responsibility with regard to the situation in Kashmir. Therefore, we support intensively the engagement of the United Nations, to find peaceful resolutions in the region.” https://www.dawn.com/news/1714272/fo-rejects-indias-unwarranted-remarks-on-fm-bilawal-and-german-counterparts-joint-press-conference

2     Two martyred; Oct,, 11 2022;  In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in south Kashmir’s Islamabad district. The youth, identified as Aasif Ahmad Reshi, resident of Sheikhpora, Bijbehara, and Wakeel Ahmad Butt, resident of Naibasti, Marhama. were martyred by Indian troops and paramilitary forces during a cordon and search operation in Tengpowa area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/10/10/indian-troops-martyr-two-kashmiri-youth-in-iiojk-2.html

3     Fake encounters: Oct., 14, 2022: A dossier compiled by Legal Forum for Kashmir (LFK) has exposed the brutal face of Indian forces’ personnel in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir by compiling a number of fake encounters. The dossier ays Indian occupation forces frequently conduct state-sponsored false flag operations to malign the Kashmir freedom movement and Pakistan. These false flag operations manifest into fake encounters through extra-judicial killings of innocent Kashmiris, who are portrayed as foreign terrorists through information offensive employing pliant Indian media and propaganda as a tool, it says. The LFK dossier points out that since 2000 till 10 October 2022, 146 major fake encounters have been reported in IIOJK in which 269 innocent people have been martyred. It also contains the details about the units of Indian Army, paramilitaries, police and other agencies involved in these staged encounters along with the details of the date and place of occurrence. .The dossier specially mentions the cold-blooded murder of Muhammad Ali Hussain (real name Uzair ur Rehman), a Pakistani national, who was detained in a jail in IIOJK and was killed in a fake encounter in Jammu. It says that in 2006, 26-year-old Muhammad Ali Hussain went missing from his home in Mohallah Akberabad, Haripur Division. Not being able to contact him, his brother reported the matter at a police station on 10 October 2006 and a First Information Report (FIR) was registered by the police.It says that the bereaved family of Muhammad Ali Hussain came to know about his whereabouts through media which reported the arrest of the innocent man by Indian police. Reportedly, on 10 November 2006, Muhammad Ali Hussain was arrested by Vijaynagar Police and subsequently after lapse of four years, on 19 November 2010, consular access was provided to him at Central Jail Tihar. Consular Access Performa shows that he was framed under various sections of Indian Penal Code including attempt to murder. Moreover, during custody he was subjected to brutal torture by the Indian police that resulted in damage to his right ear. The dossier maintains that on 1 July 2022, Indian Ministry of External Affairs, had shared a list of Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails with Pakistani authorities in which despite of being in custody for more than fifteen years, Muhammad Ali Hussain was mentioned to be under-trial. It says that on 17 August, 2022, in a blatant display of state terrorism, Indian police took Muhammad Ali Hussain from Kothbalwal Jail in Jammu, brought him at Toph Arnia area and killed him in a staged encounter.  https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/10/13/lfk-dossier-exposes-fake-encounter-killings-by-indian-forces-in-iiojk.html 

Kashmir Update, 202; Week  (Oct 3,2022 to Oct 9, 2022)

 

1     One martyred; Oct., 3, 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred a Kashmiri youth in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, today ( Oct 2). The troops martyred the youth,  Naseer Ahmad Butt, a resident of Nowpora Baskuchan village in south Kashmir’s Shopain district, during a cordon and search operation (CASO) at Baskuchan village in Imamsahib area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/10/02/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-shopian-4.html

2     Five martyred: Oct.,6, 2022:  Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism martyred, today, five more Kashmiri youth in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. During cordon and search operations, the troops martyred three youth in Drach and one in Moolu areas of Shopian district .The troops shot at and injured a civilian, Asif Ahmad, at a check-point in Haal area of Pulwama district. Later, the victim succumbed to his injuries at SMHS hospital in Srinagar. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/10/05/indian-troops-martyr-four-kashmiri-youth-in-shopian.html

3     Fake encounters: Oct. 0. 2022: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference has said that Indian troops are killing innocent Kashmiri youth in fake encounters in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir to suppress the Kashmiris’ ongoing freedom struggle. The APHC spokesman in a statement issued in Srinagar said that the troops abduct innocent Kashmiri youth from their homes, streets and roads, and later extra-judicially kill them in fake encounters during so-called cordon and search operations. He said that in a similar way, the troops martyred four youth in Shopian district on Wednesday. The spokesman said Indian troops and police have subjected over 8,000 innocent Kashmiris to custodial disappearance since January 1989. He said the families of these persons fear that the forces’ personnel have killed their dear ones in so-called encounters and buried them in the unmarked and mass graves discovered across the territory. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/10/08/indian-troops-killing-youth-in-fake-encounters-to-suppress-freedom-struggle-aphc.html

 

Kashmir Update, 201; Week  (Sep 26,2022 to Oct 2, 2022)

 

1     Two martyred: Sep., 26, 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district, today Sep 25) .The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Tekri Nar area of Machil in the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/09/25/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-iiojk-5.html

2     Two martyred: Sep., 28,2022: Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, today, martyred two more Kashmiri youth in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Ahwatoo area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district.  The fresh killing raised the number of martyred youth to three in less than twenty four hours. The troops martyred one youth and injured another in Batpora area of the same district, last night. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/09/27/indian-troops-martyr-two-more-youth-in-kulgam-three-in-less-than-24-hours.html

3     Kashmiri diaspora leadership urges UN intervention in Kashmir ; by Dr. Fai  ; New York. September 28, 2022. : The leadership of Kashmiri diaspora in America has urged the United Nations Secretary General to invoke Article 99 of the United Nations Charter and bring the Governments of India and Pakistan on the negotiating table along with the genuine leadership of the people of Jammu & Kashmir to settle the conflict once and for all. The memorandum adds that the people of Jammu & Kashmir appreciate the principle stand of the United Nations which you articulated on August 8, 2019, that Kashmir issue has to be resolved under United Nations Charter and under applicable United nations Security Council resolutions. They, therefore, urge you to oblige India to fulfill its pledges of a free United Nations supervised plebiscite in order to ensure restoration of democracy and social justice in their land. The memorandum explains that the world has changed remarkably in recent years as the 77^th United Nations General Assembly opens. The United Nations can claim significant credit for assisting to bring freedoms to the nation of East Timor, Namibia, Southern Sudan and else. Because of the efforts of the United Nations, millions of people who have yearned for self-determination now find themselves free. Unfortunately, however, as the world rejoices and celebrates the freedoms of these nations, a small forgotten land continues to cry out for the United Nations intervention. It is the disputed territory of Indian occupied Kashmir. “For over 75 years, the people of Jammu & Kashmir have been peacefully struggling for their right to self-determination through a fair and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the U.N. While India has systematically enacted laws, like Domicile Law to integrate Kashmir into India. These laws are designed to change the demography of Kashmir which are in violations of 18 substantives United Nations resolutions adopted by the Security Council on Kashmir. India’s refusal to implement these resolutions calling for such a plebiscite is at the heart of the problem, and she has chosen the path of indiscriminate murder and intimidation instead of negotiations and peaceful resolution to the conflict,” the memorandum emphasizes.  The memorandum said that the U.N. has the ability to change this miscarriage of justice and to put an end to the violence. It is not enough to simply keep a record of cease-fire violations between India and Pakistan. Too many have died. In fact, the number of deaths exceeds 100,000. Mohammad Yasin Malik, the most revered and respected leader of Kashmir is facing a life and death situation. Shabir Ahmed Shah has spent 36 years in prison. Khurram Parvez, who according to TIME is one of the top 100 influential persons of 2022, has been charged under Unlawful Activity Prevention Act, Masarat Alam’s Public Safety Act (PSA) was quashed 35 times, but is still in Jail, Aasia Andrabi was slapped with PSA 20 times and has been transferred to Tihar Jail, India. There are hundreds of political prisoners who deserve your attention and intervention to be released unconditionally and without a delay  

4     Two martyred; Oct., 1, 2022: Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two innocent Kashmiri youth, today, in an extrajudicial manner in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The troops martyred the youth in a fake encounter during a so-called cordon and search operation in Yedipora Pattan area of Baramulla district. Local people said that the youth were arrested by the troops a few days ago and were martyred in a staged encounter, today. The troops also destroyed a residential house in the area. Separately, the troops carried out a so-called cordon and search operation and resorted to firing at Chitragam in Shopian district, creating panic in the area. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/09/30/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-fake-encounter-in-iiojk.html 

Kashmir Update, 200; Week  (Sep 19,2022 to Sep 25, 2022)

 

1     Fai congratulates newly elected President of United Nations General Assembly: Washington, D.C. September 21. 2022: “Our mission is to support concrete solutions having a direct impact on the lives of the people and the planet. Times is running out and the price we are paying for delays is on the rise…The protection of human rights and the fight against all forms of discrimination should be further mainstreamed into our decisions,” this is the vision of Ambassador Kőrösi Csaba, newly elected President of 77^th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, Washington-based ‘World Forum for Peace and Justice’ expressed his appreciation to the newly elected President of UNGA for his inspirational insight. Fai also offered, on behalf of the people of Jammu & Kashmir sincerest congratulations on his election as the President of UNGA.“May I be permitted to raise the unresolved question of Kashmir with you briefly. I would hasten to add that while we are fully aware of the multiplicity of issues that you will be devoting your time and attention to in the months to come, you may perhaps like to remember that Kashmir is not a new issue, having been on the agenda of and in the cognizance of the United Nations for nearly 75 years.  Ironically, it is the only entity in the region of South Asia, which has so far been denied the opportunity to determine its political future,” Fai emphasized. Dr. Fai clarified that, we are by no means unmindful of the fact that, in your capacity as the President of UNGA, you have to be impartial between the parties concerned and perceived to be so. However, it is, therefore, on the ground of the recognized principles of the Charter of the United Nations and respect for international agreements and for the resolutions of the Security Council that we approach you with the appeal that you exercise your good offices to urge India and Pakistan to explore a solution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of all zones of the State of Jammu & Kashmir. Fai warned that the persistence of this problem has been a source of weakness for both India and Pakistan. It has diminished both these neighboring countries. The world powers draw great satisfaction from India’s striking economic progress which will enable India to play its rightful role as a great power. That kind of role can only be hobbled by a festering problem. A great power cannot afford disputed boundaries if it wishes to maintain or enhance its prestige and influence; a small or even a medium power can live with them indefinitely.  Dr. Fai drew the attention of the President to the observations made by some Indian intellectuals, diplomats and journalist who perceive a growing awareness in the Indian middle class that the persistence of the Kashmir problem weakens India by diminishing its stature among the great powers. As a matter of fact, there have always existed saner elements in India which have questioned both the ethics and the practical advantage of India’s intransigence on Kashmir. As they have received little support from outside, they have remained mostly subdued. But the apparent failure of India’s policies, the tattered regime it maintains in Kashmir and the losses it has made to sustain in Kashmir, despite the employment of an overwhelming force  900,000 Indian army  to brutalize the people into submission  all these seem to be bringing home to more and more people in India, even in its army, that the game is not worth the candle. But this constructive trend will vanish if the world powers are seen as tolerant of India’s obduracy and unmindful of healthier opinion in India itself about what is best for India. It should not be futile now to ask that Kashmir be looked at not as a dispute between India and Pakistan but as a problem of India and Pakistan together. Fai urged the President, UNGA to use his office to persuade India to rescind the Domicile Law immediately which is designed to change the demography of Kashmir; and which is in violations of all the UN Security Council resolutions which were accepted not only India and Pakistan but also by the world body.

2     Turkey on Kashmir: Sep., 23, 2022: United Nations: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday once again raked up the Kashmir issue during his address to world leaders at the high-level UN General Assembly session here. In recent years, the Turkish leader has referred to the Kashmir issue in his address to world leaders at the high-level UN General Assembly  https://kashmirreader.com/2022/09/22/erdogan-brings-up-kashmir-issue-in-unga-address/

 

Kashmir Update, 199; Week  (Sep 12,2022 to Sep 18, 2022)

 

1     India’s unilateralism has never been accepted by the United Nations ny Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai: September 10, 2022: The dispute over Jammu & Kashmir is not insoluble through peaceful procedures. It appears to be so only because the obduracy of one of the parties India is encouraged by the apathy of the world powers. To cover its ‘wrongful occupation of Kashmir’, India has skillfully propagated a series of myths about the genesis and nature of the dispute which have never been accepted by the United Nations. India knows it well that she stands in flagrant violation of UN Security Council resolutions mandating a self-determination plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, conducted by the UN. India apostatized from its self-determination pledge when it realized that the people of Kashmir would not vote accession to its nation; it thus contrived excuses for non-implementations and insisted that non implementation made the resolutions on Kashmir obsolete. Not knowing that mere passage of time or the flight from realities cannot alter the fact that these resolutions remain unimplemented until today. The passage of time cannot invalidate an enduring and irreplaceable principle the right of self-determination of the people of Kashmir, India unilaterally announced that the people of Kashmir through semaphore or necromancy had signaled their craving to become India’s integral part. That unilateralism has never been accepted by the United Nations, including United States. India has irretrievably lost the hearts and minds of the people in the state of Jammu & Kashmir due to the unimaginable atrocities committed by its army on the civilian population. Why else must India deploy an arresting 900,000 military and paramilitary forces, making Kashmir as mentioned by Arundhati Roy, one of India’s best-known authors, “the most militarized zone on earth.” India surmised that she needs 6,000 to 12,000 troops to hold a free and fair plebiscite (referendum / election) in Kashmir during the negotiations at the Security Council in early 10950’s. As much as the cruelty to which the people of Kashmir have been subjected, the inaction, the virtually permissive inaction, of the great powers regarding their situation has been a cause of the greatest sorrow to the people of Kashmir. They are placed under an unwanted and abhorrent military occupation. A place famed for its celebrated scenic beautify has been turned into a theatre of suffering unparalleled in this part of the world and unprecedented in Kashmir’s own history. This is exactly what the New York Times wrote on August 10, 2019, “Inside Kashmir, Cut Off From the World: ‘A Living Hell’ of Anger and Fear.” With the help of systematic murder, rape, and arson  a pattern which preceded and has outlasted the horrors of Bosnia and Kosovo the Indian occupation army is trying to brutalize the people of Kashmir into submission. Dr. Gregory Stanton, President ‘The Genocide Watch’ warned on February 5, 2021, that Kashmir is on the brink of genocide. And New York based, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says, the news media in Kashmir has been pushed to the brink of extinction. The most baffling phenomenon regarding this situation in Kashmir is that it has been allowed to arise and to persist in a territory which, under international law, does not belong to any member state of the United Nations and whose status is yet to be decided by its people. What else makes the indifference impossible to understand is that the Kashmir problem is not politically an uncharged terrain about which no road map exists. The United Nations has at its inception devoted immense labor and thought to its solution. The fact cannot be gainsaid or dismissed that the terms of settlement it recommended did elicit the agreement of both India and Pakistan. The very basis, the consent of the people of Kashmir, remains inviolable. Neither pragmatism nor morality sanctions the setting aside of this basis. Shouldn’t Modi administration respect the word of honor given by Sir Gopalswamy Ayyanger, the Indian delegate at the United Nations Security Council on January 15, 1948, “In a statement Sir Ayyanger said, “The question of the future status of Kashmir vis-à-vis her neighbors and the world at large and a further question, namely, whether she should withdraw from her accession to India and either accede to Pakistan or remain independent, with a right to claim admission as a member of the United Nations – all this we have recognized to be a matter for an unfettered decision by the people of Kashmir…." It is a basic principle of international relations that disputes are destined to be resolved. Is the Kashmir dispute too complex to be resolved? The answer is NO. Complexity is in the eyes of the beholder. There is no international dispute which has not been complex. If there is an interest in a settlement, the complexity becomes a motivating factor; if there is none, it becomes an excuse for passivity and inaction. Being in Washington, DC, I can smell that some so-called experts do suggest pursuing President Musharraf’s four-point formula for the resolution of Kashmir. Musharraf Formula is an ideal non-solution. It sanctifies the Line of Control (Ceasefire line) into an international border. LoC in Kashmir is actually the Line of Conflict. As long as it will remain clamped down on the state of Jammu & Kashmir, it will continue to impose a heavy toll of death on the people of the land. They have had no hand in creating this line. They are not resigned to it becoming some kind of an international border. It has cut through homes, separated families, and served as protecting wall for massive violations of human rights. This line of terror and iniquity deserves to be wiped out. It can be erased peacefully by the free ascertainment of the will of the people on both sides of the Ceasefire Line. In an alternative, it stands as a provocation to violence which, even if curbed for limited periods, will always return with greater force. What can the international community do to advance the peace enterprise? Galvanize moral suasion against the recalcitrance of any party to the Kashmir dispute as powerful as that brandished against South Africa’s apartheid and the international slave trade a century earlier. Never underestimate the influence of prevailing moral sentiments in human affairs, for good or for evil. And the lives and hopes of too many people are at stake in Jammu & Kashmir and South Asia generally to be left to the mercies of a ‘might-makes-right’ policy. The international community needs to understand that the solution to the sufferings and pain in Kashmir is both crucial and vital. The pain felt by the people of Kashmir is no calamitous than that felt by the people of Namibia or East Timor. The torture and imprisonment in Kashmir is no less acute than it was in Bosnia and Kosovo. In fact, the pain, suffering and humiliation in Kashmir is intensified because the people of Jammu & Kashmir have been under occupation for more than 75 years. Certainly today, no issue is of. greater urgency and concern than the Kashmir issue where two nuclear powers, uninhibited by any treaty constraints, glare at each other over this territory. Kashmir and Kashmir alone is the issue that has kept India and Pakistan from normalizing their relations, and it is Kashmir alone that has led to three wars, excessive militarization and nuclearization. Lastly, Kashmir issue offers both hope and dangers. If the world powers do not respond timely and justly, the Kashmir issue can lead to a nuclear holocaust. However, a just, democratic, and peaceful solution can only lead to freeing the forces of development and progress in South Asia, ringing the peace dividend to the entire region, and humanity as a whole.

2     One martyred: Sep., 13. 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one Kashmiri youth in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, today(Sep 12) .The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Heff Shirmal area of the district https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/09/12/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmniri-youth-in-iiojk.html

3     LAC disengagement: Sep., 14, 2022:India and China on Tuesday verified the withdrawal of troops from Patrolling Point (PP) 15 in the Gogra-Hot Springs area of Eastern Ladakh, defence sources said. The exercise marked the completion of disengagement between the forces in the area. The verification exercise was carried out to ensure compliance including aerial surveillance. Although Beijing welcomed the disengagement, it also said India’s demand for restoration of status quo ante prior to the standoff will not be accepted, saying that “the status quo of April 2020 was created by India’s illegal crossing of the LAC”.

4     Two martyred: Sep., 15, 2022: Two martyred in a gunfight in the Nowgam area of Srinagar district on Wednesday evening, police said. Kashmir Zone Police informed that a gunfight broke out in the Nowgam area on specific information generated by police. https://thekashmirwalla.com/two-aguh-militants-killed-in-srinagar-gunfight-says-police/ 

Kashmir Update, 198; Week  (Sep 5,2022 to Sep 11, 2022)

1     Two Martyred: Sep., 6, 2022: Two  Mujahids martyred in encounter with indian army at #Poshkeeri area of #Anantnag in South Kashmir has been identified as Danish Bhat @ Kokab Duree from Jablipora & Basharat Nabi from Fethapora . https://thekashmirwalla.com/anantnag-gunfight-two-militants-killed-operation-on-2/.

2     Report: Sep., 9,2022:Kashmir Media Service, in collaboration with All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Kashmir Chapter, today, released a report based on data about the human rights violations and atrocities being committed on innocent Kashmiris by Indian forces during the last six months in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The six months report, from January 2022 to June 2022, said that 140 persons, including five young boys, were martyred by Indian troops in the occupied territory.The report said that Indian troops, involved in gross human rights violations and other crimes, have arrested over 854 youth and injured 104 people during cordon and search operations in the territory. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/09/08/indian-troops-martyred-140-persons-during-last-6-month-in-iiojk-report.html 

Kashmir Update, 197; Week  (Aug 29,2022 to Sep 4, 2022)

1     Rape by Indian Armed Forces men unpunished: Aug., 31, 2022:On 29 May 2009, two young women, Asiya (17) and her sister-in-law Neelofar (22), married to Shakeel Ahmad Ahanger, went missing in the evening while returning home from their family orchard in Nagbal area of South Kashmir’s Shopian. On the following morning, they were found dead near the Rambiara Nala by a team of cops along with Shakeel; leaving behind his barely 2-year-old son, Suzain. After the initial investigation, on the direction of Omar Abdullah led government, Justice Jan Commission was formed to deliver the justice. The report by the commission concluded that the two women have been raped and murdered by ‘men in uniform’. Later on, a number of Indian investigative agencies came into the scene only to spoil the broth. It’s been 12 years, and every wound is still burning. We are still suffering the same what we were suffering then,” says Ahanger, sitting in an under-lit room, displaying the timeline of his life through magazine covers since May 2009. As the tired Ahanger narrated, the long struggle for justice has always been a walk on spikes for his family. http://kmsnews.org/news/category/articles/

2     64 JAMMU AND KASHMIR CONGRESS LEADERS QUIT PARTY IN SUPPORT OF GHULAM NABI AZAD; Aug., 31, 2022:  As many as 64 senior Congress leaders, including former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, resigned from the party in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad in Jammu on August 30, asserting that Azad’s vision will shape a new and bright future for Jammu and Kashmir.They submitted a joint resignation letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Chand along with others, including former ministers Abdul Majid Wani, Manohar Lal Sharma, Gharu Ram and former MLA Balwan Singh, announced their resignations from the Congress, at a press conference. Azad, 73, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, ended his five-decade association with the Congress on Friday, terming the party “comprehensively destroyed” and lashing out at Rahul Gandhi for “demolishing” its entire consultative mechanism.“All of us had a very long association with the party spanning over decades and devoted all our energy and resources towards expanding the party in Jammu and Kashmir but unfortunately we found that the treatment meted out to us was humiliating,” Singh said, reading out from the joint resignation letter signed by 64 leaders and senior functionaries from across Jammu Province.The letter further said, “With our leader and mentor Ghulam Nabi Azad having resigned from the party on the issue listed by him in a letter to you [Sonia], we believe that we should also come out of Congress to make some worthwhile contribution in building a positive political society where people are heard and responded to.”Azad will soon launch a national-level party from Jammu and Kashmir. “We all support Azad and we will join him in his journey to lead J&K to a bright future,” they said in the resignation letter.Claiming that Jammu and Kashmir is facing an unprecedented crisis in the absence of an elected government, Singh said Azad’s decision to launch a national level party from Jammu will inspire hope and new determination to set things right once and for all. “We are confident that J&K will be able to get statehood back after a gap of three years under the leadership of Azad. He is the sole and most powerful voice for statehood of J&K and early elections,” he said.Singh said Azad is a perennial hope for the people of J&K for bridging gaps between regions and communities. “We are sure that his [Azad’s] vision will help J&K and its depressed masses to come out of the dark shadows of pessimism and shape a new and bright future for J&K,” he said.Over a dozen prominent Congress leaders, including former ministers and legislators, besides hundreds of Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) members, municipal corporators and district and block level leaders have already left the Congress to join Azad over the past four days.(my comments: This move will support BP in seeing a nin Muslim CM for the occupied land)

3     Amnesty International ; Sep 4 2022; Amnesty International on Saturday expressed grave concern over the intensified repression of rights in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in the last three years. In a report titled, “‘We are being punished by the law’: Three years since of abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir” released yesterday, the human rights watchdog observed that in recent years, civil society members, journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders in the region had faced relentless interrogations, arbitrary travel bans, revolving door detentions and repressive media policies. “For three years now, civil society and media in Jammu and Kashmir have been subjected to a vicious crackdown by the Indian government, which is determined to stifle dissent using draconian laws, policies and unlawful practices in their arsenal,” said Aakar Patel, chair of the board of Amnesty International India, in the report. “By harassing and intimidating critical voices, authorities are targeting all credible, independent sources of information in and about Jammu and Kashmir. There is a silence achieved on all dissent through heavy-handed repression which has spread fear and uncertainty in the region,” he added. The watchdog said that it had recorded at least 60 instances of crackdowns on journalists and human rights defenders since August 2019.  “After an initial 18-month internet shutdown, the Indian authorities still often suspend internet services in various parts of Kashmir often without any prior notice,” the report highlighted, adding that the sudden “forced closure” of the Kashmir Press Club in 2022 by the Indian government was a “big blow to the already disintegrating media pool”.The human rights body also found that at least six individuals  including journalists, human rights activists and academics in the region  were stopped from travelling abroad despite having requisite travel documents, which it said was a violation of their freedom of movement.The report stated that at least 27 journalists had been arrested and detained by the Indian authorities since 5 August 2019. “Several journalists including Fahad Shah, Aasif Sultan and Sajad Gul have been subjected to ‘revolving door’ arrests. In a continuing pattern, they have been arrested under one law, granted bail by the court, and then re-arrested almost immediately under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) — India’s primary anti-terror law in Jammu & Kashmir, keeping them perpetually detained. “Amnesty International reviewed 1,346 cases available on the website of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir. It found that by 1 August 2022, the number of habeas corpus petitions have increased by 32 per cent, indicating an increase in unlawful detention in the last three years,” it revealed. Amnesty International also reviewed the data published by the Indian National Crime Record Bureau and found that there had been a 12pc increase in the use of UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019. “This emerging trend of using the draconian UAPA in addition to the much-abused Public Safety Act (PSA) is also evidenced by an analysis of information on the High Court’s website,” it noted. Furthermore, the human rights watchdog said that unlawful killings of the people of occupied Kashmir by armed groups had recently increased. Quoting an analysis of the official data by the Indian government, it said that unlawful killings of civilians by armed groups had increased by 20pc in the past three years. “There is a lack of accountability for use of force in the region by the police due to the continued enforcement of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) which grants them additional powers and impunity and falls short of international human rights standards.”Subsequently, Amnesty called on the Indian government to immediately release those arbitrarily detained under administrative detention and other repressive laws and ensure that they were tried promptly and fairly in a regular court. https://www.dawn.com/news/1708212/amnesty-expresses-grave-concern-over-repression-of-rights-in-occupied-kashmir

Kashmir Update, 196; Week  (Aug 22,2022 to Aug 28, 2022)

1     Lest we forget: Khurram ParvezLPart one of two parts article: by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai: Aug., 18, 2022:  We are too familiar with hacking of Kashmiri websites, now we are experiencing the same with one of the most familiar and the most visited websites of ‘Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society’, (JKCCS) of which Khurram Parvez is the coordinator. This JKCSS website was hacked many times in the past. It happened again today, August 15, 2022, at 12.15 p.m. (New York time). JKCCS homepage contains the unintelligible and incomprehensible message. At times, it is impossible even to download the excellent reports prepared by Khurram Parvez and his team. Therefore, I consider it a privilege to write a brief account about the reports, prepared by JKCCS before they evaporate from its website. I want in particular to discuss a 799-pages report entitled, “The Structure of Violence (TSOV)” jointly prepared by ‘The International Peoples' Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-Administered Kashmir’[IPTK] and ‘The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons’ [APDP]. TSOV report encapsulates in chilling detail the tragedy of Kashmir. It documents the gross violations of human rights that India and its occupation forces now believed to number 900,000, have committed in Kashmir since 1990. I would like to emphasize that every single fact contained in these painstaking accounts, every single incident documented, every violation recorded is fully authenticated. You merely will have to read the entries to experience the clear ring of truth, which in Kashmir is often brutal and chilling. These reports are the best testimonies, testimonies which remain unassailable and beyond challenge, of the atrocities perpetrated against innocent Kashmiri civilians in the name of state security. These are the documents that damn those who profess to practice democracy and who never tire of lecturing the rest of the world on higher moral values. The reality of the Indian state is mirrored in these pages, unadorned, unvarnished, and unexpurgated. Please read this report for what it says because it tells the story of Kashmir with brutal frankness, unsparing realism and absolute clarity. Khurram Parvez, Chairperson of Philippines-based ‘Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances” himself has delivered the hard copies of the TSOV report to the office of ‘UN High Commissioner on Human Rights’ Office of the ‘UN Secretary General’, many international NGO’s and various dignitaries. Although Khurram Parvez was recognized as one of the 100 most influential people of the world by US-based Time Magazine in 2022 but he can no longer present this report to anybody anymore because he was arrested by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) of India on November 21, 2021, under terror law, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Under UAPA a person can be incarcerated up to 180 days without a charge sheet being filed. It does not allow right to dissent. The Amnesty International (AI) has said that UAPA has been used to “target journalists and human rights defenders who criticize government policies.” AI also wrote on November 23, 2021, “The arrest of Kashmiri activist Khurram Parvez is yet another example of how anti-terror laws are being misused to criminalize human rights work & stifle dissent in India. Instead of targeting HRDs, authorities should focus on bringing accountability for human rights violations.” The arrest of Khurram Parvez is, ‘a really troubling development’ wrote New York-based Human Rights Watch; and Geneva-based The World Organisation Against Torture’ called for the immediate release of Khurram Parvez. Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defender tweeted: ‘Khurram Parvez is not a terrorist. He is a Human Rights Defender.’ Khurram Parvez spoke at an International Kashmir Conference in 2015, organized by ‘World Kashmir Awareness Forum’. Among others who spoke during the conference included Ramsay Clark, former United States Attorney General. Khurram Parvez focused on the context in which human rights abuses in the state of Jammu and Kashmir were perceived. ‘You cannot understand human rights if you don’t understand the context. Human rights abuses are taking place all around the world, in many places, including in India,’ Khurram stated. ‘But the difference is these are happening because of aberrations, deficiencies in governance, and because people transgress the law. What is happening in Kashmir is not an aberration, it is part of an institutionalized policy of the Indian government.’ Highlighting the publication of various reports, Khurram said ‘Our argument is that if we don’t do it we will never be able to prove that human rights abuses are taking place. We have been able to engage with the Jammu and Kashmir judiciary.’ With information coming from both police and government sources, he emphasized that in the cases under review, including Kunan Poshpura in 1991 and the massacre of Sikhs on the eve of President Clinton’s visit to India in March 2000, there were 972 alleged perpetrators. ‘In all these cases we have gone to the courts and tried our best to find justice within the Indian system.’ Furthermore, Mr. Parvez emphasized that the cases they had reviewed were not the only cases. ‘There are thousands of others. Filing a First Information Report (FIR) is a big task in itself, it can take 1-2 years to get the police to register a complaint, so you can imagine how difficult it is for people to fight for justice. Then there is a phase of investigation and sometimes the charge sheets have not been honored. This is especially true in circumstances where the army feels itself above the law’. Repression and cover-up has become institutionalized, Khurram said. In terms of delivering justice, he emphasized that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) ‘has become one of the factors of impunity. It has to go.’ Mr. Parvez also explained that one of the main reasons relating to disappearances was the monetary incentive for killing a ‘militant’ in Kashmir. ‘If you want to make money you have to kill a militant.’ According to government figures, since there are only 150 militants left in Jammu and Kashmir, invariably those killed were claimed to be unidentified foreign militants. But he said, ‘how do you know the nationality of people if they are unidentified?’ Turning to discuss the role of the international community, Mr. Parvez related how previously it had used human rights abuses to push India towards dialogue. But, he said, the Indian government views dialogue as an ‘end in itself’ and the rights of the people cannot wait for the resolution of the dispute. ‘We are being held hostage for even our basic needs. Even when dialogue is taking place, human rights are being abused. We accept that the Indian government needs some time for resolution but that does not mean the rights of the people should be suspended. We believe there has to be a process, now in Kashmir, for improving human rights abuses on the pattern of special procedures. If it was done for Sri Lanka and Rwanda why not for Kashmir?’ ‘Human rights are a world problem,’ Mr. Parvez added. ‘They are not an internal matter. We have seen the transformation of the movement from violence to nonviolence in Kashmir.’ But, he warned, there was a trend among young people again resorting to violence. ‘It is very sad for us, that young people should want to use violence. But the argument they use is that our voice does not reach anywhere.’ While India continues to ‘legitimize’ its presence, Mr. Parvez pleaded for the international community, whose assistance to date had been ‘dismal’ and all the organizations working for Kashmir to bring pressure to lobby for a United Nations ‘probe’ on the situation in Kashmir. Without such intervention, he said, ‘we cannot proceed forward. We are now at a stage where it is a complete dead end. We have done everything; we have met everyone in the government, but nothing has changed. Now, back to ‘The Structure of Violence’ (TSOV ) report. It is a detailed report on torture by Indian military and paramilitary forces in Jammu & Kashmir. The report begins by saying that “Prepared over two years, this report is a part of the continuing work to understand and analyze the role of the Indian State in Jammu and Kashmir, an occupied territory internationally recognized as a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, that has resulted in widespread and systematic violence including the disappearance of 8000+ persons, 70,000+ deaths, 6000+ unknown, unmarked and mass graves, and countless cases of torture and sexual violence.” It continues, “Human rights groups, activists, journalists, filmmakers, lawyers and civil society groups have written, filmed, documented, litigated, brought attention to, and reproduced material that has repeatedly highlighted the violence and politics of the Indian State and the everyday militarized reality of Jammu and Kashmir.” May I quote just few more excerpts from TSOV report as symbolic of the nightmare of the people of Kashmir. May I also add that hundreds of such and even more horrifying incidents of inhumanity are recorded in these pages. TSOV report, while illustrating the patterns of violence through individual case studies, is directly concerned with identifying the structure, forms, and tactics of violence of the Indian State in Jammu and Kashmir. How did/does the Indian State perpetrate this violence? What precisely is the structure, physical and institutional, through which weapons, ammunition, soldiers, officers, camps, and battalions inflict violence on the people of Jammu and Kashmir? Where is the control? The driving motivation of this exercise is, as has always been Responsibility. Who do we hold responsible for the individual and collected acts of violence?  (To be concluded).

2     Outsiders to vote: Aug., 18, 2022:  In utter violation of the United Nations resolutions, the Modi led Indian government has allowed its citizens, temporarily residing in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, to vote in so-called assembly elections. This was announced by the Indian Chief Electoral Officer for IIOJK chapter Hridesh Kumar Singh in a statement on Wednesday. He said, “Non-Locals residing in Jammu Kashmir can also vote in Assembly elections”.Chief Electoral Officer Hridesh Kumar Singh said that the final voter lists in IIOJK be released on November 25, 2022. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/08/17/india-flouts-un-resolutions-allows-its-citizens-to-vote-in-iiojk-assembly-polls.html

3     Prisoner martyred: Aug., 19, 2022:  In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir; the Indian police martyred a prisoner in a fake encounter in Jammu district. Indian police took a political prisoner Mohammad Ali Hussain from Kothbalwal Jail Jammu and brought him to Toph Arnia area and killed him in the staged encounter. This is the second extrajudicial killing of AJK prisoners as earlier one political prisoner , Zia Mustafa, from Rawalakot, was taken out of the Kothbalwal jail jammu and brought to forests in Poonch by the Indian troops and was subsequently killed in firing in October 2021.  https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/08/18/prisoner-martyred-by-indian-police-in-jammu.html

4     Two martyred: Aug 24 2022:  in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in Rajouri district, today(Aug, 23, 2022. The troops during their continued violent military operations martyred the youth in Pukharni in Nowsherea area of the district. An official told media men that the troops deployed near the Line of Control killed two persons and their bodies are lying near the fence, while attempts are being made to recover them. Earlier on Sunday, during operation the troops shot and injured a youth and arrested him while he was looking after his cattle near the Line of Control near the fence. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/08/23/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-rajouri.html

5     Three martyred: Aug. 26, 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three Kashmiri youth in Baramulla district, today(Aug 25).The troops martyred the youth during a violent military operation in Kamalkote, Uri area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/08/25/indian-troops-martyr-three-kashmiri-youth-in-baramulla-2.html

6     British report on human rights violations in IOJ&K: Aug., 26, 2022: The Stoke White Investigations (SWI) said in a report, released on Wednesday, that there were 450 incidents of violence in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in 2020-21, exposing Indian brutalities and war crimes against the Kashmiri people. The report, titled ‘India Silencing Journalism and Human Rights in Kashmir’ also said that there were 100 of enforced disappearances in IIOJK besides 30 cases of sexual violence and 1,500 cases of pellet guns were reported. The Legal Forum for Kashmir (LFK) and the Britain-based investigating unit, the SWI issued a report on human rights violations in IIOJK for documenting the Indian war crimes at the Islamabad Press Club. It also released dossier on India’s treatment of Kashmiri journalists and human rights defenders in IIOJK. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2373053/british-investigators-expose-indias-war-crimes-in-iiojk 

Kashmir Update, 195; Week  (Aug 15,2022 to Aug 21, 2022)

1     Lest we forget: Khurram ParvezLPart one of two parts article: by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai: Aug., 18, 2022:  We are too familiar with hacking of Kashmiri websites, now we are experiencing the same with one of the most familiar and the most visited websites of ‘Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society’, (JKCCS) of which Khurram Parvez is the coordinator. This JKCSS website was hacked many times in the past. It happened again today, August 15, 2022, at 12.15 p.m. (New York time). JKCCS homepage contains the unintelligible and incomprehensible message. At times, it is impossible even to download the excellent reports prepared by Khurram Parvez and his team. Therefore, I consider it a privilege to write a brief account about the reports, prepared by JKCCS before they evaporate from its website. I want in particular to discuss a 799-pages report entitled, “The Structure of Violence (TSOV)” jointly prepared by ‘The International Peoples' Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-Administered Kashmir’[IPTK] and ‘The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons’ [APDP]. TSOV report encapsulates in chilling detail the tragedy of Kashmir. It documents the gross violations of human rights that India and its occupation forces now believed to number 900,000, have committed in Kashmir since 1990. I would like to emphasize that every single fact contained in these painstaking accounts, every single incident documented, every violation recorded is fully authenticated. You merely will have to read the entries to experience the clear ring of truth, which in Kashmir is often brutal and chilling. These reports are the best testimonies, testimonies which remain unassailable and beyond challenge, of the atrocities perpetrated against innocent Kashmiri civilians in the name of state security. These are the documents that damn those who profess to practice democracy and who never tire of lecturing the rest of the world on higher moral values. The reality of the Indian state is mirrored in these pages, unadorned, unvarnished, and unexpurgated. Please read this report for what it says because it tells the story of Kashmir with brutal frankness, unsparing realism and absolute clarity. Khurram Parvez, Chairperson of Philippines-based ‘Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances” himself has delivered the hard copies of the TSOV report to the office of ‘UN High Commissioner on Human Rights’ Office of the ‘UN Secretary General’, many international NGO’s and various dignitaries. Although Khurram Parvez was recognized as one of the 100 most influential people of the world by US-based Time Magazine in 2022 but he can no longer present this report to anybody anymore because he was arrested by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) of India on November 21, 2021, under terror law, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Under UAPA a person can be incarcerated up to 180 days without a charge sheet being filed. It does not allow right to dissent. The Amnesty International (AI) has said that UAPA has been used to “target journalists and human rights defenders who criticize government policies.” AI also wrote on November 23, 2021, “The arrest of Kashmiri activist Khurram Parvez is yet another example of how anti-terror laws are being misused to criminalize human rights work & stifle dissent in India. Instead of targeting HRDs, authorities should focus on bringing accountability for human rights violations.” The arrest of Khurram Parvez is, ‘a really troubling development’ wrote New York-based Human Rights Watch; and Geneva-based The World Organisation Against Torture’ called for the immediate release of Khurram Parvez. Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defender tweeted: ‘Khurram Parvez is not a terrorist. He is a Human Rights Defender.’ Khurram Parvez spoke at an International Kashmir Conference in 2015, organized by ‘World Kashmir Awareness Forum’. Among others who spoke during the conference included Ramsay Clark, former United States Attorney General. Khurram Parvez focused on the context in which human rights abuses in the state of Jammu and Kashmir were perceived. ‘You cannot understand human rights if you don’t understand the context. Human rights abuses are taking place all around the world, in many places, including in India,’ Khurram stated. ‘But the difference is these are happening because of aberrations, deficiencies in governance, and because people transgress the law. What is happening in Kashmir is not an aberration, it is part of an institutionalized policy of the Indian government.’ Highlighting the publication of various reports, Khurram said ‘Our argument is that if we don’t do it we will never be able to prove that human rights abuses are taking place. We have been able to engage with the Jammu and Kashmir judiciary.’ With information coming from both police and government sources, he emphasized that in the cases under review, including Kunan Poshpura in 1991 and the massacre of Sikhs on the eve of President Clinton’s visit to India in March 2000, there were 972 alleged perpetrators. ‘In all these cases we have gone to the courts and tried our best to find justice within the Indian system.’ Furthermore, Mr. Parvez emphasized that the cases they had reviewed were not the only cases. ‘There are thousands of others. Filing a First Information Report (FIR) is a big task in itself, it can take 1-2 years to get the police to register a complaint, so you can imagine how difficult it is for people to fight for justice. Then there is a phase of investigation and sometimes the charge sheets have not been honored. This is especially true in circumstances where the army feels itself above the law’. Repression and cover-up has become institutionalized, Khurram said. In terms of delivering justice, he emphasized that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) ‘has become one of the factors of impunity. It has to go.’ Mr. Parvez also explained that one of the main reasons relating to disappearances was the monetary incentive for killing a ‘militant’ in Kashmir. ‘If you want to make money you have to kill a militant.’ According to government figures, since there are only 150 militants left in Jammu and Kashmir, invariably those killed were claimed to be unidentified foreign militants. But he said, ‘how do you know the nationality of people if they are unidentified?’ Turning to discuss the role of the international community, Mr. Parvez related how previously it had used human rights abuses to push India towards dialogue. But, he said, the Indian government views dialogue as an ‘end in itself’ and the rights of the people cannot wait for the resolution of the dispute. ‘We are being held hostage for even our basic needs. Even when dialogue is taking place, human rights are being abused. We accept that the Indian government needs some time for resolution but that does not mean the rights of the people should be suspended. We believe there has to be a process, now in Kashmir, for improving human rights abuses on the pattern of special procedures. If it was done for Sri Lanka and Rwanda why not for Kashmir?’ ‘Human rights are a world problem,’ Mr. Parvez added. ‘They are not an internal matter. We have seen the transformation of the movement from violence to nonviolence in Kashmir.’ But, he warned, there was a trend among young people again resorting to violence. ‘It is very sad for us, that young people should want to use violence. But the argument they use is that our voice does not reach anywhere.’ While India continues to ‘legitimize’ its presence, Mr. Parvez pleaded for the international community, whose assistance to date had been ‘dismal’ and all the organizations working for Kashmir to bring pressure to lobby for a United Nations ‘probe’ on the situation in Kashmir. Without such intervention, he said, ‘we cannot proceed forward. We are now at a stage where it is a complete dead end. We have done everything; we have met everyone in the government, but nothing has changed. Now, back to ‘The Structure of Violence’ (TSOV ) report. It is a detailed report on torture by Indian military and paramilitary forces in Jammu & Kashmir. The report begins by saying that “Prepared over two years, this report is a part of the continuing work to understand and analyze the role of the Indian State in Jammu and Kashmir, an occupied territory internationally recognized as a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, that has resulted in widespread and systematic violence including the disappearance of 8000+ persons, 70,000+ deaths, 6000+ unknown, unmarked and mass graves, and countless cases of torture and sexual violence.” It continues, “Human rights groups, activists, journalists, filmmakers, lawyers and civil society groups have written, filmed, documented, litigated, brought attention to, and reproduced material that has repeatedly highlighted the violence and politics of the Indian State and the everyday militarized reality of Jammu and Kashmir.” May I quote just few more excerpts from TSOV report as symbolic of the nightmare of the people of Kashmir. May I also add that hundreds of such and even more horrifying incidents of inhumanity are recorded in these pages. TSOV report, while illustrating the patterns of violence through individual case studies, is directly concerned with identifying the structure, forms, and tactics of violence of the Indian State in Jammu and Kashmir. How did/does the Indian State perpetrate this violence? What precisely is the structure, physical and institutional, through which weapons, ammunition, soldiers, officers, camps, and battalions inflict violence on the people of Jammu and Kashmir? Where is the control? The driving motivation of this exercise is, as has always been Responsibility. Who do we hold responsible for the individual and collected acts of violence?  (To be concluded).

2     Outsiders to vote: Aug., 18, 2022:  In utter violation of the United Nations resolutions, the Modi led Indian government has allowed its citizens, temporarily residing in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, to vote in so-called assembly elections. This was announced by the Indian Chief Electoral Officer for IIOJK chapter Hridesh Kumar Singh in a statement on Wednesday. He said, “Non-Locals residing in Jammu Kashmir can also vote in Assembly elections”.Chief Electoral Officer Hridesh Kumar Singh said that the final voter lists in IIOJK be released on November 25, 2022. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/08/17/india-flouts-un-resolutions-allows-its-citizens-to-vote-in-iiojk-assembly-polls.html

3     Prisoner martyred: Aug., 19, 2022:  In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir; the Indian police martyred a prisoner in a fake encounter in Jammu district. Indian police took a political prisoner Mohammad Ali Hussain from Kothbalwal Jail Jammu and brought him to Toph Arnia area and killed him in the staged encounter. This is the second extrajudicial killing of AJK prisoners as earlier one political prisoner , Zia Mustafa, from Rawalakot, was taken out of the Kothbalwal jail jammu and brought to forests in Poonch by the Indian troops and was subsequently killed in firing in October 2021.  https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/08/18/prisoner-martyred-by-indian-police-in-jammu.html 

 

Kashmir Update, 194; Week  (Aug 8,2022 to Aug 14, 2022)

1     Kashmiri Americans reject Indian occupation and demand self-determination ;Washington, D.C. August 5, 2022; In commemorating the third anniversary of abrogation of article 370 and 35A, the World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF), exhibited painful message of human rights atrocities committed by 900,000 Indian occupation army in Jammu & Kashmir. These messages were carried on digital advertising trucks in Washington, DC across the federal buildings, foreign embassies, shopping centers and busy intersections. The demand displaced on the digital truck was simple that the United Nations intervention is must to stop genocide in Kashmir. The digital trucks carried the messages: “Hold India accountable for war crimes”; “Kashmir under siege: Knocking at world conscience”; “Stop Demographic terrorism in Kashmir”; “India stop state terrorism in Kashmir”; “India criminalizes press freedom in Kashmir”; “End Indian colonization in Kashmir”; “Implement UN resolution on Kashmir”; Indian: Allow international NGOs in Kashmir”; “Indian army out of Kashmir”,   in order to crush any resistance to their illegal occupation, India has instituted new draconian measures. First, they unilaterally removed any relics of initial recognition of their occupation by abrogating Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution, imposed a total military lockdown and complete communication blockade in anticipation of the protest and resistance these measures would inevitably cause. In a ruthless campaign they imprisoned politicians, journalists, and civil society members, to intimidate and suppress any form of dissent. We stand in fierce opposition to India’s actions against the people of Kashmir, Dr. Mir added and condemn any restriction of free speech and expression throughout the region. World powers must stop the Indian government’s attack on free speech in the region and urge the Indian government community to ensure that rights activists, political leaders, and local journalists are allowed to work freely and without harassment. Our thoughts are with all political prisoners and their family during this unlawful arrest. “Right of free speech and free movement, particularly international travel is limited and, in some cases, completely denied. Kashmir is going through an untenable existential crisis and must be stopped by international intervention. Kashmiri political prisoners must be set free, and the reign of terror must be stopped. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, WKAF said that on August 5, 2019, the Government of India laid bare its naked ambition by brutally colonizing the state of Jammu and Kashmir.  On that date, it threw away any pretense of acknowledging the Kashmiri’s right to self-determination as outlined by the United Nations’ Security Council resolutions and agreed to at that time by the Government of India 72 years earlier. Dr. Fai added that the events of August 5, 2019, are consistent with the ruthless occupation and suppression the people of Kashmir have suffered under the unpopular Indian rule. As is widely acknowledged and documented internationally, this brutal occupation has led to over 100,000 civilian deaths, more than 8000 individuals missing or disappeared, and thousands of Kashmiri women raped. This does not even begin to account for the tens of thousands tortured, maimed, and permanently injured men, women and children by the Indian security forces during their 72-year reign of terror. But despite this persistent and pernicious tyranny, Fai emphasized, the people of Kashmir never have, nor ever will give up their right to be free. It is based on this internationally recognized, and principled stand the Kashmiri diaspora and its allies worldwide stand in solidarity with the people of Jammu Kashmir. We stand in support of their unyielding struggle to resist occupation and achieve their right to self-determination. We stand with them in their struggle to stop the Indian government from dehumanizing them and completing their settler-colonial project to remove them culturally, politically, and ethnically from the face of the earth.

2     Human rights; Aug 8 2022; Human rights violations have shown a massive increase in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) since August 5, 2019 when the Modi-led fascist Indian government repealed Kashmir’s special status and imposed military siege in the territory. As many as 663 innocent Kashmiris fell to Indian bullets, 17993 people were arrested, 2278 injured, 1093 houses destroyed and 125 women were molested by Indian troops since Aug 5, 2019 in IIOJK, said a report released by the KMS, today. It said systematic human rights violations are being continuously committed with impunity by Indian troops in the occupied territory, adding that several global rights groups have time and again raised alarm about the worsening rights situation. The report said the Modi regime’s August 5, 2019 actions and thereafter is gross violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions. India has unleashed a reign of terror against IIOJK’s Muslim population, it lamented. It deplored that the Kashmiri youth were being killed in fake encounters and in so-called cordon and search operations (CASOs) by Indian troops, adding that 96,095 Kashmiris had been killed since January 1989 to July 2021 in IIOJK. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/08/07/hr-violations-show-massive-increase-in-iiojk-since-aug-5-2019.html

3     Two martyred; Aug 11 2022; Indian troops martyred two Kashmiri youth (Aug 10) near an Indian army camp in Pargal area in what appears to be another India ploy to implicate  Kashmiri youth and create environment of fear with an aim of maligning freedom struggle and Pakistan. The fresh incident just ahead of Indian Independence Day celebrations seems to be another orchestrated drama for multiple purposes by the right-wing driven Bharatiya Janata Party government in India. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/08/11/ahead-of-independence-day-is-rajouri-attack-another-false-flag-operation-by-india-in-iiojk.html 

Kashmir Update, 193; Week  (Aug 1,2022 to Aug 8, 2022)

1     One martyred; Aug1 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one more Kashmiri youth in Baramulla district, today(July 3) .The troops martyred the youth in a fake encounter in the garb of a cordon and search operation in Binner area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/07/31/indian-troops-martyr-one-more-kashmiri-youth-in-baramulla.html

2     Human Rights Watch ; Aug 4 2022;Indian authorities are restricting free expression, peaceful assembly, and other basic rights in Jammu and Kashmir three years after revoking the region’s special autonomous status, Human Rights Watch said today. The government’s repressive policies and failure to investigate and prosecute alleged security force abuses have increased insecurity among Kashmiris. On August 5, 2019, the Indian government, promising security and reform, revoked the constitutional autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir and split the state into two federally governed territories. The government action was accompanied by serious rights violations including arbitrary detention of hundreds of people, a total communications blackout, and severe restrictions on freedom of movement and peaceful assembly. Since then, the authorities have released many of the detainees and restored the internet, but have intensified their crackdown on media and civil society groups, including through frequent use of counterterrorism and public safety laws. “The government needs to end the assault on fundamental freedoms and act to protect minority groups at risk.”The authorities have invoked the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, as well as terrorism allegations, to conduct raids and arbitrarily detain journalists, activists, and political leaders without evidence and meaningful judicial review. The authorities have also barred several prominent Kashmiris from traveling abroad without providing reasons. Since August 2019, militants have killed at least 118 civilians, including 21 people from minority Hindu and Sikh communities. In November 2021, the authorities arrested a prominent Kashmiri human rights activist, Khurram Parvez, on politically motivated charges under the abusive counterterrorism law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Parvez, 44, is the program coordinator of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society and the chair of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances. He has documented cases of enforced disappearances and investigated unmarked graves in Kashmir, and as a result, the Indian authorities have repeatedly targeted him for his human rights work. United Nations human rights experts, calling for his immediate release, expressed “regret that the Government continues to use the UAPA as a means of coercion to restrict civil society’s, the media’s and human rights defenders’ fundamental freedoms.”Journalists in Kashmir face increasing harassment by security forces, including raids and arbitrary arrests on terrorism charges. Authorities in India have shut down the internet more often than anywhere else in the world. A majority of those shutdowns have been in Kashmir, where they are used to curb protests and access to information. Since August 2019, at least 35 journalists in Kashmir have faced police interrogation, raids, threats, physical assault, restrictions on freedom of movement, or fabricated criminal cases for their reporting. In June 2020, the government announced a new media policy that made it easier for the authorities to censor news in the region. In 2022, the authorities rearrested Fahad Shah, Aasif Sultan, and Sajad Gul under the Public Safety Act after they had been granted bail separately in other cases filed against them in retaliation for their journalism work. Since 2019, the security forces have been implicated in numerous abuses including routine harassment and ill-treatment at checkpoints, arbitrary detention, and extrajudicial killings. In March 2021, five UN expert mandates wrote to the Indian government seeking information about the detention of a Kashmiri politician, Waheed Para; the alleged killing in custody of a shopkeeper, Irfan Ahmad Dar; and the enforced disappearance of Naseer Ahmad Wani, a resident of Shopian district. They raised concerns about “the repressive measures and broader pattern of systematic infringements of fundamental rights used against the local population, as well as of intimidations, searches, and confiscations committed by national security agents.”There has been no accountability for these recent alleged extrajudicial killings or past killings and abuses by security forces, in part because of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which gives members of the armed forces effective immunity from prosecution. Since the law came into force in Jammu and Kashmir in 1990, the Indian government has not granted permission to prosecute any security force personnel in civilian courts. Rights groups have long documented that the law has become a tool of state abuse, oppression, and discrimination, and called for its repeal. Affected residents, activists, government-appointed committees, politicians, and UN human rights bodies have also criticized the law . Instead of addressing human rights concerns, Indian officials have sought to project the appearance of progress, Human Rights Watch said. A year ago, the foreign minister said government policies in Kashmir have led to real “democracy, development, good governance and empowerment.” In July, during a visit to Kashmir, the home minister said that “a new era was established in Kashmir,” and that it was on the “path of peace and development.”“The security forces’ raids and targeted attacks by militants in Kashmir are grim reminders of the unending cycle of violence linked to repressive Indian government policies and the failure to bring abusive forces to account,” Ganguly said. “The Indian authorities should ensure justice for security force abuses and end policies that violate the fundamental rights of Kashmiri people.” https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/02/india-repression-persists-jammu-and-kashmir

3     Chinese Scholar on Kashmir; Aug 6 2022; Prominent Chinese Scholar, Cheng Xizhong, has said that the international community should take strong and concerted actions to force India to immediately reverse unilateral and all illegal actions it has taken in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and fulfill its obligations under the relevant UNSC resolutions. Cheng Xizhong, Visiting Professor of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, in a statement in Beijing said the Kashmir dispute is the core obstacle to the normalization of relations between India and Pakistan and to peace and stability in the South Asian region. He said, India changed the status of Kashmir on He said, India changed the status of Kashmir on August 5, 2019, which further complicated the Kashmir issue. Therefore, he said, the key to normalizing India-Pakistan relations was for India to take the initiative to immediately restore the original status of Kashmir, APP reported. Prof Cheng, who is also a senior fellow of the Charhar Institute, maintained that the international community should take strong and concerted actions, forcing India to immediately halt and reverse unilateral and all illegal actions it has taken in IIOJK and fulfill its obligations under the relevant UNSC resolutions. He suggested that first of all, the UNSC should pay more close attention to India’s unilateral and illegal actions in IIOJK, which were seriously endangering regional peace. Secondly, he said, because India has seriously violated the fundamental human rights of the Kashmiri people, all international human rights organizations should continue to put pressure on India. “Thirdly, all countries responsible for world peace, especially big powers, should impose the most severe sanctions on India, forcing the Narendra Modi regime to rectify its evil ways with strong measures,” he said.“The Kashmiris have the full right to decide their own destiny. The Kashmiris should have the final say on the Kashmir issue. I firmly believe that the Kashmiri people who have been fighting for national self-determination for decades will win the final victory,” he added https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/08/05/world-urged-to-force-india-to-reverse-its-aug-05-move-on-iiojk.html

4     One martyred; Aug 6 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, today(Aug5), martyred one Kashmiri youth in Kulgam district. The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Redwani area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/08/05/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-kulgam-5.html

 

 

Kashmir Update, 192; Week  (Jul 25,2022 to Aug 2, 2022)

1     IOJ&K and Elections; July 29 2022; elections will not happen till the time the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) feels certain it will carry the day –  and be in a position to instal a non-Muslim chief minister to head the Union territory. Indeed, if this were to happen, the UT may then be upgraded to the status of a state.Contrarily, were such elections to produce an unlovely surprise, J&K might then either continue to languish as a UT or be reluctantly accorded the same sort of status as Delhi suffers, with an all-powerful lieutenant governor overseeing the exertions of a minion elected  Underneath their phirans, Kashmiris remain, like so many others in large parts of the republic, deeply attached to their sense of history and to their identity. Indeed, in the Jammu region, the ‘dynastic’ parties and the Congress are still a force to reckon with. In the meanwhile, the local state executive will spare no moment to flash images of great nationalistscomebacks of hitherto misled Kashmiri youth, be it in the sports arena, recruitment drives to the forces,  sponsored cultural events, enthusing tourist-speak, and so forth.    https://thewire.in/politics/with-kashmir-not-yet-a-safe-bet-yet-for-bjp-modi-may-prefer-to-drag-his-feet-over-assembly-polls

2     Yasin Malik : July 30 2022; World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF) Affirms Yasin Malik’s Commitment to Kashmiris’ National Self-determination and liberation Hospitalization of Yasin Malik from Tihar Jail Solitary Confinement: Inhumane Treatment of Kashmiri Prisoners Must End in Indian Jails The World Kashmir Awareness Forum issued the following statement in response to the hospitalization of the revered Kashmiri political leader and Chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front Muhammad Yasin Malik. “The news of Yasin Malik’s admission to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital has set alarm bells ringing among millions of his followers in Jammu and Kashmir and around the world. Mr. Malik has been incarcerated in the Tihar jail number 7 in solitary confinement serving life sentence on trumped up charges without a fair trial and proper legal representation. He has been defiant throughout his kangaroo court trial and decide to go on a hunger strike four days ago despite his chronic ill health and physical and psychological torture inflicted by the authorities in the jail. His frail health from decades of turmoil, torture and poor healthcare has taken a huge toll on Mr. Malik. Kashmiris around the world deeply fear that Indian authorities plan to seek the demise of all political and human rights activists and leaders resisting illegal Indian occupation. They have a proven track record of causing death of Kashmiri leaders by any means, including life in prison just as is being contemplated in the case of Muhammad Yasin Malik. Millions of his followers and people of conscience around the world are deeply concerned about Mr. Malik’s critical health status.Kashmiris at home and the global Kashmiri diaspora community appeal Ms. Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner on Human Rights; and Mr. Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations to persuade Government of India to end the solitary confinement, inhumane and cruel treatment, including physical and psychological torture of Mr. Malik, which is share violation of  the Article 5, 7 and 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

3     Destroying Property; July 30 2022; Following Israeli tactic, Modi’s Hindutva regime has started attaching properties of the Kashmiris in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) to put pressure on them to give up their legitimate struggle for internationally recognized right to self-determination.In its latest drive to render the Kashmiris homeless in their own homeland, the Modi-led fascist Indian government has attached the houses of five more Kashmiris under draconian law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in Srinagar, said a report released, today, by Kashmir Media Service.The report pointed out that Modi is following in the footsteps of Israel that has been, for decades, demolishing the houses of Palestinian people and snatching their ancestral lands to make way for Jewish settlements in the occupied territory. It said attaching properties of Kashmiris is sheer political vendetta on part of the Indian regime and is meant to bully them into withdrawing their support to the freedom movement.The report said that besides attaching Kashmiris’ properties on one pretext or another, Indian troops are regularly destroying Kashmiris’ houses during violent military operations.  https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/07/29/modi-regimes-policy-of-attaching-kashmiris-properties-sheer-political-vendetta.html

4     One martyred July 30  2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one Kashmiri youth in Baramulla district, today. The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Wanigam Bala area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/07/30/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-baramulla-2.html

5     Israel is an Apartheid State bySyed Ehtisham; July 31 2022;   Over the last three years, IPSN has consistently been involved in creating awareness about the conditions of the Palestinian people and drawing people together in acts of solidarity with the Palestinian people. IPSN has also advocated with the Government of India against its close military ties with Israel arguing that by purchasing military hardware from Israel, it supports a brutal military-industrial-complex in Israel which enables it to oppress and subjugate the Palestinian people. A recent investigative report by The New York Times revealed that NSO Groups’ Pegasus was part of a $2 billion defence deal signed by the Prime Minister during his 2017 official visit to Israel. Israeli spyware technology is developed by being systematically used against Palestinians. Spyware trade is per se designed for repression, and Israel is at the centre of it because its colonial and apartheid regime deploys it against a subjugated people. In defence of the civil rights of Indian human rights activists, and in solidarity with the resisting Palestinian people, we demand that our public resources are not spent on surveillance technology bought from an apartheid regime. IPSN notes that the Israeli government has adopted and practices a policy of separation the over the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. IPSN follows the call of the UN independent human rights expert who has noted that “apartheid is being practiced by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory”. IPSN agrees with the contention of other human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, and others who have analyzed the 55-year occupation of the Palestinian Territory. In different ways they have each underlined how, in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, there exists a deeply discriminatory dual legal and political system, that privileges the 700,000 Israeli Jewish settlers living in the 300 illegal Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. This was the assertion of the UN Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory. His report points to the absence of the “rights of people living in the same vicinity, but separated by walls, checkpoints and roads”. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur has observed that “there are more than three million Palestinians living under an oppressive rule of institutional discrimination and without a path to a genuine Palestinian state that the world has long promised, which is their right”. This is also true of Gaza where two million Palestinians live in Gaza, described in what is referred to as an ‘open-air prison’, without adequate access to power, water or health, with a collapsing economy and with no ability to freely travel to the rest of Palestine or the outside world. We affirm the internationally-understood legal definition of apartheid – a system of institutionalized racial segregation. Israel falls within the scope of this definition as a “political regime which so intentionally and clearly prioritizes fundamental political, legal and social rights to one group over another, within the same geographic unit on the basis of one’s racial-national-ethnic identity”. This is nothing short of a Crime against Humanity. The 1998 Rome Statute of the Icc is a forward-looking legal instrument which prohibits apartheid as a crime against humanity today and into the future, wherever it may exist. In opposition to this definition Israel seeks to demographically foist a permanent, and illegal, Israeli sovereign claim over occupied territory, while confining Palestinians in smaller and more confined reserves of disconnected land, just as there were the Bantustans in South Africa under the apartheid regime there. IPSN regards the multiple barbaric acts, arbitrary and extra-judicial killings, torture, the denial of fundamental rights, an abysmal child mortality rate, collective punishment, an abusive military court system, and home demolitions as signs of a cruel regime which holds human rights in disregard. Israel’s annexation of occupied territory is unlawful, its construction of hundreds of Jewish settlements is illegal, and its denial of Palestinian self-determination breaches international law. Sadly, the international community has failed in its duty to create a united rejection of Israel’s apartheid. IPSN commits itself to joining hands with other networks in India to oppose Israel’s apartheid policies and practices through several measures: Join the BDS-India Movement, INCACBI which is also a Platform for Indian solidarity with the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to be actively engaged in fighting against economic-academic-cultural collaboration with Israel.; Bring Israeli apartheid to the notice of the Indian Human Rights community by engaging in comparative studies of discriminatory laws and practices in Israel which the Indian Government has duplicated. (The practices of the Indian government against Muslim and Christian minorities are virtually a copy-cat version of the way Israel discriminates and brutalizes Palestinians); Campaign against Indian collaboration with Israel’s military-industrial complex, noting especially that Israel is influencing the Indian government in its subjugation of the Kashmiri people by applying near-identical policies as Israel does on the Palestinian people. ;IPSN will continue its work with inter-faith platforms including Muslim collectives, Dalit and Adivasi groups and the Hindus for Human Rights through which it is able to highlight the Question of Palestine.; To seek a working dialogue with the NCCI and Catholic institutions for a Christian response against apartheid in Israel.

 

Kashmir Update, 191; Week  (Jul 18,2022 to Jul 25, 2022)

1     Accession to Pakistan Day ; July 20 2022;Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control while observing July 19 as the Accession to Pakistan Day, today, said that the Kashmiri people had decided to link their future with Islamic Republic of Pakistan even weeks before its creation, on this day in 1947. On 19th July in 1947, genuine representatives of the Kashmiris unanimously passed the resolution of Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan during a meeting of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference at the residence of Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan in Aabi Guzar area of Srinagar. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/07/19/kashmirs-accession-to-pakistan-day-observed-today.html

2     Brainstorming session held in Washington. Kashmir: What Next;Washington, D.C. July 20, 2022: World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF) organized a brainstorming session on Kashmir entitled “Kashmir: What next.” The session was designed to identify the areas which need to be of immediate focus for highlighting the human rights situation in Indian occupied Kashmir.   Dr. Ghulam N. Mir,  . Emphasized  the role of diaspora in highlighting and bringing in focus the gross human rights abuse and denial of the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir. Dr. Mir added that WKAF is in the process of gathering resources and momentum to confront the occupation and atrocities in Kashmir. We are in the process of organizing the diaspora to reach out to the US communities and our elected representatives. We will continue to build alliances and forge solidarity with like-minded groups and communities around the world until Kashmiris achieve their goal right to self-determination. Dr. Pir Syed Ali Raza Bukhari, a parliamentarian from Azad Kashmir and Chairman, International Sufi Peace Forum and the Chief Guest emphasized that the peaceful resolution of longstanding Kashmir dispute will guarantee durable peace and stability in the region of South Asia. It will also pave the way for economic development of these nuclear countries who are spending billions of dollars on defense. The people of India and Pakistan need healthcare, education, clean water which is only possible once you create an atmosphere of peace by giving the people of Jammu & Kashmir right to self-determination. The issue of Kashmir is basic human rights issue, it is also the issue of right of self-determination which was pledged to the people of Kashmir by an agency no less important that the United Nations. Therefore, we must knock the doors of all world forums as well as the United Nations to urge them to fulfill their pledge and come out of their slumber . Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General of WKAF said that the most important and poignant aspect of the situation in Kashmir is uncertainty, unpredictability, and anxiety of unknown. Thousands have been brutally killed or cling to life in hospitals, in jails, in secret torture cells. These Kashmiris are victims of a reign of terror by India’s 900,000 strong military and paramilitary forces. Yet, despite a faint murmur of protest in international circles and an occasional repot in the world press, India has felt no pressure whatsoever to desist from its semi-genocidal campaign. Dr. Fai drew the attention of the audience to the statement made by President Biden on July 15, 2022, in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, “I said, very straightforwardly, for an American president to be silent on the issue of human rights is inconsistent with who we are and who I am,” Biden continued. “I’ll always stand up for our values.” Does President Biden also means Kashmir, Fai asked. Dr. Imtiaz Khan, Professor at George Washington Medical Center said: The atrocities committed by alien and occupation army in Indian occupied Kashmir are continuing in an unabated manner. Government of India is implementing their nefarious plan which encompasses, land grab, massacre of innocent civilians and deprivation of livelihood to the local population. With total impunity occupation forces enter homes and find flimsy excuses to target youth, demolish properties, confiscate valuables, and molest woman folk. The fascist Indian regime will not dissuade from their iniquitous activities unless international community will hold them accountable. Verbal repudiation and cosmetic statements have failed to yield results in the past and will do no good in the future. Only severe sanctions like trade restrictions and economic blockade will be effective in persuading India to come to negotiating table so that this protracted problem which is endangering world peace can be resolved, Dr. Fai emphasized. Imam Naeem Baig, Co-Chair, “National Muslim-Christian Initiative” said that “In the US we have got some interfaith groups that are taking very active role in social justice causes and are striving to end racial and economic discrimination. There are interfaith groups that care for human rights and religious freedom here in the US and also in the world. We must reach out to such interfaith groups and seek their support for the people of Kashmir who are prohibited from offering their prayers in the Mosques. This is a religious freedom issue. Imam Naeem Baig added that there is a long history of human rights abuses in the Indian occupied Kashmir. When people are forced to stay in their homes and are not allowed to go to their businesses, schools, or places of worship by the occupying forces so what hope is left for them to live. The world has abandoned them. We must engage the American interfaith organizations and seek their support for human rights and religious freedom of the people of Kashmir”  The Council visualizes, Noori said, a society with justice, equality durable peace, universal brotherhood, free of poverty, violence, equal opportunities for social and economic empowerment to all citizens. Protection of child rights, human rights, and Minority rights in Pakistan without any prejudice or bias to color, creed, religion or caste. He said that Council is accredited with Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and will be available at all international forums including the United Nations to provide platform for the cause of the people of Jammu Kashmir.   Sardar Zarif Khan  

3     FDI India; July 22 2022;The RBI remittances survey 2020-21 has revealed that the remittances from the Gulf countries to India have sharply declined. The cumulative inward remittances to India have plumed from 50 percent in 2016-17 to 30 percent in 2020-21. According to the RBI remittances survey 2020-21, the remittances to southern states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka have almost halved in 2020-21 when compared to what these states used to receive in 2016-17. India mostly receives remittances from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, etc. The UAE, which was the top source of remittances for Indians, is now in the second spot with the US taking the lead. It is being inferred that the job avenues for Indians are drying up in the gulf region. The southern states that have strong dominance in gulf countries and use to receive a significant share of the total remittances received by the entire country are most affected by the loss of jobs in the Gulf region.Kerala which used to be the top recipient of remittances from the Gulf region no longer holds the number one position. Currently, Maharashtra is on the top of the list of states that receive remittances.  It is followed by Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, and Bihar. One of the reasons for the decline of remittances from the Gulf countries to the Southern states could be the migration of semi-skilled workers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, and West Bengal. They are being hired in the Gulf countries on much lesser salaries than the people from the Southern states. The US, the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia have emerged as important sources of remittances for India. Among them the US tops the list whereas; the UAE is in the second spot. The cumulative remittances account for 36 percent of total India’s remittances. However, in overall terms, Indian remittances have gone down from 50 percent to 36 percent. The decline is due to the drying up of job opportunities for the Indians in the Gulf region. There are various reasons given for the loss of job opportunities for the Indians in the Gulf region. One of them that is prominently doing rounds is speculated to be the domestic policy of the BJP government which is loaded against the Muslim minority community of India.  Soon after the breakout of the Pandemics in 2020, an Indian Muslim religious group Tablighi Jammat was hounded by the government and the people for spreading coronavirus in the country. This had led many countries in the Gulf region to raise their voice of concern against the persecution of Muslims going on in India. Many private organizations in the Gulf region had sent back Indians who were active on social media spreading hatred against Muslims while eking out their living from Muslim organizations in the Gulf region. Nupur Sharma’s intemperate remarks have further added salt to the injuries to the Muslims globally, and also to the countries in the Gulf region. The persistent support for her by many in India in the name of freedom of expression while putting in jail many human rights activists exposes the forces at work in India against the Muslim community. This is widely believed to be the reason why employers in the Gulf countries are reducing the size of employees from India. And this is reflected in the sharp decline in the remittances coming to India. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/07/21/inward-remittances-to-india-from-gulf-countries-on-a-sharp-decline.html 

Kashmir Update, 190; Week  (Jul 11,2022 to Jul 17, 2022)

1     Youth tortured to Death; July 11 2022; Grief-stricken cries emanate from the corner window of a single-storied house in Srinagar’s Natipora locality Inside the house, two women are trying to console Shafiqa, a middle-aged woman in a black qameez with bright floral prints, who is crying for her “groom” son to return home. “Where have you gone, my brave son? Come to your mother. I will renounce this life only to get a glimpse of you, my friend.” Fifty-three-year-old Shafiqa’s son, Muslim Muneer Lone, 21, was detained by the Jammu and Kashmir Police on July 9 for his alleged involvement in a theft case (FIR No 95/2022). A police team from the Nowgam police station in Srinagar came to their house at around 9:30 am on Saturday, according to the family. “A policeman (name withheld) told me that Muslim was being probed in a case of theft and that they will set him free soon. Had I known that he was going to get killed, I would have never let them  In the afternoon, Shafiqa said the same police team dropped in again. According to her, there were only male policemen and they had come in a private car. “They told me that I have to come to the police station because Muslim had lost consciousness. I felt terrified,” she recalled, as a woman tucked loose strands of Shafiqa’s hair under a translucent scarf covering her head. About 15 minutes into the journey, the car came to a grinding halt, “The policeman asked me to shift to another vehicle which was parked on the roadside. When I got into the car, I saw Muslim lying on the middle seat. He couldn’t talk. They made me sign some papers and gave me Rs 400,” she said, loosening the knot at the corner of her scarf in which she had kept the cash. Instead of going to a hospital or to the police station, the policemen brought the woman and her son back to their residence. “They hauled Muslim into a room with their hands. One of the cops asked us to switch on the fan and open the curtains. Muslim was unresponsive but they told us that he had lost consciousness,” Shafiqa said, showing a purported missed call that one of the investigators allegedly made to his phone at 4:38 pm before leaving the house.With the police team gone, Muslim’s condition showed no sign of improvement. “When we checked him, he had lost his breath. I immediately put him into my car and rushed him to a private hospital nearby where doctors declared him brought dead,” Zeeshan, Muslim’s cousin, told The Wire. Shocked by the turn of events, the aggrieved family, instead of returning home, held a demonstration along with the dead body on the main road outside their locality in Srinagar on Saturday night. Shouting anti-police and pro-Islam slogans, the protesters alleged that Muslim was tortured in police custody which led to his death. The demonstration continued till Saturday midnight. It is not clear why a person in custody whose condition had deteriorated to the point that he had lost consciousness was not rushed to the hospital for treatment. “They are trying to cover up the crime,” alleged Zeeshan, Muslim’s cousin. “Has the police ever caught him with drugs? There is no police case against him anywhere in Kashmir. They are justifying his death by saying that he was a drug addict. We demand an impartial probe.” At the aggrieved family’s single-storied house, one of the neighbours told The Wire that Muslim’s father, Muneer Ahmad Lone, who worked in the Srinagar Cantonment of the Army, died some years ago after which the family slipped into poverty. “Muslim had brought a load carrier recently with which he used to make some money and run his family. With his death, the family has been destroyed,” said the neighbour, requesting anonymity.“Only he (Muslim) knew what happened to him at the police station. Had he got a breath of life, he could have told us when the police brought him home. But he was dead already. He could not utter even a word,” said Fancy, a relative of Muslim’s. https://thewire.in/rights/kashmir-21-year-old-died-because-of-torture-in-police-custody-alleges-family

2     Youth tortured to Death in custody; July  11 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian police arrested a youth in Srinagar city and martyed him in custody.The youth was arrested from Natipora area of the city and was later tortured and killed in custody. People staged a sit-in protest along with the martyred body in the area and demanded justice. The protesters shouted slogans like “We want freedom” and “We want justice. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/07/10/indian-police-martyred-youth-in-custody-in-srinagar.html

3     Two martyred; July 12, 2022: Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir on the second day of Eidul Azha, today(July 11 According to Kashmir Media Service, the youth were martyred by Indian troops during cordon and search operation in Wandakpora area of Pulwama district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/07/11/indian-troops-martyr-two-more-kashmiri-youth-in-pulwama.html

4     Martyrs’ Day; July 15 2022; Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and the world over observed the Kashmir Martyrs’ Day, today, to reaffirm the pledge that they will continue their struggle till they achieve their inalienable right to self-determination. The day is observed every year on 13th of July in memory of the 22 Kashmiri martyrs who were shot dead by the troops of Dogra Maharaja on this day in 1931. They were part of thousands of people who had assembled outside Central Jail, Srinagar, during the court proceedings against one Abdul Qadeer who had asked the Kashmiris to defy the Dogra rule. At the time of Namaz-e-Zuhr, a young man started Azaan and was killed by the Dogra soldiers. Another took his place and he was also martyred by the troops. Thus, 22 youth sacrificed their lives till the completion of Azaan. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/07/13/kashmiris-observe-martyrs-day-2.html 

Kashmir Update, 189; Week  (Jul 4,2022 to Jul 10, 2022)

1     Economic boycott; July 5 2022; Abdullah Ahmed Safar Ibil told IQNA in an interview that countries need economic growth, which is very important to governments. Unless India ends discriminating against Muslims and allowing desecration of Islamic  sanctities, Muslim countries should impose sanctions on New Delhi, he said. We have seen many videos of how Indian police brutally attack Muslim protesters, which is a sign of oppression of Muslim in the country. In order to confront this, we should take economic moves. Many times such acts of desecration are aimed at seeing how Muslims react. If there is a strong reaction, they won’t get bolder (to do more desecrations). Actually, Muslim countries have important ties with India and some 15 percent of India’s trade is with the Persian Gulf countries. There are also around ten million Indian nationals working in the Persian Gulf littoral states. If Muslim and Arab countries take a strong stance, it would make India reconsider its behavior. When a country oppresses Muslims, like what happened in Myanmar, that country should be boycotted so that it is forced to change its behavior. Economic boycott can be among the most powerful tools to make countries stop their oppression of defenseless Muslims. https://iqna.ir/en/news/3479558/economic-boycott-would-make-india-regret-insulting-islam-kuwaiti-scholar-says

2     One martyred; July 0 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred one Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district, today (July8). The troops martyred the youth during a search operation in Tangdhar area of the district. Meanwhile, an Indian army soldier was also killed in an attack in the same area. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/07/08/indian-troops-martyr-one-youth-in-iiojk-3.html

3     Remembering Sardar Qayyum Khan: a man with a vision; July  10 2022;  by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai; Today, we commemorate the seventh death anniversary of Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan Sahib, former Prime Minister and former President of Azad Kashmir who passed away on July 10, 2015. “Sardar Qayyum Khan Sahib was a fascinating personality, and recognizable leader with wisdom, sharpness, and foresight. He was a preeminent politician of Azad Jammu Kashmir who rendered his services for upholding the human and political rights of the people of the State. His advocacy of the cause of Kashmir at the corridors of power at international capitols have had a lasting impact on the policy makers, where he used to make a persuasive and convincing case for the resolution of Kashmir dispute. I remember a conversation between Sardar Sahib and Professor Rajmohan Gandhi (the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi) on July 24, 2003, in Washington. Professor Rajmohan Gandhi said that India and Pakistan together with Kashmiris could have decided among themselves a plan to resolve the Kashmir problem and implemented it. Sardar Sahib agreed with Professor Gandhi that the chapter would have closed down and bilateralism might have worked. But Sardar Sahib added that since bilateralism has failed and that gave rise to multilateralism or internationalism as one would like to call it, now we have no choice but to pursue that option too. He was a courageous leader who understood the long road ahead of laboring for the minds and hearts of people when he told us in Washington in 1994 that our top priority should be to make sure that the leadership of the State of Jammu & Kashmir is at one page. He was a man with a vision. When asked by Amr Mousaa, then the foreign minister of Egypt during the Islamic Summit in Tehran in 1997, ‘who will represent Kashmiris if they are giving a seat at the negotiating table’? “The answer is simple. All Parties Hurriyet Conference will be our sole representative in any dialogue between India and Kashmir,” Sardar Sahib replied. When Azzedine Laraki, then the Secretary General of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) asked Sardar Sahib that he would be speaking during the Islamic Summit in Tehran on behalf of the people of Jammu & Kashmir, Sardar Sahib suggested that Ghulam Muhammad Safi, the Convener of APHC has the mandate to represent the people of Jammu & Kashmir and Safi Sahib was the one who spoke before the 56 Heads of State and Government in Tehran. The session was chaired by none other than Yasir Arafat, Chairman of PLO. By far the most vivid recollection I have of Sardar Sahib was his response to a question asked at Washington Kashmir Peace conference about Line of Control (LoC). Sardar Sahib responded, “I, as a Kashmiri, don’t recognize the control line. Kashmiris on both sides do not recognize it. We have not been a party to it. We were not signatories to it. We still call it the ceasefire line and there is fighting there which keeps the issue very much not only alive but makes it dangerous as well.” The participants were fascinated by his response. Sardar Sahib was always against the option of maintaining the status quo. “Let me say that if stability and peace in the region is of any importance then it is inconceivable without resolving the Kashmir issue peacefully. Status quo would be no solution if someone thinks so and let me also say that we in India and Pakistan have tried our best to set things return to peace. But failed. So, the sooner the solution is found, the better as a way forward for Kashmir,” Sardar Sahib explained. Sardar Sahib was always in favor of including Kashmiris in the negotiations. He asked, “I really do not understand why Kashmiris are neglected, why they are not given an opportunity to meet freely and to interact freely so that they can become the bridge between New Delhi and Islamabad. When asked: how to bring normalcy to Kashmir? Sardar Sahib responded, “I am not sure that there can be normalcy without addressing the core issue of Kashmir. A delay in addressing the issue has further added to the gravity of the situation. Now is the time to avoid mental or intellectual luxury. We have had enough of it.” Sardar Sahib was a giant among Kashmiri politicians. We will miss him a lot Dr. Fai can be reached at: 1-202-607-6435. Or gnfai2003@yahoo.com

                                                                     

Kashmir Update, 188; Week  (Jun 27,2022 to Jul 3, 2022)    

1     #SystematicUseOfTortureInIIOJK, June ,27, 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, India is using physical, mental and psychological torture at a large scale as a tool to prolong its illegal hold on Kashmir and to suppress the Kashmiris’ struggle for right to self-determination. A report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, today, revealed that Indian troops during their unabated acts of state terrorism martyred 96,079 Kashmiris including 7,242 in custody and fake encounters since January 1989 till date. The report said that Indian troops and police personnel arrested 164,906 Kashmiris, including women and children, during crackdowns and military operations since 1989 till date. “These arrested people were physically and mentally tortured by the Indian army, paramilitary and police personnel in different interrogation centers, police stations and jails. The use of torture by the troops has been widespread and indiscriminate in occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” it said. It said 96,622 Kashmiris, including men, women and children, have been injured due to the firing of bullets, pellets, teargas shells and systematic use of torture by Indian troops and police personnel on the people in IIOJK since 2000. It said hundreds of persons, including 19-month-old Hiba Jan, 8-year-old Shahid Fayaz, 9-year-old Owais Ahmed, Asif Ahmed Sheikh,10, Aaqib Zahoor, 16, Ulfat Hameed, 17), Bilal Ahmed Butt. 17), Insha Mushtaq, 18, Tariq Ahmed Gojri,19, Faizan Ashraf Tantray, 19, Nadeem, 15, Sahil Hameed Butt, Ifra, Shabroza, Parvez Ahmed, 20, Danish Rajab, 24, Shakeela, 30, Zahid Nisar, 14, Yawar Yousuf, Qisar Ahmed and Arif Ahmed Wagay, 22, have lost their eyesight in one or both eyes due to pellet injuries. The report said Indian Army and police have established scores of torture centres in occupied Kashmir where innocent Kashmiris are subjected to various kinds of brutal methods to extract information and confessional statements from them. “Cargo, Harinivas, Papa-1 and Papa-II, and Humhama and police stations are the most notorious interrogation centres where thousands of Kashmiris lost their lives due to severe torture during interrogation. Even top APHC leader, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, died in custody, while prominent liberation leader, Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Muhammad Afzal Guru, were hanged to death on the basis of a confessional statement and fake cases which was extracted on the basis of torture during custody,” it added. The report said that thousands of Hurriyat leaders, activists, politicians and journalists including APHC Chairman, Masarrat Aalam Butt, , Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Aasiya Andrabi, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Fehmeeda Sofi, Naheeda Nasreen, Altaf Ahmed Shah, Ayaz Muhammad Akbar, Ghulam Ahmad Gulzar, Peer Saifullah, Raja Merajuddin Kalwal, Shahid-ul-Islam, Farooq Ahmed Dar, Dr Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo, Mushtaqul Islam, Muhammad Yousuf Mir, Muhammad Yusuf Falahi, Muhammad Rafiq Ganai,Hayat Ahmed Butt, Syed Shahid Yousuf, Syed Shakeel Yousuf, Ghulam Qadir Butt, Dr Muhammad Shafi Shariati, human rights defender, Khuram Parviaz, Muhammad Ahsan Untoo, journalist, Aasif Sultan, Fahad Shah and others remain lodged in different jails of IIOJK and India under black laws, Public Safety Act and Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act (UAPA) in fake cases registered against them to suppress the Kashmiris’ ongoing right to self-determination demand. The report pointed out that the life of the people of occupied Kashmir has become a living hell since August 05, 2019, when the Narendra Modi-led fascist government repealed the special status of IIOJK by violating international laws and placed it under military siege. “Occupied Kashmir has been turned into the world’s largest prison and military state by India,” it said. The report said, India is carrying out the genocide of Kashmiris for the past over seven decades and the killing spree witnessed a massive surge since August 05, 2019. Kashmiri youth are picked up from their homes, killed in fake encounters and buried at unknown locations, it said. The report said that India should allow unconditional access to international human rights organizations to IIOJK to assess the prevailing human rights situation in the territory. New Delhi should also ratify the UN Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, it said. The report maintained that despite facing India’s worst kind of torture and nefarious tactics, Kashmiris are determined to take their freedom movement to its logical conclusion. It said that the world community, particularly the UN must take cognizance of New Delhi’s brutal actions in IIOJK and come forward in a big way to save the Kashmiris from the Indian atrocity https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/26/india-using-torture-as-tool-to-suppress-kashmiris-struggle-in-iiojk.html

2     Two martyred; June 28 2022: Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, today(June 27).The youth were martyred by Indian troops and paramilitary forces during a cordon and search operation at Trubji area of Kulgam district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/27/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-kulgam-4.html

3     Two martyred; June 29 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district, today (June 28). The troops martyred the youth in a fake encounter in Keran area of the district. Locals told the media that the troops picked up the youth from their homes and later killed them in a staged encounter. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/28/indian-troops-martyr-2-kashmiri-youth-in-kupwara.html

4     China opposes G20 meeting in IO&K: June2 2022; China has voiced its opposition to India’s reported plans to hold the next year’s meeting of G-20 leaders in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), echoing Pakistan’s objection, and underlined that relevant sides should avoid “unilateral moves” that may “complicate” the situation. “We have noted this latest development,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a media briefing in Beijing while replying to a question. “China’s position on the Kashmir issue is consistent and clear-cut. The Kashmir issue, a dispute left from the past, should be peacefully and properly addressed in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreement,” Zhao said. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/07/01/china-opposes-indian-plans-to-hold-g-20-meeting-in-iiojk.html 

 

Kashmir Update, 187; Week  (Jun 20,2022 to Jun 26, 2022)    

1     Four martyred; June 20, 2022: Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism martyred four Kashmiri youth in two different areas of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, today(June 19). The troops martyred two youth during a cordon and search operation in Lolab area of Kupwara district. In another operation later, the troops martyred two more youth in D.H Pora area of Kulgam District.  https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/19/indian-troops-martyr-four-more-youth-in-iiojk-3.html

2     Three martyred; June 21 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred three more Kashmiri youth in the territory, today(June20). One of the two youth martyred by Indian troops and paramilitary forces in the garb of a so-called cordon and search operation in Lolab area of Kupwara district was already in the custody of Indian army. He was brought to the operation site and shot dead by the troops in a fake encounter. A third youth was martyred by the troops during a cordon and search operation at Chatapora area of Pulwama district. Pertinently, the death toll of martyrs, killed by Indian troops during cordon and search operation reached to seven during past 24 hours in the Kashmir valley. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/20/indian-troops-martyr-one-more-kashmiri-youth-in-iiojk-2.html

3     Four martyred; June 22 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism martyred four more Kashmiri youth in Baramulla and Pulwama districts, today (June 21). Two youth were martyred by the troops and paramilitary forces during a continued cordon and search operation in Tujan area of Pulwama district. Another two were martyred by the troops in Tulibal area of Sopore town in Baramulla district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/21/indian-troops-martyr-two-more-kashmiri-youth-in-iiojk-2.html

4     Schools closed; June 23, 2022: The Indian government’s attempts to keep the Kashmiri youth away from getting quality education is inviting condemnation from around the world as a British lawmaker said she will seek intervention from the UK government to help end illegal ban on schools run by Falah-e-Aam Trust (FAT) in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). A British parliamentarian Jess Phillips talking to Kashmiri diaspora outside the UK Prime Minister’s Office in London said, “I am hearing concerning reports of forced school closures in Indian occupied Kashmir.” “The children of IIOJK must be educated,” she added. She was responding to reports of illegal closure of FAT schools by the Indian military regime in IIOJK. The fascist Indian military regime in the territory has closed all FAT schools where over 60,000 students from modest backgrounds attained quality education. Besides, over 4,000 people are directly or indirectly employed by the FAT schools. The British lawmaker Jess Phillips said education is a basic right of every human being. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/23/indias-illegal-ban-on-falah-e-aam-schools-invites-global-condemnation.html

5     International Widows Day and Kashmir; June 23, 2022: As the world is observing the International Widows Day, today, Kashmiri women continue to suffer at the hands of Indian troops, police and dreaded agencies in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). According to a report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of the International Widows Day, today, the unabated Indian state terrorism rendered 22,944 women widowed since January 1989 till date as their husbands were martyred by Indian troops and police personnel. It said around 2500 women have been forced to live as half widows during the past 34. The women whose husbands were subjected to custodial disappearance after arrest by Indian army and police are referred to as half widows. According to the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons and other human rights groups in IIOJK, between 8,000 to 10,000 men have disappeared in the custody of Indian troops and police personnel since 1989, it said. For years, half widows in IIOJK have been running from one Indian army and paramilitary camps to another trying to find whereabouts of their husbands, it added. The report maintained that 681 women have been martyred by the troops and paramilitary forces since January 2001 till date. It pointed out that womenfolk constitutes the majority of the Kashmiris suffering from multiple psychic problems. “Due to unending agony, Kashmiri widows, half widows are suffering from psychological problems. As per a study, women comprise more than 60% of psychiatric patients in IIOJK,” it added. The report said the Kashmiri women are targeted for raising their voice against Indian brutalities. Dozens of women including Aasiya Andrabi, Fehmeeda Sofi, Naheeda Nasreen and others are languishing in different jails of India and IIOJK for their affiliation with the ongoing right to self determination movement, it said. The report underscored that the International Widows Day is a reminder for the world to realize the plight of Kashmiri widows and half-widows. #PlightOfWidowsOfKashmirConflict https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/23/22944-women-widowed-in-kashmir-since-1989.html 

Kashmir Update, 186; Week  (Jun 13,2022 to Jun 19, 2022)    

1     Four martyred; June 13, 2022: Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism martyred four Kashmiri youth in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (June 12) .The troops martyred three youth during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Drabgam area of Pulwama district. Another youth Adil Parray was martyred by the troops in Kreesbal Palpora area of Srinagar district on Sunday. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/12/indian-troops-martyr-three-kashmiri-youth-in-iiojk.html

2     Two martyred; June 15, 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred two more Kashmiri youth in Srinagar district, today (June 14). The youth were martyred by troops and paramilitary forces during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Bemina area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/14/indian-troops-martyr-two-more-youth-in-iiojk-4.html

3     Two martyred; June 16, 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two more Kashmiri youth in Shopian district, today(une15). According to Kashmir Media Service, the troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Kanjikullar area of the district. The troops sealed all entry and exit points of the area, restricting the movement of the residents. They also did not allow the media persons to enter the area. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/15/indian-troops-martyr-two-kashmiri-youth-in-shopian-2.html  

Kashmir Update, 185; Week  (Jun 6,2022 to Jun 12 2022)    

1     Chinese Professor; June 05, 2022:   Another 10 innocent Kashmiri youths were brutally killed by the Indian occupation forces, which is clearly another evidence of state terrorism committed by the Indian authorities, Cheng Xizhong, Visiting Professor of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, said. Cheng Xizhong in a statement issued in Beijing said the Indian authorities have been using state terrorism to exercise bloody rule over Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and therefore, the international community should unanimously condemn it. Professor Cheng, who is also Senior Fellow of the Charhar Institute, opined that nowadays the entire international community has expressed its opposition to terrorism in all its forms. This should include terrorist acts committed by various terrorist organizations, as well as the state form of terrorism. Moreover, according to the professor, “proxy war” carried out by the regional power using terrorist organizations should also be categorized as an act of terror. He further castigated India for not only implementing state terrorism, but also using terrorist organizations to carry out “proxy war”. India’s state terrorism has seriously violated the fundamental human rights of the Kashmiri people and seriously undermined regional peace and stability. The international community should attach great importance to it and take resolute measures to stop it, he added. The inhuman acts of terror in the IIOJK have exposed the extremist and terrorist face of Hindutva of the Narendra Modi regime and India will not succeed in suppressing Kashmiri struggle for the right to self-determination with such atrocious tactics. The just cause of the Kashmiri people will win the final victory, he firmly believes. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/05/killing-of-kashmiri-youth-another-evidence-of-indian-terrorism-prof-cheng.html

2     Four martyred; June 07, 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred four more Kashmiri youth in Kupwara and Baramulla districts. The troops martyred two youth during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Kandi area of Kupwara district.    https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/07/indian-troops-martyr-two-more-youth-in-iiojk-2.html

3     Two martyred; June 12, 2022: Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism martyr two more youth in Pulwama and Kulgam districts, today. The troops martyred one youth each in Drabgam area of Pulwama and Khandipora area of Kulgam during cordon and search operations. The authorities also suspended internet service in the areas and the operations were going on till last reports came in. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/11/indian-troops-martyr-two-more-youth-in-iiojk-3.html 

Kashmir Update, 184; Week  (May 30,2022 to Jun 5 2022)    

1     Rape condoned; May 30 2022: Justice continues to elude families of Shopian double rape and murder victims despite the passage of thirteen years. Aasiya and Nelofar were abducted, raped and subsequently killed by the men in uniform in Shopian and their bodies were found on 30th May, 2009, said a report released by the KMS, today. It said the Shopian double rape and murder is a chilling example of Indian troops’ brutalities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and the incident is witness to institutionalized and structured violence that India is using in the territory. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/05/29/13-years-on-justice-continues-to-elude-families-of-shopian-double-rape-and-murder-victims.html

2     Two martyred; Jun 1 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two more Kashmiri youth in Pulwama district, today (May 31). The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Rajpora area of the district.   https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/05/31/indian-troops-martyr-two-more-kashmiri-youth-in-iiojk.html

3     Yasin Malik: The most recognizable leader of Kashmir: WKAF:Statement made by World Kashmir Awareness forum:Washington, DC. June 4, 2022: On Wednesday, May 25, 2022   one of the most influential, recognizable, and revered political leaders of Kashmir Mohammad Yasin Malik, Chairman Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, was sentenced to life imprisonment by an Indian court. His Crime? He wanted Independence for his beloved homeland from India. He wanted India to honor the pledge she gave to the world community and to the United Nations that the people of Jammu & Kashmir shall have the right to self-determination to determine their future and destiny. Fondly called Yasin Sahib by his ‘people’, he was born in Kashmir in 1966 and attended the local school and college. He had political and leadership tendencies from an early age. During his teenage years, the National Conference had become the predominant party after the Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, and Shaikh Mohammad Abdullah signed an ‘Accord’ earlier in 1975 that went entirely against the aspirations of the people. Violence by the Indian army and paramilitary forces against innocent, unarmed civilians who were unable to express their opposition to the official policies agitated Malik. He rebelled against this oppression and assembled a group of like-minded youth that subscribed to his ideology and named it Tala Party. In 1983, he tried to disrupt an international cricket match between West Indies and India that was played in the stadium in Srinagar (Capital of Kashmir). All Kashmiri spectators were rooting for West Indies to the delight of the visiting team and to the dismay of the Indian team and Indian authorities. (Incidentally, India has never again held an international sports event in Kashmir since). Malik’s group organized protests in Kashmir on the first anniversary of the hanging of Kashmiri freedom struggle leader, Maqbool Bhat, who was hanged on 11 February 1984 in Tihar Jail in Delhi. He also took a public stand in 1985 against the candidates fielded by the National Conference for elections. He was roughed up and hospitalized. Soon thereafter, he was arrested and sent to ‘Red 16’ interrogation center for three months. This was his first experience with prison with physical torture at the hands of Indian authorities. The experience led him to transform the Tala party into the Islamic Student League (ISL). It attracted who’s who in the Kashmir youth movement, including Ashfaq Majeed Wani, Javaid Mir, Shakeel Bakshi, Ajaz Dar, Mehmood Sagar, Firdous Shah, Mushtaq Ul Islam, and scores of other well-recognized names in Kashmir. And, very quickly, ISL represented the street power across Kashmir. Election and politics became preoccupation of Mr. Malik. “It was unimaginable to take out an anti-National Conference (NC) rally in Srinagar then,” relates Yasin Malik in his interview with Saima Bhat of Kashmir Life in 2016. ISL and Muslim United Front (MUF) worked closely while the latter fielded candidates across the Valley of Kashmir against the NC candidates for the 1987 State Assembly elections. ISL did not field any candidate for the election since it did not agree to election under the Indian constitution. It did, however, actively campaigned for the MUF in all constituencies in Srinagar. Apparently, Amira Kadal was the most fiercely contested constituency between the National Conference and MUF candidates. The polling was reportedly brisk. For two days counting continued for the Amira Kadal constituency at the Government Medical college hostel in Bemina, Srinagar. Malik, in his interview referenced above, said “When we went there, we saw agents were tampering [with] votes. SSP Gill [in charge of the station] was there, I asked him what was going around to which he replied ‘you are most wanted and I don’t want you to be arrested here’.” Shortly thereafter, police raided their office and arrested most of the MUF leadership. Malik, along with Ashfaq and Javaid, jumped out of the window to avoid arrest. It is universally accepted that the Indian machinery grossly rigged the 1987 elections to install the puppet Farooq Abdullah Government in Kashmir. There was a hue and cry across the Valley but who would listen? That became the catalyst for a number of Kashmiris, including Malik and his close associates to start an uprising against the Indian occupation. Armed revolt against the illegal Indian occupation then erupted in 1988. Malik picked up the gun against Indian rule. He was wounded and captured in a battle in August 1990.  In media interviews, he has maintained that he was driven to “armed struggle” because the Indian state did not allow any space for non-violent protests. And, in his interview with BBC in 2001, Malik said: “When people look at Yasin Malik, they have to look at three Yasin Malik’s — one from ‘84 to 88 [student activist], second from 88 till 1994 [militant], and third from ‘94 till onward [Gandhian]”. In the same interview, he mentioned, “The matter is simple, there are cases against me pending in court, but now 11 years have passed and Government of India has not even started the trial,” He renounced violence in 1994 .He has been imprisoned regularly ever since. The more recent Indian onslaught came when Mohammad Yasin Malik, late Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and Mirwaiz Omar Farooq announced the formation of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) in 2016. JRL’s “hartals” were effective and followed across all stripes of public opinion. But it also brought on the wrath of the Indian army and paramilitary forces. In 2019 Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) headed by Malik was banned and he was arrested. The Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) accused Malik and several others of receiving funding from Pakistan to finance acts of terrorism, including stone-pelting. What happened inside the court – no one knows for sure. There was no open trial. Almost 50 anonymous witnesses, some with code names of ‘Jack’, ‘John’ and ‘Alpha’, were apparently presented in the opaque court. At the trial, Malik protested the charges against him and insisted that he was a freedom fighter. As reported by Associated Press, Malik stated that “Terrorism-related charges leveled against me are concocted, fabricated and politically motivated.”  AP further reported that Malik told the judge, “If seeking Azadi (freedom) is a crime, then I am ready to accept this crime and its consequences.” Mushaal Hussein Mullick, Yasin Maliks’s wife, wrote on her Twitter account “Verdict in minutes by Indian kangaroo court,” “The iconic leader will never surrender.” The sentencing of Yasin Malik by the Indian kangaroo court is not surprising for the people of Kashmir. These are the same courts that committed judicial murder of Kashmiri freedom fighters like Maqbool Bhat and Afzal Guru in the Indian capital’s Tihar Jail. In the case of Guru, the Chief justice of the highest court in India admitted that evidence was circumstantial, but the sentence was upheld to satisfy the collective conscience in the society. Mumbai, India based FirstPost reported on February 26, 2016 that “Afzal Guru, executed in 2013 for his role in the terror attack on Parliament, is at the centre of a political storm after protests in universities across the country. Those opposed to the death sentence handed out to him have termed it as a 'judicial killing' and said that it was carried out merely to satisfy a questionable 'collective conscience.” Although Yasin Malik has been given the inhumane and cruel sentence for life, worse may be on the cards, given India’s previous record in Kashmir. The point to be noted is that Yasin Sahib in late was involved in peaceful negotiations with Indian leaders at their invitation and reassurance for a peaceful dialogue at the highest level, including the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh? No Indian administration has ever been worthy of trust in its dialogues with Kashmiris or its neighboring countries. The plan and intentions of the current fascist regime are even more sinister. The International community must take cognizance of that historical behavior of India. By eliminating peace-loving leaders like Yasin Malik, the Indian regime is closing any avenues of peace in the region and pushing the youth of Kashmir towards actions that can be detrimental to the peaceful resolution of Kashmir conflict. We appeal to the United Nations and other world organizations to shed their protracted silence and earnestly impress upon the Indian government to let international standards of justice prevail and free Mohammad Yasin Malik.

4     Kashmiri children:; Jun 5, 2022:In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their unabated acts of state terrorism have martyred 910 children during the last 33 years. A report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, today (June 04), revealed that 910 children were among the 96,054 Kashmiris martyred by Indian troops from January 01, 1989 till date. The report said that the killing of civilians by the troops rendered 107,860 children orphaned in the territory during the period. The report said that thousands of people including school boys and girls were also injured by the pellets, bullets and teargas shells fired by Indian troops, police and paramilitary forces. It added that hundreds of persons including 19-month-old Hiba Jan, 8-year-old Shahid Fayaz, 9-year-old Owais Ahmed, 10-year-old Aasif Ahmed Sheikh, Insha Mushtaq (16), Aaqib Zahoor (16), Ulfat Hameed (17), Bilal Ahmad Butt (17), Tariq Ahmed Gojri (19) and Faizan Ashraf Tantray (19) had lost eyesight in their one or both eyes totally due to the pellet injuries. The report added that hundreds of boys as well as girls aged below 19 have been martyred during cordon and search operations and fake encounters, while a large number of boys under the age of 19 are facing illegal detentions under black laws in different jails of IIOJK and India. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Political Movement (DPM) in a statement in Srinagar said while the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is being observed around the world, today, a large number of minors are being abused and mistreated by Indian troops in IIOJK. It called upon the United Nations, human rights and child protection organizations to come forward and save the Kashmiri children from the Indian violence. Indian troops not only arrest innocent children but also use them as a weapon of war, it said. The world community must also play its role in resolving the Kashmir dispute according to the United Nations resolutions and aspirations of the Kashmiri people, it added. On the other hand, Pasban-e-Hurriyat Chairman, Uzair Ahmad Ghazali, in a statement in Muzaffarabad said Indian troops have orphaned over 107,690 children in the last three decades whose parents have been brutally martyred in fake encounters and in prisons. He said that violence, cruelties and brutalities against Kashmiri children had been a well-thought-out plan of the Indian government which was being carried out by the personnel of the Indian forces. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/06/04/children-worst-victims-of-indian-state-terrorism-in-iiojk-2.html

 

 

 

Kashmir Update, 183; Week  (May 23,2022 to May 29 2022)    

1     Three martyred May 26 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district, today. The youth were martyred by troops during a violent cordon and search operation in Jumagund area of the district, https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/05/26/indian-troops-martyr-three-youth-in-iiojk-3.html

2     Two martyred :May 28 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two youth in Pulwama district (May 27), raising the number of slain youth in the territory to five since yesterday. The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation at Aganhanzipora in Awantipora area of the district. They are identified as Shahid Mushtaq Bhat and Farhan Habib. Earlier, the troops martyred three youth during a similar operation at Jumagund in Kupwara district, today.Three other youth were martyred by the troops in a violent military operation in Pattan area of Baramulla district, yesterday. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/05/27/indian-troops-martyr-two-more-youth-in-iiojk-2.html

3     TTP; May 29, 2022: A new United Nations report has once again highlighted the threat posed to Pakistan by the Afghanistan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the terrorist group which has conducted numerous deadly “cross-border” attacks and operations. The report 13th in the series by the UN Security Council Monitoring team on Afghanistan states that the that TTP remains focused on long-term campaign against the Pakistani state with its several thousand fighters in Afghanistan. “TTP constitutes the largest component of foreign terrorist fighters in Afghanistan, with their number estimated to be several thousand, according to the report released on Friday. “TTP has arguably benefited the most of all the foreign extremist groups in Afghanistan from the Taliban takeover. It has conducted numerous attacks and operations in Pakistan…”“The presence of ‘several thousand’ TTP fighters in Afghanistan, as stated in the latest UN report, quite understandably poses a serious and credible threat from Pakistan’s perspective,” a European diplomat told APP on the condition of anonymity. On its part, Pakistan had shared a dossier with the UN Security Council, containing evidence of financial and material support provided by Indian intelligence agencies to TTP to conduct cross-border terrorist attacks against Pakistani military and civilian targets. TTP was also responsible for the heinous attack on Army Public School in Peshawar in which over 150 children were killed. Separately, quoting information provided by a “Member State,” the Monitoring Team report mentions the presence of defunct Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Afghanistan, something its several previous reports did not have. However, ever since becoming a member of the UN Security Council in January 2021, India has been repeatedly criticising the UN Monitoring Team in public as well as reportedly in the closed meetings of the UN for not including specific references to these groups in the UN reports. On February 14, 2022, during a public meeting of the Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC), which India currently chairs, it’s representative publicly slammed the UN Monitoring Team on the same issue, stating that the UN reporting mechanism was “plagued by political biases.” While the reference to LeT and JeM in the latest report appears to be an attempt to respond to the Indian pressure and criticism, diplomatic observers say that the Monitoring Team has apparently steered clear of owing any evidence of the presence of these defunct groups in Afghanistan by ascribing the information to a certain Member State. At the same time, the report also anonymously mentions another Member State according to which “there is no evidence of the presence of LeT and JeM in the region.” According to diplomats familiar with the work of the UN Security Council sanction committees, India’s efforts to push its domestic political agenda in the technical work of the committees, including by pressurising members of the UN Monitoring Team, is a cause of concern for many Council members, including India’s close allies. Such politicised measures, according to these diplomats, are undermining the credibility of the UN bodies, impacting their work, and diverting attention from the real terrorist threats being faced by the region. Some analysts also say that Indian tactics were part of a broader strategy to deflect increasing criticism aimed at India’s atrocities, and gross violations of human rights abuses in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) as well as mainstreaming of Islamophobia in its political discourse.  India has repeatedly used the bogey of terrorism to divert attention away from its domestic persecution of Muslims as well as state terrorism in IIOJK, it was pointed out. India’s strong opposition to the UN initiatives aimed at addressing the issue of Islamophobia as well as terrorist attacks being carried out against Muslims and their places of worship on that basis, shows that the agenda of India’s supremacist terrorist organisations like RSS has become a foreign policy priority for India, analysts say. Because of its domestic political environment, India tried to block consensus in the United Nations General Assembly on the 7th Review of the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy (GCTS) which called upon member states to take appropriate measures to address Islamophobia as well as terrorist attacks on the basis of Islamophobia, and xenophobia. Despite Indian opposition, the UN Strategy was adopted by the UN General Assembly by consensus. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2358790/un-report-highlights-afghanistan-based-ttp-threat-to-pakistan

4     Two martyred; May 29 2022:  In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in South Kashmir’s Islamabad district on Saturday. The troop martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Shattipora area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/05/28/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-iiojk-4.html 

Kashmir Update, 182; Week  (May 16,2022 to May 22 2022)    

1     One martyred May 21 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district, today (May 21) The troops martyred the youth during a military operation in Tangdhar area of the district.   https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/05/20/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-kupwara.html 

Kashmir Update, 181; Week  (May 9,2022 to May 15 2022)    

1     Two martyred; may 9 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two youth in Kulgam district. The youth were martyred by Indian army’s Rashtriya Rifles and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Cheyan Devsar area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/05/08/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-kulgam.html

2     Three martyred; may 11 2022; Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism martyred three Kashmiri youth in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The troops martyred two youth during a cordon and search operation in Kreeri Dooru area of Islamabad district, this evening. The operation continued till last reports came in. The occupation authorities have suspended internet service in the area. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/05/10/indian-troops-martyr-three-more-kashmiri-youth.html

3     One martyred: May 12 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, today(May 1), martyred one more Kashmiri youth in north Kashmir’s Bandipora. The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Salinder forest area of the district. The operation continued till last reports came in. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/05/11/indian-troops-martyr-one-more-youth-in-iiojk-2.html

4     Two martyred: May 14, 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, today (May 13). The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in the Brar Aragam area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/05/13/indian-troops-martyr-two-kashmiri-youth-in-bandipora-2.html

 

Kashmir Update, 180 ; Week  (May 2,2022 to May 8,2022)    

1     three martyred; May 7 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three Kashmiri youth in Islamabad district, today. According to Kashmir Media Service, Indian Army’s Rashtriya Rifles and Central Reserve Police Force personnel martyred the youth during a joint cordon and search operation in Pahalgam area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/05/06/indian-troops-martyr-three-youth-in-iiojk-2.html

2     Indian deported; May 77 2022; Indian Hindu fired, jailed and deported from Qatar on his hate speech against Muslims & Arabs while he was working & living on Muslim Arab soil https://twitter.com/LadyVelvet_HFQ/status/1522601415310462976  @LadyVelvet_HFQ 

Kashmir Update, 179; Week Apr ,26, 2022 to May 2, 2022

1     Two martyred; Apr 29 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two youth in Pulwama district. The troops martyred the youth including an engineering student, Aijaz Ahmed, during a cordon and search operation in Mitrigam area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/04/28/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-pulwama-3.html 

Kashmir Update, 178; Week Apr,18, 2022 to  April 24, 2022

1     Arabs react: Apr., 2, 2022: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Middle Eastern countries:Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman is under the process of meetings conferences against the  Cruelty of BJP Govt  which has passed NRC, NPR, CAA bill against Muslim citizens of India and Indian Constitution, if these NRC, CAA are not Cancelled and withdrawn, then Saudi Arabia is Planning to put a BAN on 83% of Crude Oil Supplies to India, Later Iran may also ban Oil supplies to India. Turkey has urged UNO and Human Rights Commission to Act wisely in the situation of India, if UNO do not take legal action then TURKEY is ready to form a new UNO. If situations of India is not normalised then Jeddah SAUDI ARABIA may also call and urge the Emergency meeting with all 57 Countries of (OIC) Organisation of Islamic Cooperation & may start Deporting all Hindu Expatriates back to India.  MUSLIM UMMAH ECONOMIC BOYCOTT AGENDA FOR INDIA ALL OF US HAVE JOINED THE FREEDOM FIGHT FOR MUSLIMS OF KASHMIR, JUST AS INDIA HAS CAUSED WAR & DEVASTATION ON THE PEOPLE OF KASHMIR PLEASE BE A Economic soldier FOR KASHMIR AND WAGE AN ECONOMIC WAR AGAINST MODI AND HIS ETHNIC RELIGIOUS CLEANSING. THIS IS FIFTH GENERATION WAR! INDIA IS IN AN ECONOMIC CRISES;BOYCOTT EVERY THING INDIAN, Indian: Channels;Movies. Employment; New hires;restaurants;Rice; Spice; Atta/flour;Fruits;Clothes;Oils;Daals;Vegetables;Travel. Airspace restricted for indian airlines and jets. Indian Tyres & Tube’s to be banned ;Indian Computers to be banned. Indian biscuits & sweets to e banned Hit India in the pocket! When ever you buy anything, check, is it Indian? If it is, don't buy it in solidarity with Kashmir. The best way to defeat an unlawful military oppression/aggression is through economic boycott. You can make a difference. Every drop counts.

2     Three martyred; Apr 22 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three Kashmiri youth in Baramulla district, today. The youth were martyred by Indian army’s Rashtriya Rifles, paramilitary and Special Operation Group during a violent cordon and search operation (CASO) in Pariswani area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/04/21/indian-troops-martyr-two-kashmiri-youth-in-baramulla.html

3     : Omar on Kashmir; Apr 22 2022; The US Congresswoman, Ilhan Omar’s visit to Azad Jammu and Kashmir, today, unnerved India. Ilhan Omar visited AJK, today (Apr 21) , to obtain first-hand information about the current situation of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing a press conference in Muzaffarabad, she stated that the US Foreign Affairs Committee had previously held hearings to investigate the reports of human rights violations in IIOJK and discussed the Modi administration’s anti-Muslim rhetoric and its effects. “I don’t believe that it is being talked about to the extent it needs to be in Congress and within the administration,” she said and hoped that her visit to AJK motivates more conversation Ilhan Omar said the condemnations and concerns of those who fight for human rights and the question of Kashmir will be included in future hearings within the US. The US Congresswoman also visited the Line of Control (LoC) and was briefed about the current situation of the forward areas. India sharply reacted to Ilhan Omar’s visit. The spokesperson for Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, at a media briefing said, “Let me just say that if such a politician wishes to practise her narrow-minded politics at home, that’s her business.” “But violating our territorial integrity and sovereignty… makes this ours and we think the visit is condemnable,” he added. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/04/21/us-congresswoman-ilhan-omars-visit-to-ajk-unnerves-india.html

4     US Congressman on Kashmir ;Apr 24 2022;A prominent American Congressman has expressed concern over the human rights situation in Kashmir and emphasised that the US government must make clear that it expects better of democracies like India. The remarks by Congressman Andy Levin a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and Nonproliferation -- came during a virtual Congressional briefing organised by the Indian American Muslim Council and 16 other groups on Wednesday. The Democratic Party Congressman emphasised the need for the US to take a clear stance on India's human rights violations and make clear that the US cares about what happens in Kashmir and that we expect better of democracies like India. The Democratic Party Congressman emphasised the need for the US to take a clear stance on India's human rights violations and make clear that the US cares about what happens in Kashmir and that we expect better of democracies like India . Quoting reports of various human rights groups documenting the rights abuses and intensified crackdown in Kashmir after revoking its special autonomous status, Levin cautioned that abuses were not happening in a vacuum these abuses are part of a worrying trend towards authoritarianism. The Indian Parliament had revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, bifurcating the state into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.  https://kashmirobserver.net/2022/04/22/us-congressman-worried-over-kashmir-situation/

5     Two martyred; Apr 24 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in Kulgam district on Saturday. The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in the Mirhama area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/04/23/indian-troops-martyr-two-kashmiri-youth-in-kulgam-4.html 

Kashmir Update, 176; Week  (Apr,11, 2022 to  Apr,17, 2022)   

1        Two martyred:  April 10 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in Srinagar district on Sunday. The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Beshembar Nagar area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/04/10/indian-troops-martyrs-one-kashmiri-youth-in-srinagar.html

2        Two martyred:  April 11 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two youth in Kulgam district, today.The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation (CASO) at Iftari time in Khurbatpora area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/04/11/indian-troops-martyr-two-kashmiri-youth-in-iiojk.html

3        Challenges for press freedom in Kashmir;By Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai ;April 13, 2022; “Kashmiri journalists are already working in a dangerous environment and under a climate of fear, given the various threats they face from multiple actors. This climate of fear has been exacerbated also by state surveillance, police questioning journalists about their reporting, and criminal and anti-terror cases that have been filed against journalists,” Committee to Protect Journalists. (Courtesy: Mint Lounge). Who does not know the historic date of December 10, 1948? It was on this day that the United Nations adopted one of its first major achievements, that is known as the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ (UDHR). The Assembly proclaimed the Declaration: “a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.” Included in the Declaration is the ‘Freedom of Movement. The clear trend of modern history is towards greater individual freedoms. The guarantee to move freely throughout one country or in this global village is one of the greatest individual freedoms man has ever had. There are different levels of freedoms. But perhaps the purest expression of freedom is that of movement. This is exactly what the Berlin Wall exemplified. The Berlin Wall was not a defensive barrier nor an obstacle to keep enemies of Germany out, but it was a wall to keep ordinary citizens belonging to the same family away from each other. Fortunately, that Berlin Wall has crumbled. It does not exist anymore. But we still have many more Berlin Walls with different names like one known as Cease-fire Line in the occupied State of Jammu and Kashmir The European Community has realized the importance of freedom of movement and has passed legislative measures guaranteeing this very important right. These measures seek to abolish national discrimination by member states and to ensure that a citizen of any of the European Community can live and work without restrictions in the member state of his choice. Europeans now pass and move freely country to country. Gone are the security check points and the border patrol guards. The Europeans have realized that freedom of movement is fundamental to all economic freedoms. It is difficult for people, like the people of the tormented land of Kashmir, to comprehend the real significance of declarations, such as that ours is a global village, where we must abide according to the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its principles. To them, these principles, and these slogans are never real. The reality is otherwise because people are arrested as along as their tormentors please and there is no recourse to legal defense. In such cases, the United Nations remains a silent observer, procrastinating on enforcing its will, especially so when the affected people are insulated from the civilized eye  How can I ask the people of Jammu & Kashmir to repose their trust in the principles of the United Nations; how can I ask them to believe in the Universal declaration of Human rights; and how can I make them believe in this right to ‘Freedom of Movement’, when they see that those who violate the will of the United Nations are not placed under the economic and political pressure that is specified by Article 13 (2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 12 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Covenant.  The United Nations Human Rights Council has to examine whether or not the behavior of a member state is in accordance with the pledge it made under Article 55 and 56 and is justified in “a democratic society.” When one examines the state’s actions in the light of the United Nations pronouncements, then many more questions arise as to its commitment to protecting the freedom of movement. The UN Human Rights Committee that was established by a 1966 human rights treaty, has expressed that states are liable under the Political Covenant for violations of a person’s rights recognized in that Covenant and committed by its agents in the territory of another state. The United Nations and its affiliated organizations have a stake in the substance of this right Freedom of Movement in Indian Occupied Kashmir. Since 1947, the people of this land have been unable to avail of their right to internal and transnational movement. Instead, they have suffered the pain of four displacements, expulsions, exiles and refusals to return. The Kashmiri refugees, overshadowed by international crisis, from Syria to Afghanistan to Myanmar to Ukraine, say the world has forgotten them. And, like refugees everywhere, they say one of their worst trials is uncertainty. In Indian occupied Kashmir, an ominous pattern of violations of the right to freedom of movement is taking place. As these are occurring in the course of an armed conflict in the exercise of the right to self-determination, international scrutiny is imperative. Violations of the right to freedom of movement by the Indian forces can be characterized as breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention in addition to breaches of international human rights law standards. Dr. Nazir Gilani, President, JKCHR says, “There is a special guarantee of freedom of travel including the lawful entry and exit given in the UN Security Council Resolution of 21 April 1948. Travel of the local inhabitants and of many others to and from the Valley has come to a standstill. So much so that Indian administration has denied the request made by the officials of the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit the Valley Here are a few examples of violations of the right of freedom of movement occurring in Jammu & Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir is one political and geographical entity divided artificially by a cease-fire line which has come into existence as a result of intervention by the United Nations. Movement of one and all is restricted when an entire locality is put under, what is locally known as a crackdown in Kashmir. Entire locality is besieged by the Indian army during cordon and search operations. When the entire male population of an area is detained at a particular place, in the open, sometimes in sub-zero temperatures, sometimes extreme heat, rain without food and water for the whole day which may even extend to parts of night. Frequent roadblock check and harassment, humiliation of civilians including medical and firefighting personnel trying to carry out their duties has greatly hampered movement of people in their own land. There have been many occasions where vehicles have been fired upon by the Indian army killing and injuring people while in travel. Movement to the hospitals too has got restricted as the Indian army has not and does not spare these institutions too. Passports are denied selectively. Some political leaders have not been given passports even to receive medical treatment outside India or simply to travel to other countries. We urge the UN Human Rights Council to apply the ECOSOC Resolution 1990/78 that was adopted on July 27, 1990 to the benefit of those who have been denied their right of freedom of movement, forced to take refuge elsewhere, displaced from their homes, exiled and expelled from their homelands, examples; Dr. Ghulam Nabi Mir of the United States, Nazir Ahmed of the United Kingdom, Dr. Mubeen Shah who is residing these days outside India and many others. We call upon the United Nations and all its agencies to provide a coordinated response in alleviating the conditions of these people without any delay. We also appeal to the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, in the name of humanity and justice to help stop these atrocities and listen to cries of anguish and pain of the innocent people of Kashmir. If we fail to carry out this task, we shall not be living upto the Charter of the Human Rights Council which has been mandated to give ‘meaning to the sufferings of the human race.’     

 

Kashmir Update, 175; Week  (Apr,4, 2022 to  Apr,10, 2022)   

1        Indian restaurant shut down: Apr.,  4 2022: Authorities in the Bahraini capital, Manama, have shut down an Indian restaurant after it allegedly denied entry to a woman wearing the hijab On Friday, in a widely-shared video the friend of the woman in question explained what happened. "The restaurant, "Lanterns" is telling her you cannot enter because you are wearing a hijab. Can you imagine?" the woman said. "The restaurants should not be making these types of decisions, because we are in a Muslim country." According to Bahraini newspaper, the Daily Tribune, the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority (BTEA) has since launched an investigation into the matter. The Lantern restaurant's duty manager has also been taken into custody; the restaurant also confirmed that he was suspended. On Saturday .The incident comes amid an Indian court's decision, earlier this month, to uphold a controversial ban on the hijab inside educational institutions in the southern state of Karnataka, which is governed by the Hindu hardliner BJP party. The ban sparked angry protests from Muslim women and girls  https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220328-bahrain-indian-restaurant-shut-down-over-banning-entry-to-woman-wearing-hijab/?mc_cid=70cfcbe0e0&mc_eid=f50a97be6b 

2        Two martyred: April 06 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred two Kashmiri youth in Pulwama district, today. The troops martyred the youth during  a massive cordon and search operation  in Arigam area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/04/06/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-pulwama-2.html 

Kashmir Update, 174; Week  (mar,28, 2022 to  Apr,3, 2022)   

1        Banerjee ; March 29 2022; Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged non-BJP chief minsters and opposition leaders to come together in fight against the Hindutva party. The West Bengal chief minister writes to non-BJP chief ministers and opposition leaders that the saffron party is misusing Indian agencies.Virtually attending a meeting of opposition parties convened by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, the Trinamool Congress chief asked the opposition leaders to keep aside differences and put up a united fight against the BJP saffron party. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/03/29/mamata-asks-non-bjp-cms-to-unite-against-hindutva-party.html

2        One martyred; Apr 1 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one Kashmiri youth in South Kashmir’s Shopian district, today. The youth was martyred by Indian troops and paramilitary forces during a cordon and search operation at Turkwagam area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/04/01/indian-troops-martyr-kashmiri-youth-in-shopian-3.html 

Kashmir Update, 173; Week (mar,21, 2022 to mar,27, 2022 )

1        Chattisinghpora ;March 20  2022;Twenty-two years have passed since the massacre of Chattisinghpora but no headway has been made in the case and the delay in justice has led to disillusionment among the members of Sikh community. Thirty-five members of Sikh community were killed in disguise by Indian troops in Chattisinghpora area of Islamabad district on March 20 in 2000 on the eve of the then US President, Bill Clinton’s visit to India, said a report released by Kashmir Media Service, today. It said that the Chattisingpora massacre was meant to give a bad name to Kashmiris’ freedom struggle and it was an attempt to equate Kashmiris’ struggle for self-determination to terrorism. It is important to mention here that Indian troops had orchestrated the Chittisinghpora carnage and put the blame on the Kashmiri freedom-fighters to defame their freedom movement. The troops had killed five persons and burnt their bodies beyond recognition in Pathribal area of the district a few days later on March 25 claiming that the killed were involved in the Chittisinghpora incident. However, later the investigations proved that the slain persons were local civilians, who were picked up by the Indian Army from different areas and were killed in a fake encounter. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/03/20/no-headway-in-chattisinghpora-massacre-despite-passage-of-22-years.html

2        Why I'm Crashing Screenings of "Kashmir Files" in California ;by Pieter Friedrich; Propaganda film's sole purpose is to incite anti-Muslim hatred and violence in India ; Mar 22 2022;“Kashmir Files” purports to tell the story of the 1990 Kashmiri Pandit Exodus. In 1990, as a separatist uprising began in Muslim-majority Kashmir, a Hindu community known as “Pandits” fled the region en masse. Many of them were killed at the time as well as over the next 10 to 15 years. The specifics of the persecution of Kashmiri Pandits demand attention and have already been faithfully recounted by various historians and journalists in both the past and the present. They certainly suffered. Perhaps a hundred thousand or more (out of a population of 140,000) fled the region. According to figures recently released by Kashmir Police, at least 89 were killed; at the high end, according to figures collected by a Kashmiri Pandit organization, up to 650 were killed between 1990 and 2011. As a notable aside, it’s questionable whether all of those Pandits who were targeted were killed for their religion or rather for political reasons due to the positions many held as government officials; while their murders, either way, are condemnable, the latter reason casts the affair in a far different light than the purely communal lens through which Agnihotri insists it must be viewed. Moreover, the tragic killings of Pandits by militant separatists should also be contextualized alongside the thousands of Kashmiri Muslims who were also killed by militants as well as the tens of thousands of Kashmiri Muslims a great many of them innocent civilians who were murdered by Indian security forces during their brutal suppression of the separatist movement. Regardless, the story of the Kashmiri Pandits deserves to be told (as does that of every persecuted community), but instead of telling it honestly, Agnihotri has seized on it as a political tool to spread anti-Muslim propaganda at a time when, 30 years after the fact, Pandits face no persecution whatsoever while Muslims throughout India  according to many, many sources  are at risk of an impending genocide at the hands of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its parent organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and other affiliated elements. In Agnihotri’s mythologized telling, at least 4,000 Kashmiri Pandits were murdered. His film explicitly terms it a “genocide” and supportive viewers are widely comparing it to the systematic location, deportation, and elimination of six million Jews by the Nazis. Agnihotri portrays the exodus of the Pandits as an untold even deliberately covered up story which he alone had the courage to reveal. Some courage it took, too, considering that Indian Prime Minister Modi and many of his top cabinet members have openly endorsed it while most BJP states are not only allowing it be shown tax-free but giving state employees a paid half-day (and free tickets) to go view it. The general American public is clueless about the messaging behind “Kashmir Files,” but it’s not lost on audiences in India. Videos filmed at multiple different Indian cinemas show audiences, as the end credits scroll, rising to raise their own slogans. “India will be a Hindu nation,” shouts one crowd. “No Muslim will be allowed.” Another crowd shouts, “Long live BJP. When Muslims are slaughtered, then they will chant the name of Ram.” Yet another crowd cheers as a man declares: “If every Hindu boy under 25 starts marrying a Muslim girl, then their population will be less than half within three generations. Marry their women, make children with them.” Such a reaction is to be expected. After all, as Indian journalist Siddharth Bhatia notes, “The film is exploitative in the extreme, made to rouse emotions and build up a particular mood against Indian Muslims.” Countless others have reached the same conclusion. “At every possible opportunity, the filmmaker underscores the terrorists’ religion,” writes Indian film critic Tanul Thakur. “Another piece of dog-whistling: all Kashmiri Muslims are terrorists (this isn’t even an implication; the film is almost explicit about it, more than once) Given the blatant communal climate in the country for the last many years, these implications are unmistakable: that terrorists = Muslims or, more accurately, Muslims = terrorist.” “There isn’t a single Muslim character in the film who is empathetic,” says Indian screenwriter Darab Farooqui. “Every single Muslim character is either deceitful or evil…. It’s a propaganda piece that only shows one version of events. Yes, the events are bitter, unpleasant and ugly facts. They are, nevertheless, deceptive, dishonest and incomplete. The Kashmir Files serves a purpose, and the purpose is propaganda.” Indian journalist Naomi Barton warns that “Agnihotri has built a great canal of hatred,” explaining, “In broad strokes, the Muslims of The Kashmir Files are unequivocally shown as barbaric, or servile to a barbaric cause.” Barton adds, “The lie is that all Muslims must be collectively punished for this, and any violence visited upon them is justly deserved.” Indeed, the entire point of the film inescapably seems to be to convey the message that the killing of some Hindus in Kashmir by some Kashmiri Muslim separatists 30 years ago justifies, today, mass violence against Muslims throughout the entirety of India.That’s obvious from the bloodthirsty slogans of audiences in India. It’s also the message that one anonymous YouTuber took away from the film. In a viral video, a man wearing a saffron mask the color of the Hindu nationalist movement urges, “If you are a Hindu and want to avenge (the deaths) of Kashmiri pandits, if you know a Muslim, trouble them.” He demands the killing of Indian Muslims “everyone from the oldest to the youngest” and calls for the rape of their mothers, sisters, grandmothers, aunts, and others. “Trouble them so much that they cry, leave them tormented,” he says. “Create an atmosphere that forces them to leave the country. We won’t let them leave nor will we let them live in the country.” That’s the intent of the Hindu nationalist movement figure-headed by the RSS-BJP: to not let Muslims live in India or leave India. Ideologically, in their eyes, Muslims (as well as Christians) are “traitors” to the nation because, as they believe, only Hindus can truly be considered “Indian.” According to the RSS-BJP, these minority communities must therefore be purged from the country. Eliminated. Killed. This was the goal underlying the fascist oath taken by a genocidal conclave of Hindu nationalists held just a few months ago. “We all take an oath, give our word, and make a resolution that, until our last breath, we will make India a Hindu nation and keep it a Hindu only nation,” they pledged “We will fight, and die, and, if required, we will kill as well.” Simultaneously, in the city of Haridwar, Uttarakhand, another conclave was urged to take up weapons to wipe out Indian Muslims. Such events are one of many reasons that organizations like Genocide Watch, a US-based nonprofit, are incessantly warning about the looming risk of a genocide of Indian Muslims. “India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made Islamophobia a state-manufactured ideology, increasingly putting the Muslim and Dalit [those formerly known as “Untouchables”] communities under state-sponsored attack,” says the group. As founder Dr. Gregory Stanton explains, “We believe there is a real risk of massacres. What is, of course, extremely troubling here is that the Modi government has stood back, said nothing, and will be very happy to just watch it happen. That is exactly what Modi did in Gujarat in 2002. It is what he will do again. So, this massacre this genocide will likely not be even carried out by the Indian State. It will likely be carried out by mobs.” “Kashmir Files” is pouring fuel on the Islamophobic fire as it incites theater-going audiences to form those violent mobs. As Stanton notes, massacres of Muslims by mobs in India have happened before under Modi. While Agnihotri exaggerates and sensationalizes a tragic event from 30 years to manipulate emotions and fan anti-Muslim hatred, Modi (who endorses “Kashmir Files”) presided over another atrocity of far greater proportions which came to a bloody close 20 years ago this month. Over a three-day period, from 27 February to 1 March 2002, mobs fielded and led by the RSS-BJP flooded the streets of Gujarat, India (at a time when Modi was Chief Minister of the state) to systematically slaughter approximately 2,000 Muslims. The massacre earned Modi the nickname, “The Butcher of Gujarat,” but it also served to massively popularize him within India’s Hindu nationalist movement. Today, with Modi helming the entire nation and with an administration marked by a wave of anti-Muslim attacks, lynchings, and smaller-scale pogroms there are very legitimate fears that the situation may soon turn into one of out-and-out genocide. Riefenstahl, as Bhatia explains, was “Hitler’s favorite director and a great propagandist of the Third Reich.” He notes: “In Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, the BJP may have found its own Riefenstahl, even if he falls far short of her filmmaking standards.” While Agnihotri may be no Riefenstahl in terms of skill, his “Kashmir Files” certainly threatens to accomplish the same lethal ends. It must be opposed

3         China  on Kashmir; mar 24 2022; Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi  referred to Jammu and Kashmir during his speech at the opening ceremony of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC Wang said Beijing “heard the call of many Islamic friends” over the Kashmir issue, adding that it “share the same aspiration.” Speaking at the event, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had said, “We [OIC] have failed both the Palestinians and the people of Kashmir. I am sad to say that we have been able to make no impact at all.”

4        OIC on Kashmir ; MARCH 25, 2022; The resolutions and statements at the 48th Session of OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers have upset India as the 57-member Muslim world body exposed it for massive human rights abuses in IIOJK and stigmatization of the Muslims. Hosted by Pakistan from March 22-23 and attended by 46 ministerial-level delegations and 800 delegates, the moot adopted 140 resolutions. Twenty resolutions were sponsored or co-sponsored by Pakistan. The Islamabad Declaration of the OCI-CFM has mentioned India 10 times condemning its human rights violations in IIOJK, seeking reversal of its unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, and also calling for the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir. In their statements, the OIC Secretary-General, leaders from Saudi Arabia, Niger, Asian, Arab and African Groups and China expressed their strong support and solidarity on the Kashmir issue. The reports by OIC Special Envoy on Jammu and Kashmir, IPHRC and ASG for Humanitarian Affairs and endorsement of Pakistan’s position on legal, diplomatic, human rights, humanitarian and peace and security dimensions of the Jammu and Kashmir issue also featured the moot. “We renew unwavering solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir and express full support for their inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and the OIC, and the wishes of the Kashmiri people,” the Islamabad Declaration said.“We condemn massive violations of their human rights in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) We reiterate rejection of India’s illegal and unilateral actions since August 5, 2019 aimed at altering the demographic composition of the occupied territory, suppressing the realization of the inalienable right of self-determination of the Kashmiris,” the Islamabad Declaration said. The 57-member Muslim world body also expressed grave concern over the violation of Pakistan’s airspace, a threat to passenger aircraft, and dangers to peace and security in South Asia arising from the launch of a supersonic missile on 9 March 2022 by India. “We call on India to fully abide by international law and norms of responsible State behavior and conduct a joint probe with Pakistan to accurately establish facts.” Regarding the systematic and widespread policy of discrimination and intolerance against Muslims in India, the OIC-CFM denounced the “most pernicious attacks on the Muslim identity in India as manifest in the discriminatory laws and policies targeting the Hijab.” “We call upon India to immediately revoke such discriminatory laws, ensure the rights of the Indian Muslims and protect their religious freedoms.” https://dailytimes.com.pk/907187/india-goes-berserk-as-oic-exposes-it-for-iiojk-abuses/ 

Kashmir Update, 172; Week (mar,14, 2022 to mar,20, 2022 )

1        One martyred; March 13 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one more Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district, today, taking the number of the slain youth in the territory to eight since Thursday.The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Niochama area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/03/13/indian-troops-martyr-one-more-youth-in-kupwara.html

2        One martyred; mar 16 2022; Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred, one more youth in Pulwama district, today raising the toll to 9 since Thursday. The youth was killed by the troops during a cordon and search operation in Charsoo area of Awantipora in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/03/15/indian-troops-martyr-one-more-youth-in-pulwama.html

3        Three martyred; Mar 16 2022: Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three more Kashmiri youth in Srinagar, today.The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Nowgam area of Srinagar. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/03/16/indian-troops-martyr-three-more-youth-in-srinagar.html

4        OIC on Kashmir; Mar 18 2022: India has reacted angrily to the invitation extended by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to illegally incarcerated Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Masarrat Aalam Butt. OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha, through a letter, has invited the APHC Chairman, Masarrat Aalam Butt to attend the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) being held on 22-23 March 2022 in Islamabad. Meanwhile, APHC spokesman in a statement issued in Srinagar, while confirming that the Hurriyat chairman Masarrat Aalam Butt has received the invitation through a letter from the OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha, said his participation in the meeting is not possible as he remains imprisoned in New Delhi’s notorious Tihar jail. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/03/18/india-unnerved-over-oics-invitation-to-aphc-chairman.html

  

Kashmir Update, 170; Week (mar,7, 2022 to mar,13, 2022 )

1        International brigade for Ukraine by Sara Garcia; Mar 7 2022; Britain's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said that she will support anyone who wants to go to Ukraine to join an international brigade of fighters against Russia. She described such a mission as taking part in a battle "for freedom and democracy".I can't help but wonder, though, about those who've left British shores to fight overseas only to have their citizenships revoked by an unsympathetic British government. The only difference I can see between those who want to fight in Ukraine and those who want to fight in Palestine, Syria, Libya or Iraq is skin colour and faith. There are at least 100,000 Muslims living in Kyiv. Is Truss going to support their British and European brothers and sisters who want to go out to fight alongside them in the Ukrainian capital? She told the BBC on Sunday morning that it was up to people to make their own decisions in such situations; she also said that the Ukrainians are fighting for freedom, "not just for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe." Why, I wonder, are democracy and freedom more precious in Europe than, say, in Syria, where dictator Bashar Al-Assad is trying to crush the last vestiges of a revolution in which Syrians dared to dream about their own democratic state? And why are Palestinians who resist Israel's brutal occupation demonised as "terrorists" and shunned by the "democratic" and apparently freedom-loving West? I know many people who would like to go out and join the Palestinians in defence of their legitimate rights as they fight for survival against apartheid Israel. As Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges foreign nationals "to join the defence of security in Europe", his government is ready to arm an "international" legion of volunteer foreigners who wish to join the Ukrainian army in its fight against Russian forces. "This is not just Russia's invasion of Ukraine," he pointed out on his official website. "This is the beginning of a war against Europe. Against European unity." Palestinian leaders have made similar statements about securing the future of Islam's third holiest site, the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, which is under attack by Israeli occupation forces, including illegal settlers. If an international call was made for millions of Muslims across the West to protect Al-Aqsa from the murderous designs of the Israelis, would Foreign Secretary Liz Truss approve? Somehow, I doubt it. As I wrote a couple of days ago, "The crisis in Ukraine exposes the hypocrisy of Israel and its Zionist allies." Among the latter stands Truss and the government in which she has a senior role. "Everyone who wants to join the defence of security in Europe and the world may come and stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainians against the invaders of the 21st Century," said Zelenskyy. Now imagine that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh whose democratic election as Palestinian Prime Minister in 2006 was rejected by those same Zionist allies issued such an invitation to Muslims around the world, and Britain in particular, to protect the people of occupied Palestine from Israel and its settler-colonialism. Apartheid, remember, is akin to a crime against humanity, and the annexation of territory through military action is illegal; Israel is guilty of both. Moreover, some of the settlers and soldiers who bolster and enforce Israel's occupation of Palestine hold British and other European passports. But hey, that's OK it seems, because they are white and Jewish, while those who oppose them are "only" Arabs In 2019, I visited an amputee clinic where traumatised Syrian children were being taught to walk again. I met British doctors, teachers and aid workers who have had their citizenship revoked because they were working in rebel-held Idlib. Unable to make a legal challenge against the British government's decision from a war zone, they are now in a legal black hole. They didn't pick up weapons or go out to fight; they simply wanted to help the ordinary Syrian people in their struggle for democracy and the best way they could do this was by using the skills that they have. They must all be wondering why the British government which stripped them of their passports is ready to back those looking to do the same in Ukraine, and even take up arms there. Can there be any more blatant example of hypocrisy, Islamophobia and racism than that being displayed by Liz Truss and, presumably, her boss Boris Johnson and their cabinet colleagues? When people are in trouble it is human nature for people to want to help in any way they can. I would not dream of criticising anyone who wants to join an international brigade to help Ukrainians in their struggle. But if that's OK, then it should also be OK for others to go to help the people of Palestine, Chechnya, Libya, Syria, Yemen, occupied Kashmir and other trouble spots. In the 1930s, around 60,000 young people left North America and Europe to join the International Brigade, groups of foreign volunteers who fought on the Republican side against the fascist Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). What is rarely reported is that while many left Britain to fight for the republicans, there was also a few who fought alongside the fascists. Neither faced any problems when they returned to Britain. While Truss and UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace insist that British soldiers will not be sent to Ukraine to fight, the position of British citizens who decide to join the international brigade needs to be clarified. The foreign secretary needs to explain why the defence of democracy in Ukraine is acceptable, but standing up against tyrants, dictators and authoritarian regimes elsewhere is not. We have a right to know. More to the point, so do the people of occupied Palestine and Syria. If the Ukrainians can be helped by an international brigade, why can't they? https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220227-if-ukraine-can-have-an-international-brigade-why-cant-palestine-and-syria/?mc_cid=0956f28de2&mc_eid=f50a97be6b

2        British lawmakers on Kashmir; Mar 9 2022; several British lawmakers have urged United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Mr Boris Johnson to speak about human rights violations including violation of women’s rights in Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIoJK) The British MPs joined a delegation of Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK at 10 Downing Street to submit a petition and submitted it at PM’s Office. The petition, signed by British parliamentarians and the general public, includes reports prepared by various independent and non-governmental international organizations on the violence perpetrated by Indian occupying forces on Kashmiri women and urges Boris government to use its influence to halt Indian genocide of Kashmiris. British lawmakers including Afzal Khan, Liam Byrne, Imran Hussain, Paul Blomfield, Gill Furniss, Muhammad Yasin, Khalid Mehmood, Tahir Ali  and Yasmin Qureshi joined Kashmiri delegation led by Fahim Kayani, President Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK, besides Rehana Ali, Sheni Hamid and Soraya Boyd and Raja Muhammad Azad. March 08 is observed as International Women’s Day every year and today members of Tehreek-e-Kashmir (TeK) UK gathered outside Johnson’s office in London to urge the UK to raise the issue of India’s illegal occupation of Kashmir which has resulted in mass violation of women’s rights in IIoJK. British lawmakers called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to use his good offices and hold India accountable. https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/03/09/british-mps-urge-boris-johnson-to-speak-on-human-rights-violations-by-india-in-iiojk/

3        Ukraine and Kashmir; Mar 9 2022; Pakistan’s Prime Minister now he has become the first foreign leader to meet Putin after his attack on Ukraine, even gushing about the presumed honor. Yet there remains the bigger question of why Khan decided to betray Ukraine, which has actually taken Pakistan’s side over the years by supporting Islamabad’s stance on Kashmir.  It’s possible to understand why India is not criticizing Russia over the Ukraine invasion. Delhi and Moscow a friendly relationship that dates back to Soviet times; today Russia is India’s biggest arms supplier. Russia has taken India’s side many times at the U.N. Security Council, repeatedly vetoing resolutions criticizing Delhi on Kashmir. Many Indians now support Putin because they think his stance on Ukraine is similar to India’s stance on Kashmir. One Indian website published an article saying that Putin should “just change [the] Russia map to include Ukraine, like we did with Kashmir.  Indians can’t forget that Ukraine opposed India on the Security Council when Delhi stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its autonomy in 2019. The following year, India opposed a Ukrainian-sponsored Security Council resolution criticizing Russia for human rights abuses in Crimea. The Indians also wanted to punish Ukraine for its arm deals with Pakistan. Just last year, Pakistan awarded an $85 million contract to Ukraine for modernizing the T-80UD tanks it had purchased from Kyiv in the 1990s. And yet this past week Pakistan joined the 35 countries that abstained from voting against Russia in the United Nations General Assembly. Khan has been trying to play the anti-West card for all it’s worth: when 23 E.U. countries issued a statement calling on Pakistan to condemn the Russian invasion, he lashed out at them, asking why they hadn’t criticized India for violating international law on Kashmir. Even so, his policy toward Russia has now brought him into the same diplomatic camp as India, which also abstained from the UNGA vote.

4        One might also ask whether his pro-Moscow policy really furthers Pakistan’s national interests. Some Pakistani observers have pointed out that Pakistan’s trade relationship with Europe and the United States is far more important than its business ties with Russia. So why embrace Moscow? One reason might be that he’s exploiting anti-Western sentiments to defuse a no-confidence move against him in the parliament. The government claims that Khan is pursuing a “balanced and sovereign foreign policy” by not taking sides in an international conflict. But how does this square with Pakistan’s status as a major non-NATO ally of the United States? And how can Khan ignore Russia’s presumed violations of international law in the name of “balance?” I wonder if the prime minister is fully aware of the true consequences of his policy of fake neutrality. Our relations with the United States are almost certain to deteriorate even farther as a result. None of this will help us to restore our troubled standing in the international community. A top Indian official recently taunted Ukraine for selling weapons to Pakistan. Yet Imran Khan is also appeasing the Indians by selling out Kyiv. Perhaps President Biden has hurt the prime minister’s ego by not paying enough attention to him but this is hardly a reason for undermining Pakistan’s national interests. Khan is not only standing with Putin, but he is also effectively supporting India, which punished Ukraine for its principled stand on Kashmir. By doing so, the prime minister has lost a huge opportunity to isolate India from the West. Khan’s new romance with Putin is a big blow to Pakistan’s foreign policy. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/09/imran-khan-pakistan-picks-terrible-time-make-friends-with-vladimir-putin/

5        Three martyred ; March 10 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism martyred three Kashmiri youth in Pulwama and Srinagar districts, today.The troops martyred two youth during a cordon and search operation in Batpora Naina area of the district. Another youth was martyred by the troops during a similar operation in Hazratbal area of Srinagar. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/03/10/indian-troops-martyr-two-kashmiri-youth-in-pulwama-4.html

6        UN on Kashmir; March 11 2022: A United Nations human rights expert has said that the Indian government is tacitly allowing incitement to violence against Muslims in the country. The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ahmad Shaheed, presented the report to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council on Thursday. In the report that documents the state-driven and tolerated hatred, discrimination and violence against minorities in India, he also denounced the wide-ranging Indian atrocities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. A United Nations human rights expert has said that the Indian government is tacitly allowing incitement to violence against Muslims in the country. The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ahmad Shaheed, presented the report to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council on Thursday. In the report that documents the state-driven and tolerated hatred, discrimination and violence against minorities in India, he also denounced the wide-ranging Indian atrocities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/03/11/un-experts-report-slams-indias-hr-abuses-in-iiojk.html

7        Kashmiri women demand writ of instruments of human rights; Ghulam Nabi Fai Chairman World Forum for Peace & Justice Mar 12, 2022; The Vienna Declaration and Program of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights, confirms the human rights of women as an ‘inalienable, integral and indivisible part of human rights.” The Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, both are an outcome of more than two decades of collective efforts of the international community. NGO’s and civil society at large, and their whole and sole objective was the empowerment of women. As per report of the various NGO’s and human rights agencies, hundreds of thousands of women have been the target of sexual crimes at the hands of the armed forces in Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, Myanmar, Kashmir and elsewhere. These NGO’s have documented incidents of gang-rape of young girls and grand mothers alike. Sexual abuse sometimes in the presence of male family members is used as a weapon of war. Rape by armed forces is, indeed, a gross violation of international human rights and humanitarian law. The condemnation of rape during war and internal conflicts must be condemned by all including Human Rights Council to protect the rights of women in all circumstances. The report of the ‘Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women’ noted that rape, “is the destructive combination of power, anger and sex which incites sexual violence against women. The victims of rape suffer a disorder, anxiety, and the ‘Rape Trauma Syndrome’ which causes them to constantly relieve their rape through a series of flashbacks, dreams, nightmares and body memories.” The United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNHCHR) issued its “Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Kashmir,” on July 8, 2019. The report contains graphic documentation of human rights violations being committed by the Indian military and paramilitary forces in Jammu & Kashmir. This is a significant step towards greater international recognition of the serious abuses committed against Kashmiris at the hands of Indian army. This report takes the veil of secrecy off of India’s crimes against humanity. The 49-pages report cites specific incidents where the Indian Government violated the very principles of human decency and democratic freedom against the people of Kashmir. It is well documented that the bloody occupation has resulted in massive human rights violations, particularly targeting women and children. The sanctity of women has been violated, in a gruesome and unforgiving fashion. The UN report upholds that [In the 2013 report on her mission to India, the ‘Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women,’ its causes and consequences, said, “[W]omen living in militarized regions, such as Jammu and Kashmir and the north-eastern states, live in a constant state of siege and surveillance, whether in their homes or in public. Information received through both written and oral testimonies highlighted the use of mass rape, allegedly by members of the State security forces, as well as acts of enforced disappearance, killings and acts of torture and ill-treatment, which were used to intimidate and to counteract political opposition and insurgency.” The United Nations report further illustrates that, “One significant case that illustrates the state’s failure to investigate and prosecute allegations of sexual violence and addressing impunity for sexual crimes in Kashmir is the Kunan-Poshpora mass rape, which took place 27 years ago and for which attempts to seek justice have been denied and blocked over the years by the authorities at different levels. According to survivors and a local administration official, on the night of 23 February 1991, soldiers from the 4 Rajputana Rifles regiment of the Indian Army gang-raped around 23 women of Kunan and Poshpora villages of Kupwara district. The Indian Army and Government of India have denied the allegations” The UN report further details that “Survivors and human rights groups have campaigned for an independent investigation into this case for many years. In October 2011, SHRC directed the state government to reopen and reinvestigate the case and to prosecute a senior official whom it accused of deliberately obstructing the investigation. On 18 July 2013, a court in Kupwara district ordered the state police to reinvestigate the case within three months. When no progress was made despite these orders, five survivors filed a petition in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in October 2013. In July 2014, the High Court reportedly said the 2011 SHRC recommendations were supported by evidence and asked the state government to consider paying monetary compensation within three months.” “Do You remember Kunan Poshpora” documentary evidence of five brave Kashmiri women scholars wrote these words on page 1, “This book is about one night in two villages in Kashmir. It is about a night that has refused to end for 24 long years, a night that holds stories of violations, injustice, oppression and falsehood, as well as acts of courage, bravery and truth. This book is about Kunan Poshpora.” Dr. Nazir Gilani, President JKCHR in a written statement submitted to the UN Secretary General during 58th session of HRC said, “The issues of Kashmiri women have multiplied ever since. The Kunan Poshpora rape case of 1991 and the issue of half-widows (women whose husbands are missing and cannot re-marry) have continued to remain unresolved.” Dr. Gilani added that “Women of Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir have descended into a ravine of helplessness from 1990. JKCHR has highlighted the plight of Kashmiri women in its Statements released in the Council, in particular the Statement A/HRC/37/NGO/113 dated 13 February 2018 released at the 37th session.” How many Kashmiri women have to be dishonored before one concludes that a human rights violation has taken place? This is one of the questions that is on the minds of millions of Kashmiri women. Please remember that these women live under the stranglehold of a 900,000 strong army of occupation. These women are not oblivious to the world events. They know that in welcoming the appointment of a ‘Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women,’ the Vienna Declaration declared that “the human rights of women are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of the universal human rights.” They wonder what action was taken by this Rapporteur, whose mandate included action on “state-sponsored violence against women.” They waited with hope because the same document had asked the United Nations human rights body to “strengthen mechanisms or accountability to ensure that governments take steps to end discrimination and punish perpetrators of violence against them.” (Reference UN documents: E/CN/4/1995/NGO/28, and /5). These violated Kashmiri women ask: what action has been taken to enforce the writ of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women? The suggestion made by Dr. Nazir Gilani is very pertinent when he said, “It is high time that Human Rights Council addresses the question of sexual violence committed against Kashmiri women as detailed in Paras 125 to 133 of OHCHR Report of 14 June 2018. The Kunan-Poshpora mass rape victims have not received any justice for the past 30 years. Many of the victims have died while waiting for justice.”

8        Four martyred; Mar 12 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism martyred four more Kashmiri youth in Pulwama, Ganderbal and Kupwara districts. The troops martyred two youth during a cordon and search operation at Chewa Kalan in Pulwama district, late last night. The troops martyred one youth each at Nunar in Ganderbal district and at Rajwar in Handwara area Kupwara district. The operations in these areas continued till last reports came in. A civilian was injured in the firing of the troops while a youth was arrested in Chewa Kalan. These fresh killings raised the number of martyred youth in IIOJK to seven in the last three days. The troops had martyred two youth in Pulwama and one in Srinagar districts on Thursday. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/03/12/indian-troops-martyr-four-youth-in-iiojk-2.html 

Kashmir Update, 170; Week (Feb 28 2022 to mar,6, 2022), 2022

1        Indian Supreme Court and Kashmir; Feb 28 2022; The Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary, Sitaram Yechury, has said that the Indian Supreme Court is not resolving the cases for more than three years against the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution that granted special status to Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/02/25/indian-sc-not-resolving-cases-against-abrogation-of-art-370-cpi-m.html

2        US on Kashmir; March 03 2022: A senior US diplomat has admitted that there are challenges to the human rights situation in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu said this while briefing members of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism during a hearing on India-US relationship on Wednesday.  he said, “We have not seen the holding of Legislative Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. We have not seen free movement of journalists. We have seen the detention in fact of some prominent journalists in the Kashmir Valley”. He also asserted that the Joe Biden administration is keeping a close eye on the security situation in the region. The US diplomat noted that the US believes all Kashmiris deserve the right to live in dignity and enjoy protections looks forward to continuing to encourage India to fulfill those commitments. KMS—3K https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/03/03/there-are-challenges-to-human-rights-situation-in-iiojk-says-us.html

3        Indian Armed Forces and Sanctions on Russia; Mar 6 2022; The three-star officer seemed to assume, without basis, that New Delhi’s enduring strategic, defence, diplomatic and political ties with Moscow and Washington prior to Ukraine’s invasion would rendered it immune from sanctions in perpetuity, despite the US’ determination to penalise Russia for its militarism. And, like most of the country’s officialdom, Air Marshal Singh, too, appears to presume that jugaad (creative innovation) or, even better, the eponymous ‘Indian rope trick’ would ‘mesmerise’ the US, the European Union and other sanctioning countries into indulging Delhi in its endeavours to maintain its military commerce with Russia, unhindered. Resorting to financial jugaad, much like what the IAF attains on its many platforms, however, does not appear to be an option for India to sidestep sanctions. According to New York-based finance website ‘Investopedia‘, sanctions by countries or organisations “provide a policy tool short of military force for punishing or forestalling objectionable actions”. It goes on to state that sanctions could prove costly to their targets, or simply put, that attempting any sanctions-busting ploy could prove detrimental, not only to Russia as the seller of embargoed goods, but also to India as the their buyer. It also appears that Air Marshal Singh was in denial over the IAF’s own and the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) reiteration of Russian equipment spares shortages, which have adversely impacted not only the IAF, but India’s entire military, for decades. Over 50% of all Indian materiel is of Soviet or Russian origin, necessitating Moscow’s sustained assistance for its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and, in some instances, even its upgrade. However, these spares paucities and continually delayed MROs had persisted even during what many officers called the ‘good years’ of India-Russia ties, and were routinely highlighted by innumerable parliamentary defence committees and Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) audits. But under the recent sanctions imposed on all Russian military and related entities, the never-ending problem of India obtaining Russian spares, despite Air Marshal Singh’s confidence, promises only to get much worse, if acquisition does not cease altogether. “It (spares shortages) is a critical issue for the IAF and one that is getting more difficult by the day, in a situation unlikely to right itself for several years,” said military analyst Air Marshal V. K. ‘Jimmy’ Bhatia (retired). The sanctions on Russia, the former fighter pilot warned, will prove a damaging handicap in keeping the IAF’s Russian platforms operational and could even force it to resort to unsuitable ‘grey market’ component purchases to make-up goods shortfalls. Former Indian Navy Chief of Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash, goes an apocalyptic step further. “Harsh sanctions on Russia could eventually result in the Indian military being virtually disarmed due to equipment and spares shortages,” he ominously warned, blaming Indian officialdom for the impending materiel quagmire that looms over the country’s armed forces. “Indian politicians,” the former naval chief said, “were seemingly indifferent to this crisis; the bureaucracy uncomprehending and the scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) were never held accountable for their inability to deliver competent weapon systems on time.” The IAF presently operates over 410 Soviet and Russian fighters that comprise a mix of imported and licence-built platforms. These included around 14 ‘Flanker’ Su30MKI squadrons of around 260 fighters that constitute the IAFs ‘sword arm’; five ‘Fishbed’ MiG-21 ‘Bis’ ground attack squadrons accounting for some 90-odd aircraft; and five ’Fulcrum’ MiG-29 (UPG) air superiority squadrons, comprising 60-odd platforms, including eight dual-seat trainers. All of these are unanimously dependant on Russian spares and components, whose availability has always been uncertain, despite many of them having been constructed locally by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under a transfer of Russian technology. In turn, these shortages resulted in low operational availability of the IAF’s Russian fighters and assorted transport and rotary platforms. In a revelatory declaration in Parliament in December, 2015, the MoD had stated that the operational availability of the IAFs combat fleet was barely 55%, due primarily to the unavailability of spares even then. Little has changed in the intervening seven years. This parliamentary disclosure signified that merely around 350 of the 700 predominantly Russian combat aircraft in service at the time many of which have since been retired –were available at any given time to undertake operations. Furthermore, the MoD pointedly stated that between 15-20% of Russian-origin fighters were “aircraft on ground (AOG) due to a shortage of spares’ and that even the operational availability of the IAF’s frontline Su-30MKI’s was a dismal 50%. Thereafter, the Su-30MKI’s availability climbed to around 60%, but the perennial spares problem for even this advanced, multi-role aircraft and the twin-engine MiG-29s, featured prominently in Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s discussions with Russian officials in Moscow in mid-2020. Ironically, this was three years after HAL had signed two agreements with Russia for long-term maintenance and spares support for the IAFs Su-30MKI fleet. The two five-year agreements, worth an estimated $300 million, were aimed at providing the swift delivery of some 57,000 Su-30MKI spares, local licensed manufacturing of some components and a logistics hub for the advanced fighters in Bangalore, where HAL builds them. But IAF sources said little had been achieved thereafter. “The usual promises were made (by Rajnath Singh in Moscow) and protocols signed like earlier, but the situation on the ground simply did not alter,” a retired three-star IAF officer had declared at the time, declining to be named. The operational serviceability of fighters, he lamented, remained a chronic problem for the IAF and one that appeared difficult to overcome, due primarily to the spares shortage. Under the present sanctions regime, the same officer declared, this would only worsen, as Russia would seek to manufacture equipment for itself, rather than hand-hold India’s military by shipping it spares. In August 2017, the CAG had severely indicted the IAF for ‘low’ serviceability and ‘poor’ availability of its Ilyushin Il-76 ‘Candid’ transport aircraft fleet and Il-78 ‘Midas’ mid-air tankers that were adversely impacting the force’s operational efficiency, due to its inability to source spares from Russia. The CAG divulged that the average availability of the IAF’s 14 Il-76’s from 2010-16 was just 38%, while that of its six Il-78’s for the same period was 49%; significantly lower than the ‘desired’ 70% serviceability levels. Besides, the avionics of both platforms dated back to 1985, due to which they were “not permitted to operate in international flying corridors,” the CAG had stated. This also resulted in the entire Indian military, including the IAF, obtaining spares of dubious quality from the open market which, in some instances, even led to equipment failures, for which accountability was rarely apportioned. Notwithstanding Air Marshal Singh’s bluster over the IAFs uninterrupted military trade with Russia resuming imminently, he does also not seem to take into account the dual Swords of Damocles of sanctions that hang over the force, which also include the US’s Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). This 2017 Act, that followed Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and Moscow’s alleged interference in the US elections two years later, directly threatens the IAFs recent deployment of the first of five S-400 Almaz-Antey S-400 Triunf self-propelled surface-to-air missile systems that India had acquired in late 2018 for $5.5 billion. So far, CAATSA has been invoked against China and Turkey for installing S-400 systems, but not against Delhi, which appears to have been (for now) accorded a silent waiver by Washington.  Perhaps in this instance, too, India’s military, especially the IAF, and its political and bureaucratic establishment are quietly banking on managing these calamities collectively, via jugaad or the rope trick, or possibly, even both. https://thewire.in/security/us-sanctions-against-russia-could-land-india-in-a-serious-spot-over-materiel-upkeep 

Kashmir Update 169  Week , Feb 21  2022 to Feb 27,30 , 2022

1        Hindu chief minister for Kashmir  ; Feb 22 2022 ; The plan is to rig the elections through a politically oriented redrawing of constituencies, throw up a Hindu chief minister in this Muslim-majority Kashmir, replicate the BJP, more precisely Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agenda at the centre, instal Hindu raj in Muslim Kashmir and recast its polity radically. Simultaneously, with the abrogation of Article 370 of the constitution proving illusory the guarantees of Kashmir’s autonomy, the government of India set up, strangely enough, a delimitation commission headed by a retired judge of the Bombay High Court, Ranjana Prakash Desai, with no background or any knowledge of Jammu & Kashmir, its history, geography or politics. The commission has five associate members. Three are from Dr Farooq Abdullah’s National Conference including retired justice Hasnain Masoodi. Two others are from the BJP. Dr Farooq Abdullah and Mohammed Akbar Lone are the other two members of the NC. The BJP’s two members include the viciously anti-Kashmir BJP leader of Jammu, now central minister in the prime minister’s office, Dr Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore Sharma. Reports have it that this hand-picked commission will increase Jammu’s seats at the expense of Kashmir’s seats. The commission’s term expires on March 6. The NC is clueless about the commission’s odd ways of working despite its three associate members. “We don’t have any information, be it the case of its likely extension or its decision to share its interim report with its associate members shortly before putting it in the public domain, or for that matter any recommendation to increase Lok Sabha seats. Whatever we have come to know about it, it is through media reports like anyone else and not officially or through the commission by any means. Journalist friends deliberated on it. But we, as associate members, did not get any kind of information other than these inputs from journalists,” said Masoodi. He said, “Even after National Conference associate members submitted their objection to the commission’s draft recommendations, we did not get any response from it. We did not get any information — neither verbally nor in writing”. Masoodi is an associate member.  The BJP will make good capital of it in the 2024 general elections. There is only one politician who might have led a revolt. But he cannot for reasons political and personal. He is Dr Fa­rooq Abdul­­lah, thou­­gh he is battling for political survival. He is heading the only party with a mass base in both Kashmir and Jammu. He led others in 2019 to draw up the Gupkar Declaration. The biggest challenge he will face will be the next assembly election. A lot depends on Mehbooba Mufti. Will she cooperate with him? The Jama Masjid in Srinagar has been closed for two and a half years. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has been under house arrest all this while. It is well known that his moderation was stifled by the arrogant extremism of Sayed Ali Shah Geelani. The result is that Umar Farooq could not take any constructive initiative. He has met the prime ministers of India at least twice. Except for his family members and staff, none can enter his house. He cannot offer his prayers in the mosque. The people miss his Friday sermons. He is a man of impeccable integrity and great courtesy. He is uniquely qualified to speak on behalf of the people yet he has been kept under house arrest. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch should urge the government of India to release him. https://www.dawn.com/news/1675892/kashmirs-fate

2        Rape in Indian Occupied Kashmir; Feb 24 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, justice continues to elude the victims of Kunanposhpora mass rape despite the passing of over three decades. Indian troops gang-raped around 100 Kashmiri women of all ages from eight year-old girls to eighty years old women during a cordon and search operation in Kunanposhpora area of Kupwara district on the night of February 23, 1991. Thirty one years have passed since the Kunanposhpora mass rape occurred but the victims are still awaiting justice while the troops involved in heinous crime are roaming free, said a report released by Kashmir Media Service, today, on the completion of thirty one years to the tragic incident.   https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/02/23/31-years-on-justice-continues-to-elude-victims-of-kunanposhpora-mass-rape.html 

Kashmir Update 168;  Week , Feb 14  2022 to Feb 20,30 , 2022

1        Arundhati Roy ;February 13  2022: The Booker-winning author says the present situation in India is “extremely depressing” but she believes there are signs that the Indian people are climbing out of the hole they’ve fallen into. In an interview to renowned Indian journalist, Karan Thapar, Arundhati Roy said, ‘Amidst the confusion, chaos and cacophony of Indian politics, what sort of country are we becoming?’ Arundhati Roy says Hindu nationalism could break India into little pieces, as has happened earlier with Yugoslavia and Russia, but adds that ultimately the Indian people will resist what she calls Narendra Modi and the BJP’s fascism. She raised two sets of critical questions. First, she asked: “What have we done to democracy? What have we turned it into? What happens…when it has been hollowed out and emptied of meaning? What happens when each of its institutions has metastasised into something dangerous?” The second set of questions is to do with the sort of country we’ve become. “Over the last five years, India has distinguished itself as a lynching nation. Muslims and Dalits have been publicly flogged and beaten to death by vigilante Hindu mobs in broad-daylight, and the ‘lynch videos’ then gleefully uploaded to YouTube.” Even more importantly she says, “The infrastructure of fascism is staring us in the face…and yet we hesitate to call it by its name”. In the interview, Roy also spoke about Kashmir. She explains what she meant when in her recent Jonathan Schell Memorial Lecture she says of the Kashmiri people: “Why should they want to be a part of India? For what earthly reason? If freedom is what they want, freedom is what they should have.” Roy also explains the way she sees the relationship between Kashmir and the rest of India when she says: “Kashmir may not defeat India, but it will consume India”. This opinion is also echoed by one of the characters in her book The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Musa Yeswi, who says something very similar. “One day Kashmir will make India self-destruct in the same way…You’re not destroying us, you are constructing us. It’s yourselves that you are destroying.” When asked if her point is that the bell that tolls in Kashmir is actually tolling for India, Arundhati Roy clearly agreed and explains why. She says the way India’s values, principles, constitutional commitments are being undermined by its behaviour in Kashmir will eventually corrode and consume India itself. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/02/13/the-way-india-treating-kashmir-will-eventually-corrode-and-consume-itself-arundhati-roy.html

2        J&K leaders irked by deletion of Assembly seats named after historical figures; Feb 16 2022; From Gandhi Nagar in Jammu to Habba Kadal in Kashmir, the J&K Delimitation Commission’s proposal to delete the names of 19 Assembly constituencies, including those with historically important names, has infuriated the regional leaders in the Union Territory (UT), who described it as “an assault on J&K’s history”. Shameema Firdous, a three time MLA from Srinagar’s Habba Kadal constituency, said she was anguished to see the name of Habba Kadal removed in the Commission draft proposal and merged into three other constituencies. “It’s a fact that Habba Khatoon was a revered queen and poetess from Kashmir, and wife of Kashmiri king Yousuf Shah Chak. The constituency was named after her. She represented Kashmir’s culture, tradition and literature. Removing her name is an open assault on our history and an attempt to decimate our collective sense of past. It seems there is a move to take our new generation away from the icons of Kashmir by renaming these constituencies,” Firdous told The Hindu. Another prominent name removed from Srinagar is Amira Kadal, named after Afghan governor Amir Khan Jawan Sher who built the iconic Shergari Fort and restored the Sona Lank canal and set up an irrigation system in place. The National Conference, in its formal response to the delimitation panel on Monday, also highlighted the removal of the name of the Amir Kadal constituency, and termed it as “an attempt to obliterate history”. Qazigund, also known as the Gateway of Kashmir and home to the Valley’s first tunnel named after Jawaharlal Nehru, has also been removed from the electoral map. In Jammu, there is anger over the removal of the name of Gandhiji. “The BJP is not able to tolerate the icons followed by the Congress party. It was no surprise that a constituency named Gandhi Nagar was removed and instead named as Jammu East, Jammu West, etc. Similarly, Gulabgarh named after Dogra Maharaja Gulab Singh, who founded the state of J&K, has been removed. The delimitation exercise is faulty to the extent that it has put a tail where the head should be,” Mission Statehood president Sunil Dimple said. The Hindu

3        Dr Fai on Kashmir; Feb 18 2022; The Chairman of Washington-based World Forum for Peace and Justice (WFPJ), Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, has said that justice is not a vocation for the weak-hearted, whether in Palestine, Myanmar, Kashmir or elsewhere. Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai addressing an international conference, “Human Rights Violations Faced by the Muslims,” in Istanbul, Turkey, said it is a historical fact that the Kashmir question is one of the oldest unresolved international problems in the world. The conference was jointly sponsored by the Government of Turkey in cooperation with Independent Permanent Commission of Human Rights (IPCHR) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and was addressed among others by Mevlut Cavusoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Turkey; Professor (Dr) Mustafa Sentop, Speaker, Grand Assembly of Turkey; Yakup Mogul, Deputy Minister of Justice, Turkey; Daniel Holtgen, Spokesperson for the Secretary General of Council of Europe; and many others. The other panelists of the session in which Dr Fai participated included: Ambassador Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury, Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh; El Habib Bourane, Director, Muslim Communities and Minorities, OIC; Dr Reza Uddin, Council member, Arakan Rohingya Union; Ambassador Zamir Akram, Former Pakistan’s Representative to the UN in Geneva; Dr Hassan A. Abdein, Associate Editor, Muslim Minorities, Oxford, UK. The theme of this session was, “The Situation of Muslims in Asia.” Dr Fai said it is worth mentioning that when the Kashmir dispute erupted in 1947-1948, the United States championed the stand that the future status of Kashmir must be ascertained in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of the territory. The United States was the principal sponsor of the resolution # 47 which was adopted by the Security Council on 21 April 1948, and which was based on that unchallenged principle, he added. Dr Fai cited the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Kashmir issued on June 14, 2018 which contains graphic documentation of human rights violations being committed by the Indian military and paramilitary forces in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. This was a significant step towards greater international recognition of the serious abuses committed against the Kashmiris by the Indian army. This report takes the veil of secrecy off of India’s crimes against humanity, he maintained. The report, Dr Fai said, cites specific incidents where the Indian government violated the very principles of human decency and democratic freedom against the people of Kashmir. It also details many instances where the use of draconian laws has given a sense of total impunity to the Indian Army in Kashmir. The report, he said, underscored that “Impunity for enforced or involuntary disappearances in Kashmir continues as there has been little movement towards credibly investigating complaints including into alleged sites of mass graves in the Kashmir Valley and Jammu region.” The United Nations report suggested that [As a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits torture under any circumstances (Article 7), India is obliged to ensure that no person is “subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. There have long been persistent claims of torture by security forces in Kashmir.] The UN report qoutes ‘the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences,’ who said, “[W]omen living in militarized regions, such as Jammu and Kashmir and the north-eastern states, live in a constant state of siege and surveillance, whether in their homes or in public.” Since, August 05, 2019, the Indian government, in order to crush any resistance to its illegal occupation, has instituted new draconian measures. In a ruthless campaign they imprisoned politicians, journalists, and civil society members, to intimidate and suppress any form of dissent. The enactment of Domicile Law was designed to change the demography of Kashmir. It is reported that over 4 million Domicile certificates have been issued to grant non-Kashmiris right to buy land and compete for local jobs which is a clear violation of International Law since it unilaterally changes the United Nations-recognized status of Jammu and Kashmir. Dr Fai added that the latest actions taken by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) are politically motivated and are part of the Indian government’s attempt to censor peaceful Kashmiri voices. The Unlawful Activity (Prevention) Act (UAPA) has been used countless times to harass, assault and imprison activists, political leaders and journalists who aim to expose the human rights violations committed by Indian forces. Latest victim is Khurram Parvez, one of the internationally known human rights activists, who was detained under UAPA. Ms Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders said on November 23, 2021, that ‘he (Khurram Parvez) is not a terrorist, he is a human rights defender’. De Fai made the following suggestions to the IPHRC: Given the reports, issued by the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights on June 14, 2018 and July 8, 2019, regarding the ‘Situation in Kashmir’, we would like to request the OIC members of the Human Rights Council to endorse this report and initiate a joint OIC resolution to set up an enquiry commission on human rights violations in Kashmir during the forthcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to be held between February 28 to April 01, 2022. Widely use and disseminate testimony of Dr Gregory Stanton, Chairman, ‘Genocide Watch’, which he gave to the United States Congress on January 12, 2022, and repeated in his January 19, 2022, TV interview with Karan Thapar, that ‘in India, there are the makings of a genocide against Muslims, starting with Kashmir & Assam’. Based on this authoritative evidence, we suggest to OIC ‘The Gambia Model’, taking Myanmar to the ICJ (international Court of Justice) for crimes against humanity against the Rohingya, to be followed for IIOJK as well. OIC should invoke the ‘Genocide Convention’ in the UN General Assembly and / or Security Council. The OIC must provide ‘safe havens’ for the Kashmiri Diaspora, especially those fleeing oppression in occupied Kashmir – students, scholars, activists, journalists, and business people – in OIC member states, in an institutional manner, like opening up visas / jobs / scholarships for meritorious students, relocation facilitation for such skilled and professional Kashmiris, for whom living in Modi’s India has become unbearable. In the ‘battle of ideas’ for Azadi (freedom) of Kashmiri people, the OIC must promote the 3 core causes together: PKR (Palestine, Kashmir, Rohingya); establish a special website, combining genocide with resistance. This has to be a sustained and coordinated initiative, where people of conscience, both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars, intellectuals and diplomats can play a role through various channels, including Parliamentary Diplomacy. OIC should set up an ‘independent’ criminal court to hear cases of specific crimes against civilian population in IIOJK. OIC should organize a ‘digital referendum’ in occupied Kashmir eliciting wishes of the Kashmiri people (even if only a section of the population participates); and ask the UN General Assembly and / or Security Council to allow a representative of the Kashmiri people (selected through ‘digital referendum’) to present the case of Kashmir to the world community. OIC should commission to study the danger of a nuclear conflict between Pakistan and India due to the unresolved Kashmir dispute. OIC should establish a ‘Global Kashmir Assembly’ composed of Kashmiri diaspora leaders from across the world. It could operate virtually; lobby with host countries on agreed group positions / demands. OIC must persuade the Government of India to release all political prisoners unconditionally, including Khurram Parvez, Yasin Malik, Shabbir Shah, Masarrat Aalam Butt, Aasiya Andrabi, and others. OIC must convince the United Nations to persuade Government of India to rescind the Domicile Law which is designed to change the demography of Kashmir. Finally, it is further our hope that the policy makers of OIC member countries will look to solving the root cause of the problem of Kashmir – the unfulfilled promise of self-determination as guaranteed by successive United Nations Security Council resolutions. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/02/17/justice-not-a-vocation-for-weak-hearted-whether-in-kashmir-or-elsewhere-dr-fai.html

4        Beef export ban; Feb 18 2022; Kuwaiti businessmen have reportedly demanded a ban on meat exports to India, which is proving to be too big a financial hit for India. According to reports, Arab figures who have raised their voices against the Indian atrocities against minorities in India, especially Muslims and Kashmiris in Indian Occupied Kashmir, have made another big demand, creating a huge problem for India Remember, this demand has come from influential people who have been constantly raising their voices against the atrocities in India for the last several months. These are the Kuwaiti influential figures that have raised their voices, not only because of their concerns and reservations about business, but also because they have informed the Arab world about India, who have a lot of influence in Arab society.  https://en.baaghitv.com/big-blow-to-indian-economy-ban-on-beef-exports/

5        One martyred; Feb 19 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one Kashmiri youth in Shopian district, today.The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Chermarg Zainapora area of the district.  Earlier, two Indian soldiers were killed in an attack in the same area. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/02/19/indian-troops-martyr-kashmiri-youth-in-shopian-2.html 

 

Kashmir Update 167;  Week , Feb 7  2022 to Feb 13,30 , 2022

1        Delimitation Commission ; Feb 7 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference and other political parties have slammed the draft report of the Delimitation Commission. The NC leader, Farooq Abdullah, denouncing the draft report of the Delimitation Commission on IIOJK, said it defies any and all logic and no political, social and administrative reason can justify the recommendations. Farooq Abdullah also said the party is now engaged in formulating a detailed response to this report and also exploring other options to challenge the entire process. He said the report was received on Friday night and “I am in the process of reading it in detail. But from whatever I have seen, we at the National Conference completely reject this report.” Rejecting the interim report by the Delimitation Commission, the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party said that the Commission instead of a constitutional body had proved itself to be as a frontal organisation of the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party.https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/02/06/draft-report-of-delimitation-commission-on-iiojk-slammed.html

2        Fai Hails the Enthusiastic Outpourings Behind Solidarity Day ;  Feb 7, 2022; Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, Washington-based ‘World Forum for Peace & Justice’, applauded the widespread support for the Kashmiri self‑determination cause on Solidarity Day  The participants expressing solidarity with the people of Kashmir gathered in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC in sub-zero temperature - drew world attention to the situation in Indian occupied territory and urged United Nations to fulfill her promise to help resolve the lingering dispute of Kashmir. Holding banners and placards in their hands inscribed with “Freedom For All: Freedom for Kashmir” “WE Demand Human Rights” “Wake UP Wake UP UN WAKE UP” “Indian Army Out of Kashmir” “India: Free Kashmir,” the participants expressed total solidarity with the oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir. The protest was organized by World Kashmir Awareness Forum & ICNA/Council for Social Justice   India’s claim to be the world’s largest democracy but its actions in Kashmir speak otherwise. Rather than seeking to rectify its human rights record, India has legalized its state-sponsored terror in Kashmir. The draconian laws enacted by the Government of India in Kashmir provide the enabling environment that encourages and even rewards human rights abuses by India’s military and paramilitary forces. These laws, Dr. Fai stated, empower the Indian army to commit human rights atrocities with total impunity  Despite the growing international awareness of India’s heinous crimes, India has kept on murdering and torturing innocent civilians in Kashmir. The reports of various international NGO’s show that the killing fields in Kashmir continue to be sown with the blood of women, children and young boys, Fai added  Mr. Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations – the custodian of human rights – cannot simply stand by and allow India to continue to kill, torture and maim the people of Kashmir in this way. This must not stand. It is incumbent upon the United States as the leader of the free world, to take a leadership role in resolving the Kashmir conflict. No one else is in a position to resolve the conflict, Fai said  Dr. Zahid Bukhari, Executive Director, ICNA/Council for Social Justice said that his organization has always supported the Kashmiri struggle for freedom against Indian occupation. We are here today, on February 5th., to demonstrate our unwavering solidarity with Kashmiri people who are living in the largest open prison under the Indian military rule. The below freezing temperature of Washington, DC demands us to focus on the following three items with our boiling energy  1- We have to use the word “Azadi” with Kashmir so persistently that it should become the English language word as the words “Intefada, and Insha’Allah” were accepted in the English language  2- We should regularly contact our elected officials on Kashmir issue at all levels — city, county, state, and federal — including the congress members and Senators. The main talking point should be that the Kashmir is more than a human right issue, it is a freedom struggle for 23 million of Kashmiris. They are demanding their self-determination right according to the UN resolutions. 3- We should also appraise the Indian policy makers that it would be impossible for India to become a big-league player with its continuous cruel occupation of Kashmir. India may only achieve its dream if the Kashmiris enjoy living as free people  Professor Imtiaz Khan of World Kashmir Awareness Forum said that Indian army massacred more than 100,000 Kashmiri civilians who were engaged in peaceful demonstrations against Indian occupation. Thousands of Kashmiri women have been gangraped. Over 10,000 missing persons and mass graves have been identified. These atrocities have been intensified manifold after August 5, 2019, when article 35 A and 370 which gave Kashmir, a special status was abrogated by Indian parliament. Professor Khan added that Indian army is brutalizing and terrorizing Kashmiris to instill utmost fear so that they cannot even whisper about right of self-determination. Indian army patrol the areas, destroy the localities if they meet even a semblance of resistance and capture the youth whenever and wherever they find them. Indian government is changing the demographic character of Kashmir by providing domicile certificates so that Muslim majority character is changed. Lot of Indian Hindus and some of them armed hooligans are taken to Kashmir and plan is to settle them there. Long-term design is to restrict local Muslim population in ghettos, snatch their livelihood so that they are at the mercy of these foreigners, Khan warned.Dr. Khan alerted that whole Kashmir has been converted into a concentration camp. Any voice of dissent is met by long-term imprisonment or even death. Thus, it is exigent for the diaspora to disseminate these atrocious stories to world and question their criminal silence over this important issue which has potential to jeopardize the existence of one fifth of total human race  The participants of the rally urged the Secretary General of the United Nations to persuade India to take five steps. 1. Rescind Domicile Law which is designed to change the demography of Kashmir; 2. Release all political prisoners, including Yasin Malik, Khurram Parvez, Shabir Shah, Aasia Andrabi, Masarat Alam and others; 3. Repeal all special repressive laws; 4. Restore the rights of peaceful association, assembly, and demonstrations, and 5. Create condition to allow the people of Jammu & Kashmir to exercise their right to self-determination.

3        Corporate support; Feb 9 2022; Apart from Korean auto companies Hyundai and Kia, the Pakistani branches of American MNCs Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut, Japanese companies Osaka batteries, Atlas Honda Limited and Isuzu D-max as well as German pharma company Schwabe  all carried posts expressing “solidarity” with “Kashmiri brothers and sisters”, and “praying for the liberation” on February 5th, which is marked as “Kashmir Solidarity day” in Pakistan.

4        Islamophobia in India; Feb 12 2022; Islamophobia has taken a “most lethal form” in India, turning some 250 million Indian Muslims into a “persecuted minority”, Noam Chomsky, the world-renowned scholar, author and activist, has said. “The pathology of Islamophobia is growing throughout the West — It is taking its most lethal form in India,” Chomsky, who is also Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), said in a video message to a webinar organised by Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) on Thursday, a Washington-based advocacy organisation. Apart from Chomsky, several other academics and activists took part in the webinar on “Worsening Hate Speech and Violence in India.” Chomsky also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing Hindu nationalist regime has sharply escalated the “crimes” in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).  “The crimes in Kashmir have a long history,” he said, adding that the state is now a “brutally occupied territory and its military control in some ways is similar to occupied Palestine.” The situation in South Asia, Chomsky said, is painful in particular not because of what is happening but because of what is not happening. There is, however, hope and opportunities to solve South Asian torment but not for long, he added. Annapurna Menon, an Indian author and lecturer at the University of Westminster, urged the international community to focus on the status of press freedom in India as under the BJP government, the situation has become a cause of concern. “The situation on the ground is extremely alarming as 4 journalists have already been killed in 2022, simply for doing their job,” Menon said, adding that journalists – especially women – have been exposed to all kinds of reprisals including harassment, illegal detention, police violence and sedition charges. “The situation in IIOJK is even dire, where the journalists routinely face police questioning, ban on reporting, suspension of internet services and financial constraints in line with BJP’s recent ‘media policy’. The family of award-winning Srinagar-based photojournalist Masrat Zahra, was subjected to harassment and intimidation by the Indian Police as crackdown on the press in Indian-occupied Kashmir continues to escalate. Fahad Shah, a renowned Kashmiri journalist who is the founder and editor of ‘‘The Kashmir Walla’’, was arrested recently by the police in Pulwama under terrorism and sedition laws, Menon pointed out. Similarly, Sajjad Gul, another journalist of ‘‘The Kashmir Walla’’, was also arrested in the beginning of February 2022.  John Sifton, Asia Advocacy Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the greatest threat to the Indian constitution Is the promotion of majority religion by the Indian government at the expense of minorities. “The BJP and its affiliates are making hateful remarks against Muslims to gain Hindu vote around elections,” he said. The BJP government has adopted laws and policies that systematically discriminate against religious minorities and other groups and it also stigmatises its critics, the HRW official said. The government enacted the ‘Citizenship Act’ to target minorities, particularly Indian Muslims. Social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Tiktok, Sifton said, had failed to control hatred spread through their platforms. The US Congress, he said, must weigh on the Indian government to convey their concerns vis-a-vis the violation of human and minority rights in India. Angana Chatterji, Indian Anthropologist and Scholar at Berkeley University, California, said prejudices embedded in the government of the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP have infiltrated independent institutions, such as the police and the courts, empowering nationalist groups to threaten, harass and attack religious minorities with impunity. “Hindu spiritual leaders are involved in the ethnic cleansing of Muslims,” she said, adding that BJP leaders and affiliated groups have long portrayed minority communities, especially Muslims, as a threat to national security and to the Hindu way of life. They had raised the bogey of “love jihad” claiming that Muslim men lure Hindu women into marriages to convert them to Islam, labelled Muslim immigrants as extremists and accused them of hurting Hindu sentiment over cow slaughter.  Since Yogi Adityanath became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP) in 2017, Chatterji said the culture of violence and impunity has taken root, pointing out that UP police have carried out hundreds of extra-judicial killings of suspected criminals belonging to minorities, particularly Muslims. By the time protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill spilled out on the streets of UP in December 2019, the police manhandled protestors, behaved in a vulgar manner with women, arrested whomsoever it wanted and framed prominent activists in criminal cases, she said. As hundreds of thousands of farmers of various faiths began protesting against the government’s new farm laws in November 2020, senior BJP leaders, their supporters on social media, and pro-government media blamed the Sikhs as ‘Khalistani terrorists’, Chatterji said. February 23, 2022 marks the two year anniversary of the communal violence in Delhi that killed 53 people, 40 of them Muslim. Harsh Mander, a former Indian civil servant and human rights activist, said that while Mahatma Gandhi upheld the principles of non-violence, the Hindu supremacist ideology is being currently being propagated by Indian leaders. “Hate crimes have increased by a thousandfold during the BJP regime,” he said. The BJP stigmatises and openly incites crimes against minorities, even Mother Teresa has been vilified. Muslims, Mander said were falsely projected as bigots, unpatriotic, Jihadis and oppressors, adding that even PM Modi follows some of the hate mongers and he refuses to denounce them. IIOJK, he said, is the most militarised region of the world. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2343096/india-has-turned-muslims-into-persecuted-minority-chomsky 

Kashmir Update 166;  Week , Jan 31 2022 to Feb 6,30 , 2022

1        Five martyred; Jan 31 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism martyred five Kashmiri youth in Pulwama and Budgam districts. The troops martyred four youth during a cordon and search operation in the Naira area of Pulwama district and martyred one youth during an operation in Charar-i-Sharief area of Budgam. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/01/30/indian-troops-martyr-five-kashmiri-youth-in-iiojk.html

2        January human cost; Feb 2 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their unabated acts of state terrorism martyred 22 Kashmiris including a teenage boy during the last month of January. Of those killed, four youth were martyred in a fake encounter, according to the data issued by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service, today. During the month, 17 youth were critically injured due to use of brute force by Indian police and paramilitary troops on peaceful demonstrators. During the period, Indian Army, paramilitary Central Reserve Police force and police arrested 45 civilians, mostly political activists, youth and students, and several of them were booked under black laws including Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Public Safety Act. The forces’ personnel misbehaved and molested with, at least, one female and destroyed and damaged 7 houses and structures during the operations in the month. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/02/01/indian-troops-martyr-22-kashmiris-in-january.html

3        One martyred; Feb 02 2022:  In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one Kashmiri youth in  Shopian district, today. The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Nadigam area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/02/02/93655.html

4        Fahad Shah ; Feb 6 2022; A young Srinagar-based editor and journalist has been arrested by Jammu and Kashmir Police for “glorifying terrorist activities” on social media and causing “disaffection against the country.” Fahad Shah, editor of The Kashmir Walla,   was arrested on Friday, February 4, three days after he was questioned by police along with three other journalists for “incorrect reporting” about a gun battle in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. The news of Fahad’s arrest prompted massive outrage in Kashmir and outside. The Committee to Protect Journalists termed the arrest as “utter disregard for press freedom and the fundamental right of journalists to report freely and safely” while the In a letter last year, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan and Vice-Chair of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Elina Steinerte, raised concerns with the government of India about four Kashmir journalists – Fahad Shah, Auqib Javeed, Sajad Gul and Qazi Shibli. Last month, Sajad, who also works at Kashmir Walla, was booked under the draconian Public Safety Act for his reportage and lodged in Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu alongside hardened criminal International Press Institute, a consortium of editors and journalists across the globe, demanded Fahad’s “immediate release”. https://thewire.in/media/outrage-as-jk-police-arrest-kashmir-walla-editor-for-reporting-on-pulwama-gun-battle

5        Two martyred: Feb 6 2022;  In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in Srinagar, today.The troops martyred the youth during a violent cordon and search operation in Zakura area of Srinagar. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/02/05/indian-troops-martyr-two-kashmiris-in-srinagar.html 

Kashmir Update 165;  Week , Jan 23 2022 to Jan,30 , 2022

1        Silence of world powers in Kashmir not acceptable: Fai; Washington, DC. January 25, 2022.;“The people of Kashmir wish the people of India well. They do not consider them their enemy. Therefore, on India’s Republic Day, Kashmiris extend their best wishes to the people of India. Kashmiris, however, voice deep regret at the hypocrisy of the Government of Indian of its high-minded ideals in Kashmir, which marked its entrance into the family of nations after long years of British rule: shocking human rights violations, ignoring the international law, and disregard of binding UN Security Council resolutions on self-determination,” Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, Washington-based ‘World Forum for Peace and Justice’ said in a message on the eve of India’s Republic Day.Indian Ministry of Defence states that “the celebration of the (Republic) Day mark the spirit when democracy and justice were chosen to run the nation.” That is a ludicrous statement, indeed, Fai said. Kashmir is dreadful testimony to India's false democratic credentials. And peaceful political dissent is made a crime. India's detentions of Yasin Malik, Shabir Shah, Masarat Alam, Aasia Andrabi and other authentic Kashmiri political leaders besmirches India's boast as the world's most populous democracy and insistence that its military occupation of Kashmir is welcomed and endorsed by the Kashmiri people. within the very heart of democracy is the constant flow of ideas, of broad public opinion, which gives a country the strength to grow and mature through a fair evaluation and consideration of those ideas which represent wisdom by their inclusiveness rather than by exclusion. New York based, ‘Committee to Protect Journalists’ described Indian government’s freedom of expression in these words: ‘Kashmiri news media has been pushed to the brink of extinction.’ British historian, Bertrand Russell described India’s democratic credentials in 1964: “The high idealism of the Indian government in international matters breaks down completely when confronted with the question of Kashmir.” I think it is better, Fai added that a country like India that celebrates itself as a secular democratic state must pay its dues to the most fundamental democratic freedom of all, and the right of dissent. ‘Silence becomes cowardice,’ Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.’ Fai condemned Government of India’s latest attempt to arrest human rights activists under the draconian law: Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Khurram Parvez, Dr. Asif Dar and Muzzammil Thakur are the prime examples. Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders said Khurram Parvez is not a terrorist, he's a human rights defender. What these three human rights activists were saying has legal, constitutional, and international legitimacy. They have been pleading the issue of ‘Self-determination, Freedom and Justice for Kashmir’, these are neither secessionist nor separatist slogans. It is a reminder to those at the helm of affairs in New Delhi that these were the very words pronounced by Pandit Nehru, then the prime minister of India and Mahatma Gandhi, the founder of India. Does the BJP-led government also want to lodge sedition charges posthumously against Pandit Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi who are on record to have said that the people of Kashmir have the right to decide the fate of their nation? The people of Kashmir were heartened to listen again from the UN Secretary General of the United Nations on January 21, 2022, that Kashmir issue has to be resolved under UN Charter and applicable UN Security Council resolutions. Secretary General added: ‘we hope that this is something that can be solved peacefully and that the situation in Kashmir is a situation in which human rights are respected and in which people can live in peace and security.’ I think it is the time, Fai added that the Secretary General should listen to Dr. Gregory H. Stanton, Founding President Genocide Watch who warned the international community “We believe that the Indian government’s actions in Kashmir have been an extreme case of persecution and could very well lead to genocide.” “So many of the early stages of genocide are already present. We don’t wait until it is a full out mass killing campaign to declare genocide. There are early warning signs of genocide now and that’s what we believe is the situation in Kashmir.” The only solution to the problem lies in allowing the people of Kashmir to exercise their unrestricted right to self-determination to decide their destiny – a pledge given to them by the world community some 74 years ago. Fai said that it is not rocket science. If the Kashmir question were resolved, much of the hostility between India and Pakistan would dissolve. The region would not be living on the edge of a nuclear holocaust. Trade between the two countries would flourish. Jobs and meaningful lives would be created. Families split apart the ceasefire line by the conflict could join together again. There would be no more shelling at the ceasefire line. Those 900,000 Indian military and paramilitary forces could go home and do something constructive instead of beating up on women and children. What intelligent person could not agree with that? Dr. Fai can be reached at: 1-202-607-6435  or  gnfai2003@yahoo.com

2        Republic Day ; Jan 29 2022; Expressing solidarity with the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the Kashmiri diaspora in the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe on Wednesday observed India’s Republic Day as “Black Day”. The Kashmiri community in the UK was joined by members of the Sikh community to express solidarity with innocent Kashmiris in IIOJK, who are facing an all-out war by the occupation forces. The anti-India rally was led by Tehreek-e-Kashmir (TEK) UK President Raja Fahim Kayani and Ranjit Singh Srai. The Kashmiri diaspora and World Sikh Parliament members gathered outside Indian High Commission, London and the Indian Consulate in Birmingham. Raising pro-freedom slogans, the protesters condemned human rights violations in IIOJK and demanded that the international community break the status quo imposed by the fascist Indian regime in the occupied valley. TeK UK also held demonstrations in Nelson, Glasgow, Leeds, Bradford and Reading to remind the UN and the international community of its obligation to end the illegal Indian occupation of Kashmir. Secretary-General TeK Mian Muhammad Tayyib said that the memories and guidance given by movement's leaders Syed Ali Geelani and Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai is itched in the minds to challenge India every day over IIOJK. “We will not forget it and will continue to fight for our legitimate right to self-determination," he asserted. The TeK Europe also held a virtual conference to deliberate on the freedom movement underway in IIOJK and to mark January 26 as “Black Day”. Consul General of Pakistan in Spain Mirza Salman Babar Baig also attended the conference and reiterated Pakistan’s unflinching support to the people of IIOJK.   https://tribune.com.pk/story/2340567/kashmiris-across-uk-mark-indias-republic-day-as-black-day 

Kashmir Update 164;  Week , Jan 17 2022 to Jan,23 , 2022

1        War crimes in Indian-occupied Kashmir ; Jan 20 2022; A London-based law firm filed an application with British police on Tuesday seeking the arrest of India’s army chief and a senior Indian government official over their alleged roles in war crimes in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK). Law firm Stoke White said it submitted extensive evidence to the Metropolitan Police’s War Crimes Unit documenting how Indian forces headed by Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane and Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah were responsible for the torture, kidnapping and killing of activists, journalists and civilians. The law firm’s report was based on over 2,000 testimonies taken between 2020 and 2021. It also accused eight unnamed senior Indian military officials of direct involvement in war crimes and torture in IoK.  “There is strong reason to believe that Indian authorities are conducting war crimes and other violence against civilians in Jammu and Kashmir,” the report states, referring to territory that is part of the Himalayan region. The request to London police was made under the principle of “universal jurisdiction” which gives countries the authority to prosecute individuals accused of crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world. The international law firm in London said it believes its application is the first time that legal action has been taken abroad against Indian authorities over alleged war crimes in IoK. Hakan Camuz, director of international law at Stoke White, said he hoped the report would convince British police to open an investigation and ultimately arrest the officials when they set foot in the UK. Some of the Indian officials have financial assets and other links to Britain. “We are asking the UK government to do their duty and investigate and arrest them for what they did based on the evidence we supplied to them. We want them to be held accountable,” Camuz said. The police application was made on behalf of the family of Zia Mustafa, a jailed Pakistani freedom fighter whom Camuz said was the victim of an extrajudicial killing by Indian authorities in 2021, and on the behalf of human rights campaigner Muhammad Ahsan Untoo, who was allegedly tortured before his arrest last week. The law firm’s investigation suggested that the abuse has worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. Its report also included details about the arrest of Khurram Parvez, the region’s most prominent rights activist, by India’s counterterrorism authorities last year. Parvez, 42, worked for the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, which has written extensive reports about Indian troops’ use of violence and torture. Other accounts in the report discuss journalist Sajad Gul, who was arrested earlier this month after he posted a video of family members and relatives protesting the killing of a freedom commander. Human rights lawyers have increasingly used the universal jurisdiction principle to seek justice for people who were unable to file criminal complaints in their home countries or with the International Criminal Court, located in The Hague.  Camuz said he hoped the request to British police seeking the arrest of Indian officials will be followed by other legal actions also focusing on IoK. “We are sure this is not going to be the last one, there will probably be many more applications,” he said. https://www.dawn.com/news/1670335/uk-police-asked-to-probe-indian-officials-alleged-war-crimes-in-occupied-kashmir

2         Stoke White Investigations; India's War Crimes in Kashmir: Violence, Dissent and the War on Terror; Jan 20 2022; A selection of new and detailed evidence gathered from over 2000 testimonies offered by civilians forms the basis of our report into human rights abuses by India in Jammu and Kashmir, including torture, extrajudicial killings, and the detention of minors.  Although the violence inflicted on Kashmiri Muslims by the Indian army has been well documented, this report provides new evidence-based insights into the extent of the abuse based on 2000 testimonies gathered over one year. The report forms the basis of an appeal to the UK Metropolitan Police unit for the arrest of perpetrators of violence against civilians in this context.  Within the framework of the Global War on Terror and counterterrorism, acts of abuse are directed against those Muslims dissenting against Indian occupation by conducting legitimate protest, seeking legal recourse through the law, and embarking on peaceful civil society advocacy.  These individuals, and those who are uninvolved in any of the above activities but who have been swept up as innocent bystanders, feature as the subjects of this report. Of particular concern is the kidnapping at age 15 of Zia Mustapha and his 18-year detention without charge that culminated in his extrajudicial killing, as well as the torture of human rights defender Mohammed Ahsan Untoo. This report also provides unique evidence of the presence of Israeli intelligence operatives during interrogations and torture of Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir. Indeed, the culture of impunity in the region has been enabled by a global environment in which torture has become acceptable under Western complicity. Nearly three decades have passed and not a single member of the Indian military has been prosecuted, despite growing evidence of unlawful conduct. It is hoped this documentation will start a process of accountability and justice for survivors, through a more appropriate and rigorous implementation of international human rights law. https://www.swiunit.com/post/india-s-war-crimes-in-kashmir-violence-dissent-and-the-war-on-terror

3        Zia Mustafa’s extra-judicial killing ; Jan 22 2022; The Legal Forum for Kashmir (LFK) has launched a comprehensive dossier on Zia Mustafa’s extra-judicial execution in a staged encounter at Poonch in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). According to the dossier, 15-year-old Zia from Rawalakot in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) inadvertently crossed the Line of Control (LoC) on January 13, 2003, and was arrested by Indian occupying forces. The family members of Zia lodged a missing report before the relevant police station. The army and IIOJK police, led by the then Director General of Police A K Suri, gave a joint press conference to the Indian media on April 11, 2003, projecting and presenting Zia as a "foreign militant", allegedly involved in the so-called terror incident. However, the dossier reported that Zia was a minor when he crossed the border unknowingly and later, was falsely implicated in militancy by the Indian forces and agencies. The report further stated that the trial court in Shopian in IIOJK framed charges against Zia under Sections 302, 120b, 450, 395, of IPC; 7/27 PACT; 2/3 IMCO. However, the state out of prosecution witnesses failed to produce a single piece of evidence against Zia. Accordingly, the court closed the prosecution evidence. The state of IIOJK filed a criminal appeal before the occupied region's high court, which was meritless and accordingly dismissed by the court. The state again approached the Supreme Court of India and filed a criminal appeal 39899/2018 with the condonation of delay application which was still pending. Zia’s lawyer Mubashir Gattoo, while talking to local media, said that there was no evidence for his conviction. The dossier highlighted the extra-judicial execution of an under trial who was in judicial custody when the joint counter-insurgent group including the Indian army without following the mandate of law took Zia outside the jail and killed him in a staged encounter.  The dossier also revealed the important documents showing Zia, a minor boy, at the date of his arrest. Moreover, the prisoners' list exchanged by the foreign offices listed Zia as an undertrial prisoner. It highlighted the 111 fake encounters and the alleged perpetrators involved in these war crimes. The LFK held a roundtable debate inviting law experts and key stakeholders on the ‘universal jurisdiction’ case submitted before the metropolitan war crime unit in the United Kingdom. Hakan Camuz said that he hoped that the request to British police seeking the arrest of Indian officials would be followed by other legal actions also focusing on Kashmir. He added that Stoke White was sure that it was not going to be the last one, there would probably be many more applications. Towards the end, Executive Director Nasir Qadri said, "This is the beginning of lawfare against the occupier and his organisation would further pursue the war crime cases to different available forums so that the perpetrators involved were apprehended for their crimes." https://tribune.com.pk/story/2339777/lawsuit-filed-against-modi-others-in-uk-for-kashmiris-extra-judicial-killing

4        Two martyred; Jan 23 2022;  In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in South Kashmir’s Shopian district, today Jan 2 2022). The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in the Kilbal area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/01/22/indian-troops-launch-caso-in-shopian-5.html 

Kashmir Update 163;  Week , Jan 10 2022 to Jan,16 , 2022

1        Journalist detained; Jan 9 2022; The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists asked Indian authorities to immediately release a journalist in disputed Kashmir, days after police arrested him for uploading a video clip of a protest against Indian rule.The media watchdog on Saturday said it was “deeply disturbed” by the arrest of Sajad Gul, an independent journalist and media student. It wrote on Twitter it was asking Indian authorities to “drop their investigation related to his journalistic work.” Indian soldiers picked up Gul from his home in northeastern Shahgund village on Wednesday night and later handed him over to the police, his family said. He had posted a video of family members and relatives protesting the killing of a rebel commander on Monday. Initially, police said he would be released but on Friday, his family was told that a formal case was opened against Gul on charges of criminal conspiracy and working against national integration. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment or even death penalty. Journalists have increasingly voiced concerns about harassment and threats by the police that have effectively restricted reporting after India revoked Kashmir’s semi-autonomy and divided the region into two federally governed territories in 2019. Many journalists have been arrested, beaten, harassed and sometimes investigated under antiterrorism laws. Fearing reprisals from government agencies, most of the local press has wilted under pressure. Journalists have also come under scrutiny through anonymous online threats the government says are linked to rebels fighting against Indian rule. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/media-group-asks-india-to-release-kashmiri-journalist/2022/01/08/fce3ada6-7076-11ec-b1e2-0539da8f4451_story.html

2        Repeal of AFSPA ; Jan 11 2022; Hundreds of Nagas from different walks of life on Monday joined the two-day walkathon from Nagaland's commercial hub Dimapur to state capital Kohima, a distance of about 75 km, demanding the repeal of AFSPA and justice for the 14 civilians who were killed by security forces in Mon district. The walkathon, which stemmed out of social media posts following the Mon killings, gained the support of various tribal bodies and civil society organizations in the state.

3        One martyred; Jan 13 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred one Kashmiri youth and injured many civilians in Kulgam district. The killing and injuries took place when Indian Army soldiers along with personnel of and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force and Special Operation Group during a cordon and search operation in Pariwan area of the district, late night. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/01/13/indian-troops-martyr-one-youth-in-kulgam.html

4        WKAF Condemns the Charges Against Political Activist Dr. Asif Dar and Mr Muzzammil Thakur by NIA of India;   Washington, DC (January 12, 2022) – The World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF) issued the following statement denouncing the criminal case against Kashmiri political activists Dr. Asif Dar and Muzzammil Thakur: “We condemn the fraudulent charges made against Dr. Asif Dar and Mr. Muzzammil Thakur by the Indian National Intelligence Agency (NIA). Dr. Dar is one of Kashmir’s most accomplished and peaceful activists, an anesthesiologist, and role model for Kashmiri youth. Muzzammill Thakur is a London based human rights defender and political activist of Kashmiri ancestry. On Thursday, January 6, Indian police registered a case against Dr. Dar and Mr. Thakur under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), after two militants claimed to be working under their orders following a targeted killing. Dr. Dar is known for his peaceful resistance against India’s colonialist occupation of Jammu & Kashmir and he remains a fearless supporter of Kashmiris’ efforts to secure the right to self-determination. Mr. Thakur is a youthful and articulate public speaker on Kashmiris’ right to self-determination with a large diaspora following on social media. Such baseless claims made by the Indian government are used to suppress the indigenous population’s free speech and activists’ efforts to relieve Kashmir from foreign occupation. Actions taken by the NIA are politically motivated and are part of the Indian government’s attempt to censor peaceful Kashmiri voices. The UAPA has been used countless times to harass, assault and imprison activists, political leaders and journalists who aim to expose the human rights violations committed by Indian forces. As human rights violations against the people of Jammu & Kashmir continue, it is important for activists like Dr. Dar and Muzzammil Thakur to continue to expose the atrocities committed by Indian forces to the rest of the world. We stand in fierce opposition to India’s actions against Dr. Dar,  Mr. Thakur and the people of Kashmir. We condemn any restriction of free speech and expression throughout the region. It is imperative we stop the Indian government’s attack on free speech in Kashmir and we urge the United Nations and international community to ensure that rights activists, political leaders, and local journalists are not forcibly silenced for speaking the truth. Dr. Dar's and Mr. Thakur’s passion for resistance against the occupation continues to be an inspiration for Kashmiri youth and resistance activists. On behalf of Kashmiris, domestic and abroad we demand that all charges against Dr. Dar and Muzzammil Thakur are dropped and the Indian government is held accountable for another unjustified case of censorship and imprisonment under the UAPA.”

 

5        Human Rights Watch ; Jan 14 2022;The failure of democratic leaders to effectively champion democratic values and rights is enabling the rise of autocrats worldwide, Human Rights Watch's outspoken head told AFP in an interview. There is a dire need for democratically-elected leaders to show bold and principled leadership in the face of global challenges like Covid and as anxiety over looming climate disaster grows, Kenneth Roth argued.“Our fear is that if democratic leaders don't rise to the occasion (and) demonstrate the kind of visionary leadership that is called for today, they are going to generate the sort of despair and frustration that are fertile grounds for the autocrats,” the HRW executive director said. And indeed, it would appear that autocracy is on the rise. HRW's more than 750-page annual report on rights abuses around the world, published Thursday, details intensifying crackdowns on opposition voices in places like China, Russia, Belarus and Egypt. It also highlights several recent military coups, including in Myanmar and Sudan, and the emergence of leaders with autocratic tendencies in countries once or still considered democracies, such as Hungary, Poland, Brazil, India, and until last year, the United States. “https://www.dawn.com/news/1669197/democratic-leaders-must-do-more-to-counter-rise-of-autocrats-human-rights-watch

6        China  and Bhutan ; Jan 13 2022;China has accelerated settlement-building along its disputed border with Bhutan, with more than 200 structures, including two-storey buildings, under construction in six locations, according to satellite image analysis conducted for Reuters. The images and analysis supplied to Reuters by US data analytics firm HawkEye 360, which uses satellites to gather intelligence on ground-level activities, and vetted by two other experts, provide a detailed look into China's recent construction along its frontier with Bhutan. Construction-related activity in some of the locations along Bhutan's western border has been under way since early 2020, with China initially building tracks and clearing out areas, based on material provided by satellite imagery firms Capella Space and Planet Labs, said Chris Biggers, the mission applications director at HawkEye 360. Images show the work speeded up in 2021. Smaller structures were erected — possibly to house equipment and supplies — followed by the laying of foundations and then the construction of buildings, Biggers said.  Two other experts who studied the locations of the new construction and recent satellite images taken by Capella Space said all six settlements appear to be in territory disputed by China and Bhutan - including a contested tract of roughly 110 square kilometres — with little in the way of resources or native population. https://www.dawn.com/news/1669212/china-steps-up-construction-along-disputed-bhutan-border-satellite-images-show

7        India and China talks; Jan 14 2022; The military talks between India and China have yet again failed as 14th round of dialogue between the two countries on Wednesday did not yield any ‘positive’ result. However, both countries decide to work towards mutually acceptable solutions to resolving the Ladakh Line of Actual Control (LAC) stand-off. The next round is expected to be held soon, reports said. https://freepresskashmir.news/2022/01/13/14th-round-of-india-china-military-talks-yield-no-positive-result-says-report/ 

Kashmir Update 162: Week , Jan 3 2022 to Jan,9 , 2022

1        Lee Rhiannon on Kashmir; Jan 3 2022; former Senator of Australia and human rights activist Lee Rhiannon on Sunday said 2022 must be the year when the world will speak out for the Kashmiris. In a video message, she said, ” I support the global struggle for Kashmiris’ self determination.” “In 2022 let us unite our efforts to ensure justice for Kashmiris, for the withdrawal of Indian troops from the Indian Occupied Kashmir, for the release of all political prisoners and an end to human rights violations,” she added. 2022 must be the year when the world speaks out for the Kashmiris,” she added. https://www.app.com.pk/national/former-australian-senator-calls-for-unified-efforts-to-ensure-justice-for-kashmiris/

2        Two martyred; Jan 03 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two more Kashmiri youth in Srinagar, today. The youth were martyred by the Indian troops during a cordon and search operation in Shalimar area of the city. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/01/03/indian-troops-martyr-two-more-youth-in-srinagar.html

3        Two martyred; Jan 05 2022: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred two more Kashmiri youth in Kulgam district, today (Jan 04 2022).The youth were martyred by Indian troops during a cordon and search operation jointly launched by Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force and Police in Okey area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/01/04/indian-troops-martyr-one-more-youth-in-kulgam.html

4        Three martyred; Jan 8 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three Kashmiri youth in Badgam district, today. The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Chadoora area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/01/07/indian-troops-martyr-three-kashmiri-youth-in-budgam.html 

Kashmir Update 161: Week , Dec  27 2021 to Jan,2 , 2022

1        Book; Dec 27 2021; Bose’s latest volume, Kashmir at the Crossroads: Inside a 21^st Century Conflict (Picador, India 2021  pinpoints the Union government’s dismissal of Sheikh Abdullah (1953) and then his son Farooq Abdullah (1984), the Rajiv-Farooq accord (1986) and the rigged elections (1987) as key reasons, among others, for the insurrection emanating from “four decades of Indian policies and actions since 1950s”. The author underlines how cautious hopes of the India-Pakistan peace process (2003-2007) – including the Vajpayee-Musharraf and Manmohan Singh-Musharraf 4-point Kashmir formula – which ran aground by the time of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, gave place to a new phase of uprising wherein the youth pelting stones replaced the gun yielding insurgent. In this stone-bullet conversation, the state’s employment of pellet guns against agitators, especially during 2016, ignited even greater anger and alienation. Scores of citizens turned blind and over a thousand suffered eye injuries. In a pointed and chilling critique, Bose denounces “brutalisation of local society, particularly in the Valley. Entire generation has grown up and come of age in an environment of repression and violence…Despite the sharp decline of insurgency to negligible levels, the Valley remains a police state. The new generation is unwilling to put up with such a situation.” People chafe at the denial of everyday freedoms and civil liberties and also a media policy that makes “journalists and news organisations answerable not to their readers but to government bureaucrats and security officials with power to decide what news is fake or anti-national”. Driven by its decades-old ideological imperatives and an iron-fist Kashmir policy, the Union government, in a ‘brazenly unilaterist’ move, read down Article 370 and Article 35A and divided the state into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in August 2019. A heartless communications and movement clampdown in the state, additional induction of tens of thousands of security personnel and  incarceration of political leadership across a wide spectrum preceded the ruling dispensation’s pitiless initiative. Bose convincingly reasons, “Erasure of the state from the political map of India was a very deliberate act calculated to degrade the sense of self of the liquidated state’s people, and represents a much deeper cut than the revocation of hollowed out shell of Article 370.” A deep sense of anger, alienation and betrayal among people in the Valley is palpable. They strongly believe that Kashmir is a political problem that requires a political solution, and without a political resolution death and destruction would visit the Valley with increasing frequency. Sustained peace and stability have evaded four generations of Kashmir and each one tells its story. As to the dozens of petitions pending in the Supreme Court for over two years, he observes in jest that “divine intervention was more likely than judicial intervention”. Today people of Jammu, Leh and Kargil are also substantively embittered: Jammuites fear loss of their land and jobs to outsiders, while people in Leh and Kargil lament that their local government has been rendered ineffectual. The author reminds us that China has always lurked in the background of the India-Pakistan Kashmir conflict. But following India’s drastic August 2019 Kashmir actions, it expressed serious concerns on this change of status quo exacerbating tensions and undermining China’s territorial sovereignty. Bose quotes reports on China’s Army blocking patrols in the Pangong Tso area within a month of creation of Ladakh as a Union territory. He goes on to prognosticate that the “quadrilateral geopolitics of the 21st century Kashmir conflict – India-Pakistan-China-America – will play out not just during the tenure of the Biden administration, but over the rest of this decade.”  https://thewire.in/books/how-the-article-370-move-india-china-tensions-and-erasure-politics-have-altered-kashmir-forever

2        Rape ; December 26 2021; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the wheels of justice have completely collapsed one of the convicts in the 2018 Kathua rape case was granted bail by a court in Indian Punjab. The eight-year-old girl, Aasifa, was raped and murdered in Hiranagar area of the Hindu-dominated Kathua district in January 2018 and the verdict in the case was pronounced on June 10, 2019, by a court in Pathankot, Punjab, where the case was shifted on the directives of the Indian Supreme Court. The Punjab and Haryana High Court suspended the remaining sentence and jail term of dismissed police sub-inspector, Anand Dutta and ordered that he be released upon furnishing surety bonds. “Perturbed that the policeman convicted for destroying evidence in Kathua rape case was granted bail and his jail term suspended. When a child raped and bludgeoned to death is deprived of justice, it becomes obvious that the wheels of justice have completely collapsed,” she tweeted. Anand Dutta has already undergone more than half of the sentence awarded to him, while the sentence of co-accused Tilak Raj was also suspended on December 16 by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/26/bail-to-convict-in-kathua-rape-murder-case-perturbs-mehbooba.html

3        Three martyred; Dec 30 2021: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three more Kashmiri youth in Kulgam district, today. The youth were killed by the troops during a cordon and search operation jointly launched by Indian army, police and Central Reserve Police Force in Mirhama area of the district. Meanwhile, two Indian army soldiers and a policeman were also injured in an attack in the same area. The attack was carried out on the joint team of Indian Army, police and Central Reserve Police Force, which was engaged in the cordon and search operation. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/29/indian-policeman-injured-in-attack-in-iiojk-2.html

4        Three martyred Dec 31 2021 ; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three more Kashmiri youth in Islamabad district, today (Dec 30 2021), raising the number of slain youth to six since last night. The troops martyred the three youth during a violent cordon and search operation in Veerinag area of the district. Earlier, one Indian policeman was killed and two soldiers and a policeman were injured in an attack in the same area.The troops martyred three other youth during a similar operation in Mirhama area of Kulgam district, last night. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/30/indian-troops-martyr-three-more-youth-in-iiojk-toll-rises-to-6-since-yesterday.html

5        World attention must be focused on Kashmir ;Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai ;Dec 29, 2021; Former UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has said, “On Human Rights Day, I call on States to fulfill the promises they made at the Vienna Conference.” We all know that the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in June 1993, was a landmark event. It was stated that the Vienna Declaration was ‘reflective of the spirit of our age and the realities of our times’. The Vienna Declaration called upon the states to abrogate legislation leading to impunity for those responsible for grave violations of human rights and to prosecute the violators, thereby providing a firm basis for rule of law. The United Nations supports an array of human rights institutions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and many human rights treaties that have been adopted. These institutions and officials collectively testify to the blossoming of human rights on the international agenda in the past 73 years since promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. They also underscore the Charter obligation on all nations to promote and protect human rights, which includes an obligation to consider human rights implications in all bilateral and multilateral negotiations. The basic human rights provisions of the Geneva conventions including the ones protected under common article 3 of these conventions are also non derogable in the sense that they must be respected even in times of international and non-international conflicts, international disturbances and foreign occupation. The candor and fair-mindedness support the conclusion that the United Nations has been painfully ineffective measured by the yardsticks of international peace, human rights, and self-determination. The presence of the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ and other human rights instruments offers no consolence for the people of Kashmir because its framers have not lived up to its spirit, at least applying it selectively to suit the objectives of certain powers. The people of Kashmir are simply perplexed as to how to interpret such joi de vivre. Over seventy-three have lapsed since the adoption of this Declaration but the people of Kashmir have not seen an iota of change in the human rights situation in Kashmir. For worse may be but never for the better. Such documents are meaningless for the people of Kashmir or for any other people who do not see their application, or even a negative mention to those who ride rough shod over them with total impunity while enjoying the good graces of some of the members of the world community to aspire to a high moral station above others. The people of Kashmir can hardly believe that august bodies such as the United Nations recognize that the preservation of international peace and the realization of human rights are shared and common concerns of humankind. As an example, the draconian laws continue to remain in operation in Kashmir, with full impunity to the perpetrators of crime against the humanity and violations of fundamental human rights, threatening the very existence of Kashmiri people. The appeals from the UN Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Expression; Freedom of Religion; Torture and Extra-judicial execution; the Amnesty International and other international NGOs have failed to make India to withdraw these laws. Dr. Nazir Gilani in his letter to UN Secretary General wrote, “Indian allegation that the OHCHR June 2018 report was ‘false and motivated’ and further accusation that the Special Rapporteurs had ‘individual prejudices’ against India, would not help the member nation of UN to undo the massive evidence brought against its human rights record in Indian administered Kashmir.” If international law were applied evenhandedly in Kashmir, an international war crimes tribunal would have been established years ago to try the scores of Indian civilian and military leaders guilty of crimes against humanity and aggression. What Slobodan Milosevich did in Kosovo and Bosnia pales in comparison to what Indian civilian and military grandees have done in Kashmir for 73 successive years, something resembling genocide on the installment plan.  That is why adding teeth to human rights is urgent. On that count, the news is auspicious. The United Nations should officially declare that under international law and human rights covenants, every government official is vulnerable to criminal prosecution in every nation in the world for either direct or indirect complicity in human rights violations that shock the international conscience as determined by the World Court. Every alleged victim of a human rights violation or his or her relatives should be entitled to sue the alleged official culprits in the World Court to determine whether the shock the conscience test has been satisfied.  Its verdict would be binding on all countries.  Any nation that refused either to prosecute or to assist in the prosecution of the human rights violators would be expelled from the United Nations General Assembly, and its leaders could be held in contempt of court by the World Court.  Kashmir is not beyond a solution if all involved parties make concessions: Pakistan, India, and Kashmiris.  The next step is not to craft a solution, but to set the stage for crafting a solution.  Key to that objective is an appointment of a person of international standing by the United Nations. The grave situation in Kashmir demands that it could be brought to the attention of the Security Council. Whether this could be done successfully depends on the attitude and policies of the permanent members, but they should be left in no doubt that any failure to resolve the problem could lead to serious disorders throughout the South Asian Subcontinent and possibly to yet another war between India and Pakistan, with incalculable consequences for the whole world, since both states are now nuclear powers.  The question arises what should be the point of departure for determining a just and lasting basis? The answer obviously is (a) the Charter of the United Nations which, in its very first Article, speaks of ‘respect for the principles of equal rights and self-determination of peoples’ and (b) the international agreements between the parties to the dispute at the Security Council. If the peaceful settlement to Kashmir crisis is to be reached, and if India is to stop dealing with the crises through sheer brutality and terror, world attention must be focused on Kashmir. Today, in this hour of darkness, in this hour of trial, in this hour of total isolation and entrapment, the people of Kashmir are being mangled and decimated, their land is being scorched. Everyday scores of people of dying, with them are dying the hopes of an entire generation and entire civilization.

6        Three martyred; Jan 1 2022; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three more Kashmiri youth in Srinagar city, today (Dec 29, 2021), raising the number of martyred youth in the territory to nine in 48 hours.The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Panthachowk area of the city.. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/31/indian-troops-martyr-three-more-youth-in-srinagar-toll-rises-to-9-in-48-hours.html

 

7        One martyred;  Jan 01 2021: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one more Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district, today. The fresh killing raised the number of the martyred youth to 10 since Wednesday night. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2022/01/01/indian-troops-martyr-one-more-youth-in-iiojk.html

 

Kashmir Update 160: Week , Dec  20 , 2021 to Dec,26 , 2021   

1        One martyred; Dec 19 2021: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian forces in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one youth in Srinagar district, today. . The eyewitness in the area said that the youth was killed in a fake encounter during a cordon and search operation and there was no encounter in the area. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/19/indian-troops-martyr-one-youth-in-srinagar.html

2        Russell Tribunal; Dec 20 2021: The Russell Tribunal on Kashmir has held that based on the evidence presented by area experts, the Kashmir issue should arguably be seen within a broader global context of settler colonialism, genocide, and crimes against humanity.,The judges at the Tribunal in their initial statement said, “We the judges are present here today to submit our initial statement regarding the proceedings of the inaugural Russell Tribunal on Kashmir. A final, more thoroughgoing statement will be issued subsequently.”“Based on the evidence presented by area experts, the Kashmir issue should arguably be seen within a broader global context of settler colonialism, genocide, and crimes against humanity,” the statement said and added that serious accusations of genocide, crimes against humanity, rape as a weapon of war, unlawful arrests and mass blinding have been made.This is just the beginning of arduous and judicious process to uncover truth, but the live testimony we have heard thus far, and the reports and evidence we have seen, have left us with serious concerns about crimes, which appear to have been carried out on a massive scale.The remaining part of the statement goes as: “At this time, we would like to share some basic facts and accusations:FACT: Kashmir is disputed territory, a fact established by 18 United Nations resolutions. It cannot be claimed legitimately by any country or claimed as an integral part until the time that the people of Kashmir have been granted the right to freely, and without fear, express their opinion in the referendum that they were promised and that the UN continues to urge. To date, that has not happened;FACT: Following from the above, Kashmir is not a secessionist movement. In fact, we heard convincing evidence that the people of Kashmir have been involved in a long struggle of freedom from foreign rulers; FACT: Kashmir is among the most heavily militarized areas on the planet, with upwards of 700,000 to 900,000 Indian soldiers, paramilitary forces, and private security forces present; FACT: Significant evidence of atrocities is contained in the first report ever issued by the United Nations on human rights in Kashmir. The report was released on 14 June 2018 by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and released under ZeidRa’ad Al Hussein; FACT: Significant evidence of crimes is also contained in the second report issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued on 8 July 2019 under UN human rights head Michelle Bachelet. The report is titled, “Update on the Situation of Human Rights in Indian-Administered Kashmir and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir from May 2018 to April 2019; FACT: We heard evidence of genocide, in particular in Jammu in 1947 and 1948, during which time the Indian government and Dogra regime claimed to be directly responsible. Events during this time need to be carefully recognized and studied. The accusations are grave and warrant deeper investigation; FACT: We have heard evidence from two genocide alerts given by Genocide Watch, an NGO led by Professor Gregory Stanton. Finally, in conclusion, based on the statements, oral testimonies and reports we heard on 17 and 18 December, we find serious indications of constant restrictions on freedoms and gross human rights violations, including mass crimes, mass rapes and other crimes against humanity. From the allegations we have heard, these crimes seem to meet the definition of genocide. This is only the beginning of a long process. Given the seriousness and gravity of these incriminations, it is important that international institutions and human rights tribunals urgently open cases and examine these allegations and prosecute those responsible for violations. The reports we have heard suggest that the government of India, the Indian Army and the Indian Intelligence Service are responsible. This requires further investigation. We invite the world public to visit Kashmir and report on the state of freedoms and human rights. We are continuing to closely monitor the situation in hopes of holding criminals to account. We also call upon the United Nations to properly oversee the decolonialization process in Kashmir. Just as the United Nations intervened and found that Britain had not properly completed the decolonialization process in Chagos Archipelago in the 1960s, it could offer a similar intervention vis-à-vis Kashmir. This is the United Nations’ responsibility. As such, we call upon the United Nations General Assembly to request an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice to characterize the Kashmir situation as an uncompleted decolonialization process and to recognize the legal force of the Security Council’s resolution calling for a plebiscite of the people of Kashmir in order that they may determine their future.” It is worth mentioning here that Kashmir Civitas, a Canadian-registered NGO, had partnered with the Russell Foundation in London, UK, the Permanent People’s Tribunal of Bologna, Italy, the International University of Sarajevo and the Center for Advanced Studies in Sarajevo to hold the inaugural Russell Tribunal on Kashmir in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on December 17-19. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/20/russell-tribunal-calls-on-un-to-oversee-decolonialization-process-in-kashmir.html

3        China and Kashmir; Dec 22 2021; China may have started preparations for building infrastructure to beef up forces at Ladakh that led to the continuing military stand-off with India as early as August 2019, a top global expert pronounced based on long-term analysis of satellite imagery along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In an interview with Sushant Singh for The India Cable, Chris Biggers, the director of mission applications at the radio frequency (RF) geospatial intelligence firm HawkEye 360, also noted that despite official disengagement at the friction points of Galwan, Gogra and Pangong Tso, Chinese forces continued to remain “near the border at their previous turnaround and throughout the Galwan valley and east of Kongka La”. Since May 2020, India and China have continued to be engaged in a tense military stand-off at multiple points in eastern Ladakh along the LAC. India has claimed that China amassed military manpower and equipment near the border in violation of border agreements, which sparked off several clashes when the Indian military was not allowed on its regular patrols by Chinese soldiers. The most serious clash took place in June 2020 at Galwan valley, which left 20 Indian soldiers dead. At least four Chinese soldiers were killed, according to official Chinese statements. Since then, there have been multiple rounds of diplomatic and military negotiations, which have led to disengagement at several points. However, the key area that remains intractable is the Depsang plains, where the Chinese have refused to start talking about disengagement. He noted that other images show that the Chinese had started to make preparations from mid-2019. “In further support of the advanced planning thesis, medium resolution imagery has also suggested that China broke ground on much of the military-related infrastructure near the border in August 2019 (or shortly thereafter). This lends weight to speculation that India’s Article 370 decision may have sparked the standoff, which would subsequently require a different defensive posture against India,” Bigger said. In August 2019, India diluted Article 370 of the Indian constitution to remove the autonomous nature of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two union territories. During parliament proceedings, Indian home minister Amit Shah stated that he was “willing to die” for Kashmir, which he clarified in the house, includes Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Aksai China. These two regions are currently under the control of Pakistan and China respectively. Following the dilution of Article 370, China lodged a protest that carving off Ladakh into a separate union territory was “unacceptable” and would directly impede its sovereignty. Biggers underlined that the theory that China’s projections into eastern Ladakh were a result of Article 370 was still difficult to confirm entirely. “However, statements made by Chinese officials throughout the standoff continued to emphasise the protection of China’s territorial sovereignty, which it claimed was violated by the Article 370 “While PLA [Ground Forces] deployed near Patrol Point 17 had relocated by July 2020, an Indian and Chinese forward camp remained as per agreements. Those elements finally disengaged in August 2021, but Chinese forces have remained near the border at their previous turnaround and throughout the Galwan valley and east of Kongka La,” said Biggers, who had previously also been the defence and intelligence applications lead for Planet Labs  He noted that while the Indian Army had reinforced its forces in several locations around Qizil Langer and Daulat Beg Oldi, “it would likely be unable to repel a Chinese offensive, if an escalation were to become uncontrollable”. Biggers continued to reiterate that all the observations show that the Chinese are not going anywhere soon. “Bottom line: China has made preparations to keep forces near Depsang during the winter https://thewire.in/security/china-military-infrastructure-ladakh-article-370-chris-biggers

4        UK House of Commons on Kashmir; Dec 23 2021; Britain's House of Commons on Wednesday expressed alarm at human rights violations, including fake encounters by Indian forces, in Indian-occupied Kashmir and sought a response from the Indian High Commission over the maltreatment of Kashmiri citizens. As many as 28 MPs of the British Parliament have written a joint letter to the Indian High Commission, seeking its response to reports of flagrant abuses of human rights in the occupied territory. The letter questioned the killings of "innocent Kashmiris" at the hands of Indian forces who labelled the unarmed citizens as suspected terrorists before mowing them down. "Those who are killed are mostly normal citizens," the letter says. The lawmakers also expressed shock at the incarceration of prominent rights activist Khurram Pervez by Indian forces and sought an explanation for his detention. "Khurram Pervez is not a terrorist but a defender of human rights".  The MPs also pointed out that more than 2,500 innocent people had been detained in the last two years in the occupied territory. Hundreds of people have been arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) — a vaguely worded law that effectively allows people to be held without trial indefinitely — in the Indian-occupied territory since 2019, when New Delhi cancelled the region’s partial autonomy and brought it under direct rule. Almost half of them are still in prison and convictions under the law are very rare.  https://www.dawn.com/news/1665225/british-parliament-expresses-alarm-at-human-rights-abuses-fake-encounters-in-indian-occupied-kashmir

5        Rogers on Kashmir; Dec 23 2021; Roger Waters, British musician and founding member of former rock band Pink Floyd, on Thursday called out Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the arrest of rights activist Khurram Parvez in occupied Kashmir. This is not the first time Waters has called out the Indian regime. In a video dated  Feb 2020, the musician spoke out against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act introduced by the Indian government   Assange.https://www.dawn.com/news/1665409/hey-modi-musician-roger-waters-calls-out-indian-pm-over-arrest-of-kashmiri-rights-activist

 

6        Delimitation and Kashmir; Dec 24 2021;  On December 21, former Union minister and Congress leader Saifuddin Soz spoke  about the legislative changes in the political and demographic character of Kashmir in view of the recent Delimitation Commission proposal and the regulations and orders that have been protested by Kashmiris since August 5, 2019.”The BJP has invested large amounts of money to buy off political affiliates and workers in Kashmir, to establish puppets and purchase turncoats whom it can bank on. In Sumbal, Karnah, Keran, Tulail, Gurez and Kupwara’s interiors, BJP has tried its best to purchase locals into joining its party. Just like we saw many sudden inductions by the BJP before DDC elections. These local Kashmiris who joined the BJP as vote cutters, were purchased only to establish their ground in the Valley. Everyone, including the NC, PDP, People’s Conference is aware of this design – when the BJP-RSS combination fails to muster electoral victory, they use their money to poach panchayat heads and party workers. And reading down [Article] 370 was their first step towards their goal of installing a Hindu chief minister in Jammu and Kashmir, which they now want to achieve electorally through delimitation Nobody is saying Kashmir is against Hindus or a Hindu chief minister; if people elect an impeccable candidate, it’s the people’s mandate, but achieving a Hindu chief minister by engineering a religious majority in the garb of delimitation will never be accepted by the people of Jammu and Kashmir. They are under the assumption that during Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s time, just because they were in alliance they gained ground in Kashmir. It is BJP’s foolish assumption. In delimitation, one can make out how strategical the increase in seats is. The majority of seats have been increased in Hindu-majority areas. This shows how the BJP’s efforts are by all intents and purposes aimed at establishing ground for the communal ideology they espouse and are working towards a Hindu chief minister for J&K. What else could bring Devender Rana to the BJP from NC? He must’ve been shown the same dream. In Jammu and Kashmir, the overwhelming majority is miffed with the revocation of 370. Log naraz hain, we will never accept the revocation. We will fight and we will win back 370 democratically. Article 370 is not a favour to us, it is our right, it was a precondition to the recognition of J&K’s accession to India. You think one morning you will wake up and erode our rights and you will face no resistance no backlash? Not one Kashmiri is going to accept the revocation, not now, not ever. Maharaja Hari Singh ceded power to the dominion of India only regarding defence, external affairs and communications. Article 370 was the translation of Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India, the revocation of which will harm all our people equally. Since then, they are using all tactics to scare us, jail us and prevent resistance from taking shape, but I trust the courts, I trust democracy, we will win back 370. The delimitation exercise is the manifestation of the RSS’s sectarian design. We as Kashmiris feel that everything around us is being snatched from us. When talks of our non-agricultural land being given to outsiders and their industries was in light, the anger was swelling in Kashmir. Our land is ours. We don’t want outsiders setting up industries here, our children should be helped in setting up industries. Here, people don’t even want to sell it to outsiders. We will never give our land to outsiders.” https://thewire.in/government/saifuddin-soz-jammu-and-kashmir-delimitation

7        The United States Policy Towards Kashmir: Past & Present ; Dec 25 2021; “The Kashmir conflict is often referred as potentially the most dangerous dispute in the world, as it involves the fate of 1.5 billion people of South Asia which is one fifth of total human race. Yet it is amazing that the world powers, with the United States as the sole super-power, maintains a largely leave-it-alone posture towards the problem. It is true that, at points of tension, world powers including the United States counsel restrain to India and Pakistan and warn them of the dangers of brinkmanship. Despite these warnings, hostilities do break out, conflict remains unresolved, the colossal waste of an arms race remains unavoidable, and peace is not made secure,” this was stated by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness Forum during 5th International ASSAM Islamic Union Congress, held in Istanbul on December 18-19,2021 The conference was held with the participation of Üsküdar University (ÜÜ), Kütahya Dumlupınar University (KDU), Justice Defenders Association (ASDER), Union of NGOs of the Islamic World (UNIW) and Pakistan Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS), on ‘Determination of Principles and Procedures of Joint Foreign Policy for the Muslim world.’ Dr. Fai’s topic was, “The policy of the United States towards Kashmir.’ Other issues that were discussed during the two-days international conference were, ‘Islamophobia’; Afghanistan; Palestine; Lebanon; Yemen; Iraq; Syria; Libya, Sudan-Ethiopia; East Turkestan; TRNC and Eastern Mediterranean issues. 63 scholars, academics, diplomats from more than two dozen countries presented their research papers. Dr. Fai elaborated that it was a historical fact that when the Kashmir dispute erupted in 1947-1948, the United States championed the stand that the future status of Kashmir must be ascertained in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of the territory. The United States was the principal sponsor of the resolution # 47 which was adopted by the Security Council on 21 April 1948 and which was based on that unchallenged principle. Following the resolution, the United States as a leading member of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP), adhered to that stand. “Historically, the Kashmir dispute has been the most lasting victim of the cold war, during which the Soviet Union vetoed every resolution of the Security Council to implement the Council’s agreed upon resolution. It is tragic that, even after the end of the cold war, the imbroglio has persisted, and the people of Kashmir have been subjected to grave abuses of their human rights. This is a fact which should weigh heavily on the international conscience. It should also be a challenge to international statesmanship,” Fai added. Fai warned that an indication of the misplaced focus of the world powers including the United States is the wrong-headed talk about the “sanctity” of the line of control in Kashmir.  It is forgotten that this line continues to exist only because the international agreements which had been concluded between India and Pakistan, with the full support of the United States. This line was originally formalized by that agreement as a temporary cease-fire line pending the demilitarization of the State of Jammu and Kashmir and the holding of a plebiscite under impartial control to determine its future. To regard this line as a solution is to regard disease as remedy.  Any kind of agreement procured to that end, whether by the U.S. or under its influence, will not only notendure; it will invite resentment and revolt against whichever leadership in Kashmir will sponsor or subscribe to it. Fai said that it was hard to understand why, contrary to its traditional principled stand on the Kashmir dispute, the world powers have been in recent years treating the problem as if it were an unchartered terrain about which no road map exists. The United Nations has at its inception devoted immense labor and thought, extending over a hundred meetings of the Security Council with active U.S. participation, to its solution. The fact cannot be dismissed that the terms of settlement the United Nations worked out did elicit the signed agreement of both India and Pakistan. It may be admitted that those terms seem to be in need of revision in the light of current or emergent realities but their basis, the consent of the people of Kashmir, remains inviolable. Neither pragmatism nor morality would sanction the setting aside of that basis. “What should be the procedure for putting the Kashmir dispute on the road to a settlement? For the United States to do so by itself would be to arouse undue suspicion as though the United States has its own axe to grind. The better way would be that United States asks the Secretary General of the United Nations, with the concurrence of the Security Council, to engage himself, directly or through a representative of high international standing, in a sustained effort of mediation which should (a) ensure that the positions of the people of Kashmir is fully taken into account and (b) aim at a settlement within a reasonable time-frame, providing for a transitional period, if necessary, for a calming effect,” Fai suggested. “In order to quicken and strengthen the peace process, United States would definitely recommend improving the atmosphere in Kashmir by revoking the Domicile Law, which is designed to change the demography of Kashmir, releasing of all political prisoners, a full restoration of civil liberties, including the liberty to express themselves peacefully on the question of their own future,” Fai concluded.

8        One martyred; Dec 25 2021; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one Kashmiri youth in Islamabad district, today.The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Arwani area of the district. The troops blocked all entry and exit points of Arwani, subjecting the local residents to huge inconvenience. The occupation authorities suspended the internet and mobile services in the area. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/24/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-islamabad.html

9        Four martyred; Dec 25 2021: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism martyred four more youth in south Kashmir. A joint team of Indian army, Central Reserve Police Force and police martyred two youth in Chowgam area of Shopian and two in Hardumir, Tral area of Pulwama during cordon and search operations. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/25/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-shopian.html

 

Kashmir Update 159: Week , Dec  13 , 2021 to Dec,19 , 2021   2021

1        Two martyred; Dec 13 2021 : In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian forces in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in Srinagar district.The youth were martyred by Indian troops during a cordon and search operation in Rangret area of the district, today. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/13/indian-troops-martyr-two-kashmiri-youth-in-srinagar.html

2        One martyred; Dec 15 2021: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one more Kashmiri youth in Pulwama district, today morning https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/15/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-pulwama-3.html

3        Mosque closed; Dec 17 2021;  Jamia Masjid, the grand mosque of Srinagar, dominates its neighborhood with an imposing main gate and massive turrets. It can hold 33,000 worshippers, and on special occasions over the years hundreds of thousands of Muslims have filled nearby lanes and roads to offer prayers led from the mosque. In this bitter dispute, the mosque in Kashmir's main city has largely remained closed for the past two years. The mosque's chief priest has been detained in his home almost nonstop throughout that time, and the mosque's main gate is padlocked and blocked with corrugated tin sheets on Friday  Many Kashmiri Muslims have long said New Delhi curbs their religious freedom on the pretext of law and order while promoting and patronizing the annual Hindu pilgrimage to an icy Himalayan cave visited by hundreds of thousands of Hindus from across  Authorities often clamped down, banning prayers at the mosque for extended periods. According to official data, the mosque was closed for at least 250 days in 2008, 2010 and 2016 combined.India.https://www.npr.org/2021/12/16/1064743864/in-kashmir-closed-mosque-raises-questions-about-indias-religious-freedom

4        Two martyred;  Dec 16  2021: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred two more Kashmiri youth in Kulgam district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/16/indian-troops-martyr-two-kashmiri-youth-in-kulgam-2.html

5        UNGA on Kashmir; Dec 15 2021; The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York adopted with consensus on Friday a Pakistan-sponsored resolution, titled 'Universal Realisation of the Right of the Peoples to Self-Determination', which "unequivocally supports the right to self-determination for all peoples under subjugation, alien domination and foreign occupation", including those of Indian-occupied Kashmir.  Co-sponsored by 72 countries, the resolution secured the support of all UN member states due to its "universal character of the right to self-determination and its continued applicability in situations of foreign occupation and intervention", the FO said. . https://www.dawn.com/news/1664341/hope-for-kashmiris-unga-adopts-pakistan-sponsored-resolution-on-right-to-self-determination

 

Kashmir Update 157: Week , Dec  6 , 2021 to Dec,12 , 2021   2021

1        AFSPA ; Dec 7 2021; On Saturday, December 4, Indian Army personnel shot and killed what is now a toll of 15 civilians in Nagaland  The Union government, in agreement with states, uses a controversial legislation to deploy armed forces in “disturbed areas” of the country to “support” state governments. This legislation, called the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), has a dark history. Among the many provisions that are cause for human rights concerns, AFSPA has provisions that allow for rare circumstances under which accused personnel can be tried in a court. AFSPA has established a culture of impunity that allow military forces and governments to completely disregard human rights and the rule of law. Allegations of human rights abuses under AFSPA include personnel committing rape, using human shields on army vehicles, fake encounters, and disappearance while in custody.  A disturbed area, according to the Act, refers to when an area “is in such a disturbed or dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary”. This essentially allows the Union government to use the Army or the Central Armed Forces in anti-insurgency operations against militants. In the past 12 months, it has been in force in the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland. An identical legislation has been in force in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir since 1990. AFSPA does not have sufficient safeguards to ensure that the personnel conduct operations in a manner which conforms to standards on the use of force in conflict areas. When service personnel commit crimes while on duty, they are rarely held accountable. Accused personnel cannot be prosecuted in a criminal court unless the Union government or a state government agrees to give authorisation to prosecute them Citizens in AFSPA-imposed regions have long advocated abolition of the law for this,   https://thewire.in/rights/afspa-nagaland-civilian-killings

2        Three martyred; Dec 08 2021; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three Kashmiri youth in Shopian district, today. According to Kashmir Media Service, the troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Check-e-Cholan area of the district. The troops also destroyed a residential house by using heavy weapons and chemical substance in the area. Meanwhile, the occupation authorities have suspended the internet service and sealed all entry and exit points of the area. Media persons are not being allowed to conduct coverage of the military operation.  https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/08/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-shopian-2.html

3        India and human Rights; Dec 2021; A consortium of 34 international multi-faith human rights NGOs have written a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris expressing their deep concern that the president’s Summit for Democracy Dec. 9-10 will ignore the widespread violations of human rights, persecution, physical attacks and murder of members of minority religions in India as the government devolves from democracy to fascism. The letter, at more than 1,500 words, provides details and indisputable facts for 14 instances in which democracy is under attack or being abused by the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and members of his BJP/RSS party. The letter has jointly written by the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action, USA, Alternatives International, Canada, Ambedkar International Center, USA, Ambedkar King Study Circle, USA, Anti-Caste Discrimination Alliance, UK, Association of Indian Muslims of America, USA, Aotearoa Alliance Of Progressive Indians (Aotearoa New Zealand.), Center for Pluralism, USA, CERAS (Centre sur l’asie du sud), Montreal, Canada, Chicago Coalition for Human Rights in India (CCHRI), USA, Coalition Against Fascism in India (CAFI), USA, Coalition of Seattle Indian Americans, USA, Dalit Solidarity Forum, USA, Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations (FIACONA), North America, Foundation: The London Story, EU, Friends of India—Texas, USA, Hindus for Human Rights, USA, India Civil Watch International, North America, India Justice Project, Germany, Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), USA, India Solidarity Germany, Germany, International Christian Concern, USA, International Commission for Dalit Rights, USA, International Solidarity for Academic Freedom in India, International, International Society for Peace and Justice, USA, Punjabi Literary and Cultural Association (PLCA) Winnipeg, Canada, Scottish Indians for Justice, Scotland, South Asian Dalit Adivasi Network, Canada, South Asian Left Activist Movement (SALAM), USA, South Asia Solidarity Group, UK, Students Against Hindutva Ideology, USA, The Humanism Project, Australia, Turbine Bagh, UK, Voices Against Fascism in India, USA and Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), USA. The letter also expresses regret that more members of the international civil society were not included in planning for the summit, and those who were involved were warned that specific instances of member nations’ internal affairs, abuses, discrimination and persecution will be off-limits. “While your organizing principles are commendable, the process has been weak and exclusionary,” the letter states. “… We are committed to working with your administration to strengthen the Democracy Summit process. We therefore seek urgent consultation with your administration, not only to ensure that the Democracy Summit gets off to a meaningful start, but also that the process going forward gains in strength at every stage.” Unfortunately, the present Indian government cannot be considered one that shares the democratic values of your administration. While our two countries could never have claimed to be perfect democracies, it is important that the Summit start from acknowledging one key fact: the past seven years of BJP/RSS rule in India have seen a sharp and dramatic backsliding when it comes to democratic norms. Take the case of the Farm Laws: after passing sweeping laws as an ordinance without any consultation with farmers or the opposition, the government brutally repressed and demonized the farmers’ movement against the laws. Even the repeal of the three laws occurred in a manner suited to strongmen: instead of communicating with farmers, or following the parliamentary process, Mr Modi unilaterally announced the repeal. Not a word was said by Mr Modi about the 700+ deaths that his government’s intransigence and authoritarian approach in the matter had produced. We appreciate the three organizing principles around which the summit is organized, but urge you to attend to our critical concerns regarding India under each of these pillars: Defending against Authoritarianism: Freedom House has downgraded India’s democracy to “partly free.” International commentators from every major media publication have consistently raised the issue of India’s authoritarian turn over the last seven years. Three specific issues must be raised with Mr Modi: Anti-Minority Laws: The Modi government began its second term with the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act. Together with its corollary processes of the National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register, the CAA/NRC/NPR create a framework for the active disenfranchisement of India’s largest minority—Muslims—stripping away their voting and citizenship rights. Not challenging these would be the equivalent of abetting conditions for a future genocide. All this is playing out in the context of a series of other laws targeting religious minorities, including anti-conversion and anti-inter religious marriage laws, which also target Christians. In addition, Christian institutions are under attack, with International Christian Concern counting India among the seven worst persecutors of Christians in the world. Kashmir: The sudden revocation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, and the overwhelming use of the military in Kashmir, with there being one soldier for every seven Kashmiris at one stage, is already being acknowledged internationally as the single most visible and unambiguous sign of BJP/RSS authoritarianism and its willingness to run roughshod over constitutional protections and guarantees; Dissent, Political Prisoners, and Draconian Laws: The last 7 years have seen a continuous and rising tide of arrest and imprisonment of dissenters under draconian anti-terror laws such as UAPA and the NSA in India. The Bhima Koregaon 16 case, the arrests of students, activists, and journalists in the wake of the Northeast Delhi violence, and most recently the arrests of journalists reporting on religious violence in Tripura, are just the most known instances. Those jailed without trial include some of India’s most prominent public intellectuals, poets, writers, journalists, lawyers, and leaders of the women’s movement. At least one prominent arrestee, Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy, passed away while still in custody due to the effects of being incarcerated during a global pandemic in his 80s. If dissent is the most important aspect of an active democracy, then PM Modi has a unique record in its repression. This includes significant evidence that in the landmark BK-16 case, evidence was falsely planted on defendants’ computers through malware, opening up a new vector of attack on critics of the government ;Addressing and Fighting Corruption:While the Modi government first came to office on an anti-corruption plank, it has since proven to be one of the most opaque and nontransparent governments India has known. Three issues of international scale and core to American interests and values must be raised with PM Modi at the summit: Electoral Bonds: The Modi government introduced electoral bonds in 2015, sneaking them in as part of the budget process. This set into place the most opaque electoral finance system in the democratic world. It allows for national and international corporations to pay into party funds with no oversight and no transparency. From summary figures available, it is clear that large numbers of international shell companies are involved in financing Indian political parties, and that the BJP is by far the single largest recipient of such funds. While US funders of electoral bonds in India must be revealed, this assault on the financial underpinnings of India’s democracy must stop ; Rafale and Crony Capitalism: India’s position as a valued member of the Quad is premised on transparent and incorruptible trade, particularly in the arms sector. The Rafale deal with France is a subject of an ongoing French investigation. What has already been revealed about the deal, including data submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General in India, points to a specific corporation being favored, and millions of dollars of graft money being at play. Democracy cannot survive in an atmosphere of crony capitalism ; PMCARES Fund: The PMCARES fund is at the centre of the financial scandal that emerged even as India faced two devastating waves of the pandemic. Under Indian law and as per the government’s promotional material while raising money for PMCARES, this fund meets the definition of a government fund. And yet, today, the government of India claims the fund is not a government fund, and refuses to release any details about it, even though several government agencies, including the Indian consulate in Washington, DC, and 26 other countries, advertised PMCARES and helped raise funds for it! ; Advancing Respect for Human Rights:This government is marked by explicit attacks on human rights coming from its top leadership. PM Modi has demonized non-governmental organizations by claiming they are working to “finish him”; Amit Shah has dismissed human rights as Western concepts that don’t apply to India; National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has branded civil society as the “new frontier of war”; and Bipin Rawat, the chief of defence staff, has valorized lynching. Such naked attacks on human rights from the very top echelons of the administration need to be a central concern of the summit ; Digital surveillance and planting of evidence: Two recent revelations on surveillance and evidence planting, potentially by the Indian state, suggest a severe rise in the misuse of spying technologies to attack critics of the government. Pegasus was used to snoop on journalists, top opposition leaders, and even independent election commissioners; the malware Netwire went one step further and planted evidence on the computers of dissenters. While several democratic governments have opened investigations in the wake of these revelations, the Indian government has refused to do so thus far. Given your recent sanctions against the NSO Group, the US must call on Mr Modi to immediately stop the use of malware to target civil society, investigate these harms, and punish offenders; Worsening caste oppression and erosion of legislative protections: Caste remains the most pervasive form of violation of basic human rights in India, and the last several years have seen an alarming increase in caste atrocities. Particularly in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the BJP-led state government and police have themselves been complicit in covering up sexual violence against Dalits. Groups connected to the RSS have led to violence against Dalits on university campuses and in the state of Gujarat. Moreover, the Modi government failed to protect provisions in the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which acts as a crucial deterrent, until protests and the opposition forced it to do so. The BK-16 case is another example of the BJP/RSS’s punitive retaliation against Dalit assertion and their exercising of civil and cultural rights by commemorating Dalit valour in the historic Bhima-Koregaon battle; Labor Codes: In September 2020, the Narendra Modi government passed new laws governing Labor when the opposition was absent from Parliament. These laws make it harder for labour unions to be recognized; harder for workers to go on strike, and made it easier for some companies to lay off workers with impunity. The assault on labour rights is a critical part of the Modi government’s overall assault on human rights ; The Swedish V-Dem Institute has described India as an “electoral autocracy,” and we agree: this is the single most anti-democratic government India has ever seen. Therefore, we are committed to working with your administration to strengthen the Democracy Summit process. https://twocircles.net/2021dec08/444316.html

4        73 years on: Kashmir crisis remains a living hell; Dec 10, 2021; Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum today lamented the seeming conspiracy of silence over gross affronts to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in Indian occupied Kashmir, an occupation which itself violates still binding United Nations Security Council resolutions dictating a self-determination there under United Nations supervision. That unheroic muteness has emboldened India to a chilling campaign of human rights atrocities against innocent Kashmiris. The 900,000 Indian military and paramilitary forces operate outside the rule of law under the protective umbrella of an Indian immunity statute. Egregious human rights violations are commonplaces:  extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, plunder, abductions, mutilations, and arbitrary detentions. It is even a crime to salute implementation of the Security Council plebiscite resolutions, a shocking affront to the Council itself. “The presence of the ‘UDHR’ and other human rights instruments offers no comfort to the people of Kashmir because its framers have not lived up to its spirit, at least applying it selectively to suit the objectives of certain powers. The candor and fair-mindedness support the conclusion that the United Nations has been painfully ineffective measured by the yardsticks of international peace, human rights, and self-determination,” Fai added. Fai warned that the people of Kashmir can hardly believe that august bodies such as the United Nations recognize that the preservation of international peace and the realization of human rights are shared and common concerns of humankind. They are simply perplexed as to how to interpret such joi de vivre. Over seventy-three years have lapsed since the adoption of this Declaration but the people of Kashmir have not seen an iota of change in the human rights situation in Kashmir. For worse may be but never for the better. Such documents are meaningless for the people of Kashmir or for any other people who do not see their application, or even a negative mention to those who ride rough shod over them with total impunity while enjoying the good graces of some of the members of the world community to aspire to a high moral station above others. If international law were applied evenhandedly in Kashmir, an international war crimes tribunal would have been established years ago to try the scores of Indian civilian and military leaders guilty of crimes against humanity and aggression. What Slobodan Milosevich did in Kosovo and Bosnia pales in comparison to what Indian civilian and military grandees have done in Kashmir for 73 successive years, something resembling genocide on the installment plan. "Too often," Dr. Fai deplored, "the international community closes its eyes to the brutal reality of Kashmir because of India's hegemony in South Asia and its potentially attractive consumer market. It has crowned India with a veto power over outside intervention. A shocking affront to the Council itself. Yet, India has the temerity to seek a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council. Dr. Fai appealed to the United Nations to persuade India for: i). Complete cessation of military and paramilitary action by Indian forces against the people of Jammu and Kashmir; ii).  Unconditional release of political prisoners iii).  Repealing of all draconian laws; iv) Revoking Domicile Law which is designed to change the demography of Kashmir and v). Restoring the right of peaceful association, assembly, and demonstration. “If the peaceful settlement to Kashmir crisis is to be reached, and if India is to stop dealing with the crises through sheer brutality and terror, world attention must be focused on Kashmir. Today, in this hour of darkness, in this hour of trial, in this hour of total isolation and entrapment, the people of Kashmir are being mangled and decimated, their land is being scorched. Everyday scores of people of dying, with them are dying the hopes of an entire generation and entire civilization,” Fai concluded. Dr. Fai can be reached at: 1-202-607-6435. Or.  gnfai2003@yahoo.com  

5        Youth martyred; Dec 12, 2021: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred one Kashmiri youth in Pulwama district. The youth was martyred by Indian troops, paramilitary and police personnel during cordon and search operation at Baragam area of the district, today, (Sunday) morning.. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/12/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-pulwama-2.html 

Kashmir Update 157: Week , Nov ,29 2021 to DeC,5,  2021

1        Bhutan china border agreement; NoV 29 2021; The Bhutan-China memorandum of understanding (MOU) of October 14  speaks of a three-step road map for a settlement of the China-Bhutan boundary. Like the Sino-Indian border, the entire 477-km Bhutan-China border is also disputed. Significant Chinese claims range from three areas in western Bhutan, including Doklam, three regions in the north, and a June 2020 reassertion of its claim to a large chunk of eastern Bhutan There were two reasons for this. First, adding territory in the west would help enlarge the narrow and strategic Chumbi Valley, and second, possession of Doklam would give it a military advantage over India. The Doklam area is not of particular strategic significance for Bhutan, but it is important for India since it gets the Chinese to the Zompelri (Jampheri) ridge, which gives them a commanding view of India’s Northeastern jugular, also known as the Siliguri Corridor. By the 10th round of talks in 1995, the Bhutanese appeared willing to concede to the Chinese  A round each of border and expert group talks took place in 2016 just before the Doklam crisis of June 2017. This was triggered by an Indian blockade in Bhutanese territory that was claimed by China to prevent the latter from building a several-km long road to a Royal Bhutan Army outpost on Zompelri ridge. But no sooner had India and China negotiated disengagement at the end of August 2017 that Beijing redoubled moves to establish itself in the Doklam plateau. It simply altered its route to the ridge and began a massive military build-up which has featured accommodations for troops and helipads. China also began building a model village on the Mochu river and a road snaking south towards India, all in Bhutanese territory. The Bhutanese have remained silent spectators and New Delhi has chosen to look the other way. Earlier this year, China expert Robert Barnett and his team revealed that, since 2015, the Chinese had been building a network of roads, buildings and military posts in the areas they claimed in northern Bhutan as well. In short, they were occupying whatever they claimed in Bhutan, without as much as a “by your leave” to the Bhutanese. For the Bhutanese, securing a comprehensive agreement on the border is of the highest priority. The problem for the tiny Himalayan kingdom is that, unlike, its neighbourhood, it is not very populous, with just some 750,000 people in an area of 38,000 sq km — a little smaller than Denmark but with one-seventh of its population. Its capacity to police its disputed borders is limited, as has been evident over the years that it has dealt with China. In South Asia, China sees Bhutan, where it does not yet have an embassy, as the last frontier. Having made inroads into Indian pre-eminence in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Beijing would like to challenge New Delhi’s special relationship with Bhutan as well. Recent events, including Doklam and the revival of its claim in the eastern region, can be seen as systematic Chinese pressure to push the Bhutanese to comply with its demands. But recent developments suggest a perception in Bhutan that there are limits to which it can depend on India for its security. With New Delhi itself hard-pressed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), it is unlikely to be of much help to Bhutan. On the other hand, a settled border could have many benefits, including Chinese investments and tourists. https://www.orfonline.org/research/the-china-bhutan-border-deal-should-worry-india/

2        Kashmir Referendum; Nov 30 2021; The answer is simple, ‘Internationalization of the Conflict’. For a unified stand, an international forum called ‘Sikhs for Justice’ (SJF) was created. Through SFJ, the community reached out for the world to understand their plight under ‘Hindu Fascism India declared the Sikh struggle for freedom as terrorism as it called for the dismemberment of the Indian Union. Now India was at the receiving end. In 1971 it succeeded in convincing the world that the Indian supported ‘Mukti Bihani’ armed struggle against Pakistan was a freedom movement that eventually led to the creation of Bangladesh. While two very successful models of struggle (Khalistan, Bangladesh) exist, there are lessons to be learned for the liberation of Kashmir. Indian designs of neutralizing the Muslim majority have to be exposed at all forums. Referendums have to be organized all over the world to determine the will of the people. United Kingdom (UK) has a large expatriate community. The first vote should take place in London, followed by New York where the Kashmiris should exercise their will in a free environment. Pakistan has a role to play but the Kashmiris have to lead their freedom struggle. ‘The Khalistan approach is effective which should be replicated. Cracks have started to appear in the Indian Union which is now under the Fascist Hindu regime of the Butcher of Gujrat where minorities are unsafe, referendum is the only way out. https://www.globalvillagespace.com/lessons-for-kashmir-from-the-khalistan-referendum/

3        Human cost; Dec 1 2021; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their continued acts of state terrorism martyred 651 Kashmiris including 13 women since 2019 in the territory. According to a report compiled by Research Section of Kashmir Media, of those 99 Kashmiris were killed by the Indian troops, paramilitary and police personnel in fake encounters and custody since 2019. The Indian troops, paramilitary, police personnel and notorious National Investigation Agency arrested over 18,000 Hurriyat leaders, activists, youth, students, journalists, civil society members and women in, at least, 12,694 cordon and search operations in the territory. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/11/30/indian-troops-martyr-651-kashmiris-in-iiojk-since-2019.html

4        November 2021 Human cost; Dec 2 2021; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops, in their unabated acts of state terrorism martyred twenty Kashmiris during the last month of November. According to the data issued by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service, today, of those killed eight Kashmiris were martyred in fake encounters and in custody. These killings rendered three (3) woman widowed and six (6) children orphaned and a house was damaged by Indian troops during the period. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/01/indian-troops-martyr-20-kashmiris-in-november.html

5        UAE on Kashmir; Dec 4 2021;In what can only be described as a knife in the back of eight million Kashmiri Muslims, Dubai – one of the UAE’s seven Emirates – recently signed an accord with the Indian Government to build infrastructure in the Indian-occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir, an internationally recognised disputed territory. While only a memorandum of understanding at this stage, the deal will see Dubai deliver more than a billion dollars’ worth of projects in Kashmir – including industrial parks, a medical college, a specialty hospital, logistic centres, IT towers and multi-purpose towers. What it will also deliver is a staggering blow to Kashmiri aspirations for self-determination, putting the territory’s Muslim majority at greater geopolitical distance from the plebiscite promised to them by the UN Security Council in 1948. The Indian Government can barely conceal its giddiness, however, with Trade Minister Piyush Goyal boasting: “The world has started to recognise the pace [at] which Jammu and Kashmir is traversing on the development bandwagon.” “Development” is the banner under which Narendra Modi’s Government has tried to sell its move to suddenly and anti-democratically strip Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status on 5 August 2019. But, instead of development, the disputed territory’s Muslim majority has received only ‘security’ crackdowns, curfews, telecommunications black-outs, internet bans and travel restrictions – all of which are designed to cut Kashmiris off from the outside world. These draconian measures have been supplemented with the mass arrest and detainment of local political leaders, journalists, secessionists, human rights defenders, and vocal critics of the Indian government – which, in turn, has mobilised indigenous armed resistance groups, providing New Delhi with the pretext to crackdown even harder; a reality affirmed by the detainment of more than 700 so-called ‘terrorist sympathisers‘ in recent weeks. Put simply, life hasn’t improved for the average Kashmiri because India wants Kashmir – but not its people. So it uses ‘economic development’ as fig-leaf for settler-colonialism. But, as the state of Israel knows all too well, colonisation is problematic without the backing of international partners. Enter the United Arab Emirates, which only recently normalised Israel’s settler-colonial enterprise in the occupied Palestinian Territories by becoming the lead signatory to the Abraham Accords, signed last year with former US President Donald Trump. https://bylinetimes.com/2021/12/03/the-uae-has-stabbed-kashmir-in-the-back/

 

6        United Nations, Dec 03 2021: Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, today, made public the communication to India on multiple acts of intimidation of journalists. According to Kashmir Media Service, the communication was in context to the harassment of 2 journalists based in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir Qazi Shibli and Aakash Hassan and another hailing from the Indian state of Bihar, Chandrabhushan Tiwari. “We fear that the lack of investigation and follow up with the human rights defenders may be a sign that corruption within the Indian police forces may extend beyond the officers reported to have taken bribes. We are deeply concerned that the unwarranted attacks against the journalists may be an attempt to clamp down on freedom of expression and silence reporting on human rights issues in India,” the communication added. If confirmed, these attacks would raise serious concerns regarding the environment in India for the lawful exercise of the journalistic profession, the statement read. “We also expressed our deep concern regarding the alleged raids on the home of Qazi Shibli and his family members. We fear that these raids are a worrying illustration of a pattern of targeted harassment of journalists in Jammu and Kashmir, raising further serious concerns regarding the ability for journalists to exercise their profession free from threats or intimidation,” the statement concluded. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/12/03/un-special-rapporteurs-express-concern-over-excessive-use-of-force-against-iiojk-journalists.html

   

Kashmir Update 156: Week , Nov ,22, 2021 to Nov,28,  2021

1        UN; Nov 4 2021; Rights groups including the United Nations have criticised the arrest of a prominent activist in Indian-administered Kashmir on terror funding charges.Khurram Parvez was arrested late on Monday by India's federal National Investigation Agency (NIA), an Indian official briefed on the situation told Reuters. His residence and office were searched and a mobile phone, laptop and books seized, he added. A spokesperson for the NIA confirmed Parvez's arrest on Tuesday. He is being held under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, that allows for detention of up to six months without trial. Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, called Parvez's arrest "disturbing". "He's not a terrorist, he's a human rights defender," she said in a tweet. Parvez, one of Kashmir's best known activists, is head of Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, a group of rights organisations working in the region. It(India)  tightly controls access to Kashmir for foreign observers, including the UN UN criticises 'disturbing' arrest of rights activist in Indian Kashmir | Reuters

2        Three martyred; Nov., 5 ,202l: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three Kashmiri youth in Srinagar, today. The troops shot dead the youth in Rambagh area of Srinagar. The killings triggered forceful anti-India demonstrations. The protesters raised high-pitched anti-India and pro-freedom slogans. The demonstrators said that the youth were innocent civilians and were killed by the troops in a fake encounter. Eyewitnesses told media that the victims were taken out from a car and shot dead on the street by the troops. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/11/24/indian-troops-martyr-three-kashmiri-youth-in-srinagar.html

3        Kashmiris have not forgotten UN promises; Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai; Nov., 25, 2021; the people of Jammu & Kashmir have not forgotten that it was on April 21, 1948, that the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution # 47 which states that the future of Kashmir shall be decided by its inhabitants. There have been successive United Nations security Council resolutions that pledged to the people of Kashmir their right to self-determination. The Indian Government has barred the exercise of this right and has waged a campaign of terror against the people of Kashmir. The Kashmiris have become victims of systematic and extreme brutalities, and nothing has been done by the world powers or any organ of the United Nations including the Secretary General to permit them any relief or redress. Each time the people of Kashmir have demanded the right to self-determination, Indian authorities have responded with extreme repression. India is a signatory to the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights,’ which guarantees that ‘everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person,’ that ‘no one shall be subjected to torture, or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,’ and that ‘no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.’ These rights are being violated by the Indian army and its paramilitary forces, day in, day out. Since 1989, the Indian Government has embarked upon a campaign of mass slaughter, rape and robbery against the people of Kashmir. It is estimated that since January 1990, more than 100,000 people have been killed in Kashmir at the hands of the Indian forces of occupation. More than 10,000 persons have involuntarily disappeared. Their wives are called “Half-widows” because no one knows whether they are dead or alive. Further, it is estimated that hundreds of Kashmiris are held as political prisoners by the government of India. Very recently, on November 15, 2021, the killing of three innocent Kashmiris, Dr. Mudasir Gul, Altaf Butt and Mohammad Amir in Hyderpora, Srinagar, Kashmir in a fake encounter has once again shaken the conscience of the global civil society. This act of barbarism by occupation army signifies the death of so-called Indian democracy. This latest killing of innocent civilians needs a transparent investigation by a neutral outside agency, like the United Nations. And, now the Arrest of World-renowned Human Rights Activist Khurram Parvez by NIA of India on November 21, 2021 is obviously travesty of justice. Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defender tweeted: Khurram Parvez is not a terrorist. He is a Human Rights Defender. India has legalized torture, arbitrary arrest, wanton destruction of property and has given its soldiers the right to kill at sight, and to conduct searches without warrant. Here are few black laws authorized by the Government of India which clearly violate international standards. The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA). This law enables the Indian armed forces in Kashmir to detain civilians for up to one year without trial or due process for a wide variety of reasons, including the exercise of free speech. Under this law, an individual who prints pamphlets and newsletters that advocate the implementation of the United Nations resolutions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir can also be arrested and detailed without formal charge or due process. That is why the Amnesty International calls the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 'Lawless Law. In 2011, Amnesty International’s ‘Lawless Law’ report revealed that, given the political context in J&K, the PSA was used to detain, among others, political leaders, lawyers, and individuals who challenged the state through political action or peaceful dissent. The report found that the PSA provides for arbitrary detention, which violates the right to liberty under human rights law binding on India. Furthermore, the report found that state authorities also used the PSA to facilitate other human rights violations, including incommunicado detentions, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (other ill-treatment) in custody, and detention on vague grounds. Based on these findings, the report called on the Government of J&K to repeal the PSA, abolish the administrative detention system, either release those held under the PSA or charge them with a recognised criminal offence, and to try them in a regular court in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness. The Terrorist and Disruptive Act (TADA). This act allows Indian forces to round up and detain citizens for up to one year without formal charges, due process of law or formal trial. When and if court hearings are held, they are held in secret. Victims are not allowed to confront their accusers, and witnesses can keep their identities secret. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 (UAPA). Under UAPA a person can be incarcerated up to 180 days without a charge sheet being filed. It does not allow right to dissent. The Amnesty International Executive Director has said that UAPA has been used to “target journalists and human rights defenders who criticize government policies.” The National Security Act. Under this law, the Indian armed forces can detain individuals for up to one year without charges or trial to prevent them from ‘acting in a manner prejudicial to state security.’ Under his law, an individual does not even have to take a specific action to be detained. If the Indian authorities believe that he is about to do something, they can detain him without charge to prevent him from acting The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) [Jammu and Kashmir]. . This law was passed on September 10, 1990. It allows the Governor of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to unilaterally ‘declare the whole or any part f the state to be a disturbed area.’ By identifying Kashmir as a disturbed area, this act empowers the armed forces to search homes without warrant, arrest Kashmiri people without warrant, destroy entire home and villages and shoot innocent civilians in the streets with intent to kill. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in her report issued on July8, 2019 states, "The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act 1990 (AFSPA) remains a key obstacle to accountability. As described in the June 2018 OHCHR report, this Act grants broad powers to the security forces operating in Jammu and Kashmir and effectively bestows immunity on security forces from prosecution in civilian courts for their conduct, by requiring the Central Government to sanction all prospective prosecutions against such personnel." Justice Rajinder Sachar, former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, during an event organized by ‘People’s Union for Civil Liberties’ on May 7, 2016, urged all to unite to pressurise the government to repeal sedition laws and Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) . Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani, President, Jammu Kashmir Council for Human Rights submitted a written statement to the UN Human Rights Council on August 30, 2019. He elaborated that there was a war going on between the people of Kashmir and the Indian Security forces. The June 2018 and July 2019 reports by OHCHR have detailed the situation. According to these reports “The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act (AFSPA) grants broad powers to the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir and effectively bestows immunity on security forces from prosecution in civilian courts for their conduct, by requiring the Central Government to sanction all prospective prosecutions against such personnel”. For any of the above actions, article 7 of the act, titled ‘protection of persons acting in good faith under this act’ holds that ‘no prosecutions, suit or other legal proceeding shall be instituted…against any person in respect to anything done or purported to be done in exercise of the powers conferred by this act. This means that any member of the armed forces who conducts the above-described human rights violations – torture, summary executions of civilians, burning down homes and villages, and arbitrary arrest – can do so with total immunity from prosecution. These draconian laws violate articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights (ICCPR). Currently, two dangerous misunderstandings exist about the Kashmir issue. If allowed to continue, they can destroy the potential of peace making in the subcontinent:  These are: (a)  Kashmiris have been battered into submission by Indian forces through these draconian laws. (b)  India is unbendingly opposed to giving up her occupation of Kashmir; so it is futile to bring any pressure on her. As regards the first, one need only to recall what happened to a nation as great as France under the 5-year Nazi occupation.  That so many prominent Frenchmen and sections of French society refused to offer any resistance to German forces; that men of standing like Petain and Laval collaborated with the Nazis are undeniable facts.  Did they betoken even a limited popularity of the Nazis?  Certainly not.  All they brought out was the opportunism of a few individuals or groups and the weakness inherent in human nature when confronted with life’s necessities.  The thinking runs along these lines: life is to be lived; if an overarching issue is remaining undecided, one has still to face relatively minor but pressing day-to-day matters and one has to try to tackle them. If this happened in France in four or five years of alien occupation, is it any wonder that it should happen in Kashmir after seventy-four years of unremittingly suppressive alien rule. The second misunderstanding arises from a superficial reading of realities. It is true that successive governments in India have persistently presented a completely intransigent front on the Kashmir issue. But if no cracks are visible in that front, it is because no pressure whatsoever has been applied which would expose the realities under the surface. During the last two years or so, particularly since August 5, 2019, when Article 370 and 35A were abrogated, several articles have appeared in the international press and even in mainstream India press written by thoughtful Indians opposed to the official policy on the issue. They take their stand not on morality but realistically on India’ own long-term interest. That an unresolved Kashmir issue, the occupation of Kashmir in defiance of the people’s wishes, has damaged India’s democratic credentials and hence her standing and aspiration for an enhanced status in the United Nations is a point of emphasis in their pleadings. Only shallow thinking will regard this current of Indian opinion as inconsequential. If world powers want to help bring about a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute, it must demand from India as a first step, the immediate repeal of these black laws. The world powers and particularly, the United Nations Human Rights Council is in a position to arrest the course of brutalities by examining and exposing the situation and persuading both India and Pakistan that the way to bring peace and stability to the region of South Asia is by resolving the Kashmir dispute to the satisfaction of all parties concerned. Dr. Fai is the Secretary General of Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum. He can be reached at: 1-202-607-6435.  Or gnfai2003@yahoo.com Courtesy: Daily Sabah, Istanbul

4        One martyred; Nov., 27, 2021; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred a youth in Poonch district. The youth was martyred by Indian troops during a continued violent military operation in Bhimber Gali, area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/11/26/india-troops-martyr-one-youth-in-poonch.html

 

 

Kashmir Update 155: Week , Nov ,15, 2021 to Nov,22,  2021

1        Four martyred; Nov., 16, 2021: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred three Kashmiri businessmen and a surgeon doctor in cold blood in Srinagar. The troops martyred a cement trader Altaf Ahmad Butt, a property dealer, a tea stall owner and a dental surgeon identified as Mudassar during a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Hyderpora area of the city on Monday evening.  Speaking to the media, martyr Altaf Butt’s niece Saima Butt said that her uncle was a common man and was not involved in any militant activity as claimed by the police. “My uncle has been murdered. He was used as a human shield during the cordon and search operation. He ran a hardware shop and owned the complex where the forces had come for checking,” said Saima. During protest at Press Enclave in Srinagar, family members of the victims also demanded the return of bodies of the victims for proper burial. “Police should return the body of my beloved son,” said the wailing mother of victim Dr Mudasir, adding that her son was innocent. Other family members of martyrs outrightly rejected police claim and added that all the martyrs were innocent. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/11/16/indian-troops-martyr-three-traders-in-srinagar-in-cold-blood.html

2        Extra judicial killings; No 18,2021; the international rights advocacy group headquartered in the US, has sought a “credible and independent” probe into the allegations that a civilian was used as a human shield during a shootout in Srinagar’s Hyderpora localit. Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of HRW, said it was the “responsibility of security forces to keep civilians from harm during an armed operation, not to place them in harm’s way.” “The authorities should immediately order a transparent, credible and independent investigation into this incident,” The killing of businessman Altaf Ahmad Bhat, father of three minor children, in a controversial shootout that left four people dead in Srinagar, has sparked allegations that he was used as a human shield by security forces In a conflict situation, the Geneva Conventions, to which India is a signatory, forbid the use of human shields who can be either civilians or prisoners of war. A human shield is used by any side involved in a conflict in a potentially life-threatening situation to achieve their own military objectives.  Eyewitnesses and family members who spoke with The Wire said a search team of security forces led by the J&K police asked Altaf, owner of the shopping complex in Srinagar’s Hyderpora locality where the shootout took place, to accompany them when they started the anti-militancy operation.  “If security forces knew there were militants inside the building, why did they ask my brother to accompany them? They deliberately put him in harm’s way. He was used as a human shield,” Altaf’s brother, Abdul Majid Bhat, told The Wire, dismissing rumours that his brother was linked to militancy. Majid’s claim has been corroborated by several eyewitnesses who saw the happenings at the shopping complex when the search unit started the operation on Monday at around 5:30 pm. Two eyewitnesses who spoke with The Wire on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that when the search unit arrived, counterinsurgency forces in the civvies were already deployed in the area, “They asked the traders to down their shutters while other forces laid a cordon around the complex,” said an eyewitness.Security forces then assembled the traders and their workers in a two-wheeler showroom housed in the shopping complex and seized their mobile phones. As the cordon was tightened, the search unit attempted their first entry into the complex  Habeeb Iqbal, a human rights lawyer based in south Kashmir, said the statement of the J&K police suggests that Altaf was asked to accompany them when the “possibility of a gunfight was high”, which is “illegal  The families of Altaf and Dr Mudasir staged a protest in Srinagar’s Press Enclave on Wednesday evening, demanding that the police must return their mortal remains so that they could perform the last rites. Despite freezing cold conditions, the families, which included the wife and one-year-old daughter of Dr Mudasir, were planning to continue the protest through the night.“We don’t want justice. We only want the body of my brother. We want to get a glimpse of his face and give him a decent burial close to his home so that we can visit his grave and pray for him,” Majid, Altaf’s brother said. https://thewire.in/security/srinagar-encounter-eyewitnesses-civilians-human-shields-hrw-probe-demanded

3        One martyred: Nov., 20. 2021: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one Kashmiri youth in Kulgam district, today. According to Kashmir Media Service, the troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Ashmuji area of the district. Indian troops martyr one Kashmiri youth in Kulgam – Kashmir Media Service (kmsnews.org)

 

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Kashmir Update 154: Week , Nov ,8, 2021 to Nov,15,  2021

1        Bahraini lawmaker and India: Nov., 11, 2021: Bahraini lawmaker, Abdulrazzaq Hattab, has issued a scathing condemnation of India for the violence against Muslim which has increased in the country over the years, threatening to start a boycott of trade between the two countries. In a speech he gave in Bahrain's parliament recently, Hattab spoke against the deliberate targeting of Muslims by right-wing Hindu nationalists in India. "These practices are against international laws and Abrahamic religions, and also contradict with humanity and the country's obligation to provide safety to its citizens and their freedom, regardless of their religion and beliefs," he said. State-sanctioned and vigilante actions against Muslims have increased significantly over the years under the current Indian government headed by President Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist support base. According to Hattab, that is especially seen in states like Assam and occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The lawmaker added that "we strongly stand with respect to Islam and the 150 million Muslims in India," and announced that if attacks against Indian Muslims continue, "we will undergo severe action, including trade boycott."  Such a boycott is predicted to have a significant impact, as trade between Manama and New Delhi exceeds $105 billion annually. Hattab also revealed that he and others "tried multiple times to meet with the Indian ambassador in Bahrain to send our message to his government; however, he was making unjustified excuses." The condemnation and the threat of a boycott by the Bahraini lawmaker come two months after Kuwaiti lawmakers also condemned atrocities committed against Muslims by India and Hindu extremists. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20211110-bahrain-lawmaker-condemns-violence-against-muslims-in-india-threatens-trade-boycott/

2        Arunachal Pradesh and China: Nov., 12, 2021; The US report pointed out that China was taking 'incremental and tactical' steps to press its claim, explicitly referring to the construction of a 100-home civilian village in Arunachal Pradesh. Following the publication of a US government report that highlighted China’s construction of a village in Arunachal Pradesh, India on Thursday reiterated that China has been undertaking illegal construction activities “along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which New Delhi has always protested. Earlier this month, the US Department of Defence’s (DOD) report to the Congress on the Chinese military had a special section on the ongoing border standoff between India and China. The report had also pointed out that China was taking “incremental and tactical” steps to press its claim, explicitly referring to the construction of a 100-home civilian village in Arunachal Pradesh in 2020. Bagchi then asserted that China had “undertaken construction activities in the past several years along the border areas including in the areas that it has illegally occupied over the decades”.China claims approximately 38,000 square kilometres (sq. km) in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This is in addition to the 5,180 sq. km that Pakistan signed off to China in 1963. Besides, China has also laid claim to another 90,000 sq. km in the territory of Arunachal Pradesh. Since then, there have been 13 rounds of Corps commander level meetings, which have resulted in de-escalation at two points. However, there has been no progress on the other two remaining standoff locations. At the last meeting in October, both sides issued accusatory statements against each other for the collapse of talks. According to the observations in the Pentagon report, China has expressed its intent to prevent the standoff from spreading into a bigger military conflict. At the same time, the Chinese state media have also asserted that Beijing does not intend to make any territorial concessions. https://thewire.in/diplomacy/after-pentagon-report-india-reiterates-that-china-has-always-done-illegal-construction-at-lac

3        Three martyred: Nov., 12, 2021: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism, martyred two more Kashmiri youth in Kulgam and Srinagar districts, taking the toll to three since yesterday. A youth was martyred by the troops today morning during an ongoing cordon and search operation (CASO) in Chawalgam area of Kulgam district, taking the number of youth killed in the area to two. Earlier, a youth was martyred during the initial stages of the violent military operation, which began in Chawalgam area on Thursday. In Srinagar, the troops martyred a youth in a fake encounter during a separate cordon and search operation in Bemina area of the city. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/11/12/indian-troops-martyr-kashmiri-youth-in-srinagar.html  

Kashmir Update 153: Week , Nov ,1, 2021 to Nov,7,  2021

1        Farmers protest and article 370: Oct, , 2021: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal left a meeting with a farmers’ delegation after having been repeatedly asked to clarify his stance on the Union government’s decision to read down Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. It was Kejriwal and the local AAP unit’s decision to hold a meeting with farmers. However, after hearing repeated queries from farmers on his stand on Article 370, Kejriwal called them “political questions” and left in a huff. Before leaving, Kejriwal was heard saying, “If you have any question regarding farmers, you can ask me.”  In the video, Gurjant Singh Mansa, the district vice-president of the Punjab Kisan Union, is seen asking Kejriwal whether he thinks that the reading down of Article 370 is right or wrong. Hearing this question, Kejriwal asks, “How come this is a farmer’s issue?” Gurjant then says, “It is an issue of the rights of farmers and the state. Those who make such rules for us are the same people who made these three farm  “Whether it was the reading down of Article 370 in J&K or the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, Kejriwal was the first one to support BJP on these laws. He has been toeing the line of the BJP and contests elections only to help the saffron party. If BJP has not supported farmers, how can AAP support them? Farmers are aware of their rights and instead of running away, Kejriwal should have answered their queries,” Dimpa said.   .“J&K enjoyed special status under Article 370, which was similar to Anandpur Sahib Resolution giving greater autonomy to states and restricting the role of the Union government to defence, foreign relations, currency and communication. Today, farmers have become aware of their rights and they want to hold the politicians accountable for their words. The manner in which Kejriwal fled from the meeting shows that he failed to address the queries of farmers,” Nauli said. https://thewire.in/politics/arvind-kejriwal-farmers-article-370

2        Khalistan referendum: Nov., 1, 2021: Thousands of Sikhs across the United Kingdom took part in a referendum for an independent Sikh homeland, Khalistan, at the Queen Elizabeth Centre near the British parliament on Sunday — the day when Indian premier Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984 for ordering Operation Blue Star in a bid to curb the Sikh movement. The voting, organsied by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), started at 9am and continued till 6pm under the supervision and monitoring of a non-aligned panel of direct democracy experts, the Punjab Referendum Commission (PRC). Thousands who took part in the voting process responded to the question: “Should Indian-governed Punjab Be An Independent Country?" Chartered buses from more than 100 Gurdwaras transported voters to the Queen Elizabeth Centre where large queues formed throughout the day as eager voters aimed to get into the hall to cast their votes. More than 200 Sikhs volunteered for the day. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said the SFJ is an international human rights advocacy group that spearheads the campaign for Sikhs’ right to self-determination, which is one of the fundamental rights of all people guaranteed in the UN Charter. He said India had propagated for long that only a few dozen Sikhs were behind the Khalistan movement but the participation by thousands of people in India had shown to the world that Khalistan had the support of tens of millions of Sikhs across the world. Pannun said that the findings of the referendum will be shared with the United Nations and pther international bodies to create a wider consensus.  Pamma, who has been acting as the UK Coordinator for Khalistan Referendum, further stated that the successful participation showed that Sikhs will never forget what India has done to them to annihilate their identity and history. He said that Sikhs have realized that their salvation lies only when they live in an independent homeland called Khalistan. “Today, thousands of Sikhs have exercised their democratic right for independence from India. Sikhs will gain independence from India and that will happen at any cost. This is our birthright and we will get our right to freedom under the internationally recognised laws," said Pamma. He said that after the UK, the referendum would take place in other countries including the US, Canada, Australia, and the region of Punjab   https://www.geo.tv/latest/379407-thousands-of-sikhs-vote-for-khalistan-in-referendum-in-united-kingdom

3        Jammu Martyrs’ Day : Nov., 5, 2021:Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and the world over will observe the Jammu Martyrs’ Day on Saturday to reaffirm the resolve to continue the martyrs’ mission till the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination. Hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris were massacred by the forces of Maharaja Hari Singh, Indian army and Hindu extremists in different parts of Jammu region while they were migrating to Pakistan during the first week of November in 1947  https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/11/04/jammu-martyrs-day-to-be-observed-on-saturday.html

4        Global expression of solidarity with Kashmiris must: Nov., 6, 2021:  Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed  said that it is very painful to state that on one hand Security Council resolutions call for Kashmir’s right to self-determination under United Nations supervised plebiscite, and on the other hand ‘The International People’s Tribunal on Jammu & Kashmir’ have discovered thousands of unnamed and unmarked mass graves in Jammu & Kashmir. He reminded that the demographic changes are taking place in the IIOJ&K and about 4.1 million new domiciles have been issued to non-Kashmiris brought from the mainland India, which is a violation of the Indian constitution and international law. Senator Hussain warned that the Indian regime is not providing medical facilities to the jailed freedom-loving Kashmiris, like Yasin Malik, Aasia Andrabi and others. India is also violating the basic rights of freedom of speech and any Kashmiri who writes anything on the digital media, is pushed behind bars under the notorious ‘Unlawful Activity Prevention Act’ (UAPA) laws. The time is ripe to internationalize the Kashmir issue and there should be global expression of solidarity with the oppressed people of Kashmir. Let us send a strong message to the people of Kashmir who are struggling and sacrificing against Indian occupation that Kashmir cause is above any partisan politics and support to the Kashmir cause is unwavering, Senator Hussain underscored. Welcoming the participants to the Kashmir Black Day, Ambassador (Dr.) Asad Majeed Khan said that it is our collective responsibility to sensitize the world powers, including the United States on the plight of Kashmiri people and urged them to play their role in resolving the Kashmir dispute as envisaged in the UNSC Resolutions and in accordance with wishes of the Kashmiri people. Ambassador Khan said that the abrogation of Article 370 & 35A were in contravention to India’s commitments to the United Nations. He added that the illegal and immoral actions taken by Indian army in occupied Kashmir poses a serious peace and security threat in the region of South Asia and called the world powers to urge India to end its human rights violations in IIOJK and rescind illegal and unilateral actions taken on August 5, 2019. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness Forum said “The Kashmiris only want to be given the same opportunity to determine their future policy that was accorded to the rest of the people of the undivided India in 1947. The first liberation war was waged that year and had all but succeeded had India not intervened militarily to enslave the people of the former princely state of Jammu & Kashmir. Subsequently, the question of Kashmir’s future was taken to the United Nations, by India itself, be it noted, and it was at the world assembly that India promised the free exercise of the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir. It has never honored that promise.” Dr. Fai explained that since 1990, there has been a mass uprising of freedom from Indian occupation in Kashmir. India’s response has been brutal. At least, 100,000 innocent people have been killed by Indian occupation forces, thousand women raped, hundreds of villages burnt or raged to the ground, green fields laid to waste and the most beautiful piece of land on earth turned into a crucible of hate and violence. Fai asked: How long will the world powers watch in silence as India carries out the genocide of the people of Kashmir? This is a question the Kashmiris are asking too. World powers should persuade India to stop the killing; to end the repression; to revoke Domicile Law which is designed to change the demography of the State of Jammu & Kashmir; and to fulfill its promise so that a new era of good will, peace & prosperity can dawn into Subcontinent. Meanwhile, the United Nations must establish the necessary conditions for the holding of a free and impartial plebiscite in Jammu & Kashmir. “Time is not on the side of Kashmiris. Everyday more and more atrocities are committed by Indian army; everybody a larger segment of the Kashmir’s population becomes alienated. Therefore, we ask the Biden Administration to take a principled and practical stand on the Kashmir issue and state its support for the human rights of the people of Jammu & Kashmir, and from a practical solution to easing nuclear tensions in the region by resolving the root cause of the India-Pakistan crisis: the continued denial of the Kashmir people’s right to self-determination,” Fai added. Dr. Imtiaz Khan, Professor at George Washington University Medical Center said that denial of right to self-determination has resulted in the suffering of the people of Kashmir. It is also an imminent threat to the security of the region. Dr. Khan gave detailed account of the numerous massacres in Kashmir, including Chattisingpora, Beijbehara, Mashali Mohala,  Sopore, Hnadwara, Gawkadal. He also reminded the audience about Kunan-Poshpora when Indian army gang raped over 100 innocent women, between the ages of 10 to 70. Justice is yet to be delivered, despite the lapse of 30 long years. And world powers do not realize that the deadly cost of their silence and inaction in this regard. The Kashmir cause received great momentum and support with the report issued by the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights which called for a fact-finding mission on this issue. The assertion of Antonio Guterres that Kashmir issue should be resolved under UN Charter and applicable UN Security Council resolutions testifies the international sanctity of the Kashmir cause. Dr. Khan urged the UN Secretary General to take effective and immediate measures: first to bring the atrocities to an end, second, to bring parties together for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute. Ambassador Tauqir Hussain, Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University said that he always believed any peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute can only happen in the context of India- Pakistan relations. It had been India’s desire to make Pakistan and the context of India Pakistan relations irrelevant to the Kashmir dispute. And instead follow the third option that is of finding an internal solution to the problem without the involvement of Pakistan and the international community. But the United Nations resolutions and Article 370 were standing in the way as both had given locus standi to Pakistan and the international community. The need for the linkage in a dialogue has never been greater. If India is not interested in such a dialogue where Kashmir is the central agenda why should Pakistan be? Pakistan needs to enhance its influence with the international community, especially big powers more so the United States. One must appeal to their national interests. The context of doing that is an improved US Pakistan relationship where Pakistan is relevant to American scheme of things. Pakistan will have a voice then. Ambassador Hussain underscored that ironically, by slamming the door shut on the international community, India may have overreached itself diplomatically. In trying to make Pakistan irrelevant to Kashmir, India has made it even more relevant. Both the Kashmiris and Pakistan have now nowhere else to go. Colonel Wes Martin (Ret.), Iraqi war veteran highlighted the human rights atrocities being committed by the Indian army in Kashmir. He hoped that the United States intervention can bring it to a halt if it takes a firm stand against India’s illegal actions in Kashmir, particularly since August 5, 2019. India’s claim that Kashmir is its internal matter has been rejected by the United Nations which believes that Kashmir conflict has to be resolved under UN Charter and applicable UN Security Council resolutions. Col. Martin added that Kashmir was known as paradise. Now because of India’s actions, the paradise does not exist anymore. India has enacted new laws to change the demography of Kashmir. Mass graves have been discovered there. Now is the time that we need to become the voice of the people of Kashmir. Among others, following Kashmiri Americans were present: Saleem Qadri, Sardar Zarif Khan, Shoaib Irshad, Akram Butt, etc. Dr. Fai can be reached at: 1-202-607-6435. Or. gnfai2003@yahoo.com

5        Khalistan: Nov., , 2021: Leading pro-Khalistan group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) has won the first round of a major defamation case at the Superior Court of Ontario, Canada, against veteran CBC journalist Terry Milewski and conservative leaning public policy think tank Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI) over allegations that SFJ and its Khalistan Referendum campaign is a project influenced and financed by Pakistan. Terry Milewski, the author of the report “Khalistan: A Project of Pakistan”, and Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI), the publisher of the anti-Khalistan report, had attempted to get the defamation case dismissed by the Superior Court of Ontario but the presiding judge Justice William Black, after reviewing the evidence, ruled that the claim of defamation brought by SFJ will be allowed to proceed to a trial and ordered the defendants Terry and MLI to pay to the SFJ the cost for the legal fee. The ruling by Justice Black means the defamation claim will be allowed to proceed to trial unless the plaintiff SFJ and the defendants Terry-MLI reach a settlement. The case by the SFJ goes back to the publication of a controversial report published on September 9, 2020, by Terry Milewski and the MLI titled, “Khalistan: A Project of Pakistan”. The report published by the defendants claimed that the campaign for an independent Sikh state, and specifically, the Referendum 2020 campaign organised by SFJ, was not a project on behalf of the Sikh people, but instead was a “project of Pakistan”. The report alleged that SFJ was influenced or controlled by Pakistan; that its referendum campaign was being driven by Pakistan; that SFJ does not actually represent Sikh people; that it serves Pakistan and speaks for Pakistan; and finally, that Pakistan is the SFJ’s patron and sets limits on its campaign. The 24-page report was jubilantly celebrated and widely circulated by the Indian media and diplomatic missions abroad. It was used by Indian media and Indian missions to accuse Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of being involved in backing the SFJ and its Khalistan Referendum campaign. SFJ filed a defamation lawsuit against Terry and MLI claiming that allegations of SFJ-Pakistan nexus, funding and influence are totally baseless, false and without evidence and have caused serious damage to SFJ’s reputation as a human rights NGO working for the cause of self-determination for the Sikh people and the creation of an independent homeland Khalistan in the Indian region of Punjab  In short, the court ruled that the lawsuit is a legitimate defamation action brought in circumstances where the SFJ, a non-violent organisation advocating for Sikh self-determination, should have the right to pursue a remedy. On cross-examination, Milewski conceded a lack of evidence in support of key facts. He conceded that he does not know whether Pakistan is involved in any way in the SFJ’s referendum campaign and said he has no evidence to suggest the SFJ is financially supported by Pakistan. He further said that he has no evidence of any organisational involvement between Pakistan and the SFJ. The Canadian author conceded that he does not know if Pakistan is involved or has any influence in the SFJ’s Khalistan Referendum campaign. The article had alleged that American lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who leads the SFJ, had “undying solidarity with Pakistan”. In the court cross-examination, Milewski accepted that the fact that Pakistan and the SFJ may share a common interest (in opposing India) but it does not mean one entity is influencing the other. Milewski also conceded that he was aware of other communications between Pannun and the SFJ in which the SFJ has been harshly critical of Pakistan, as well as a recent dispute between the SFJ and Pakistan, neither of which was mentioned in the report as it would go against the bias contained therein. Some of the false statements in the report alleged that “it’s Pakistanis, not Khalistanis, who are driving the campaign”; “it’s clear who’s really driving the Khalistan bus: Pakistan”; SFJ has “undying solidarity with Pakistan” ; “extremists animated by Pakistan seek to distort history and betray the vast majority of Sikhs who live in peace and freedom”; SJF does not “speak for the Sikh community; The evidence, instead, suggests that they speak for Pakistan”; and that Pakistan is the SFJ’s “patron” and “sets the limits” on the campaign. In the court, Milewski had attempted to argue that his report presented his “opinion” rather than “facts” but Justice Black recognised that Milewski’s public tweets defended the article as factual and this was inconsistent with his position on the motion. Milewski also attempted to argue the defence of “responsible communication” but Justice Black found that a trial judge may reject this defence on the basis of lack of diligence by Milewski who did not even contact the SFJ for comment before publishing the false statements. The Canadian court’s ruling in favour of the SFJ came just days before the group kickstarted on October 31 from London, UK, voting in its groundbreaking initiative of holding the first ever global referendum on the question of Khalistan. Over 30,000 Sikhs from around London showed up to vote on the opening day of Khalistan Referendum in London which prompted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set aside other issues and instead raise the SFJ-Khalistan Referendum issue with his British counterpart during their brief meeting at COP26. SFJ has been banned by India since 2019 on account of running a secessionist referendum campaign, however, the group continues to operate unrestricted in western democracies where freedom to express, through peaceful means such as holding a referendum, a dissenting political opinion, is considered sacred and inviolable. The most obvious examples of such freedoms include: UK, despite Indian requests, allowing Khalistan Referendum activities including October 31 voting on Khalistan in a government managed conference centre; the then Canadian PM Harper stating on record that Khalistan is a political opinion with which many may not agree but Canadian Sikhs have the right to peacefully advocate for Khalistan; and the  American State Department spokesman that freedom of speech is a bedrock of the American constitution and the principle of democracy, while responding to a question by an Indian journalist on why America is allowing the SFJ and its Khalistan Referendum activities to take place on US soil. https://www.geo.tv/latest/380712-sikh-group-in-canada-scores-first-win-in-defamation-case-over-allegations-of-pakistans-backing

 

 

 Kashmir Update 152: Week ,  Oct ,25, 2021 to Oct,31 2021

1        Black day: October 27 , 2021: Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and the world over are observing Black Day, today, the 27th October, to convey to the world that they reject India’s illegal occupation of their homeland and will continue their struggle to achieve their inalienable right to self-determination. The day was marked with a shutdown in occupied Kashmir and rallies in world capitals. Call for the shutdown was given by the APHC, Hurriyat forum led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and supported by other pro-freedom organizations. Shops and business establishments remained closed in Srinagar and other areas of the valley. The occupation authorities deployed Indian troops and police personnel in strength across the territory to prevent people from holding anti-India demonstrations. It was on this day in 1947 when Indian troops had invaded Jammu and Kashmir and occupied it in total disregard to the partition plan of the Subcontinent and against the aspirations of the Kashmiris. The United Nations Security Council passed several resolutions mandating a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir to determine the future of the territory. However, the World Body is yet to implement these resolutions, despite the passing of more than six decades. The Hurriyat leaders in their statements said that Kashmiris on this day send a loud and clear message to India and world community that they reject illegal occupation of India of their homeland, adding that the unresolved Kashmir dispute had increased the suffering of the Kashmiris. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/27/kashmiris-observe-black-day-today.html

2        Youth martyred: October 28. 2021: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one Kashmiri youth in Baramulla district. The troops martyred the youth, Javed Ahmad, resident of Kulgam district, during a cordon and search operation  in Cherdari area of the district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/28/indian-troops-martyr-kashmiri-youth-in-baramulla.html

3        Digital advertising trucks in two US cities flash Kashmir freedom message :Syed Fai nabbasahib@gmail.com;  Oct 28, 2021 : The World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF), a Washington-based advocacy body, rented digital advertising trucks -- one in New York and other in Washington -- displaying sharp messages about Indian atrocities in Kashmir and demanding an end to the disputed state's occupation The electronic screens on the trucks carry messages such as: "Kashmir under Indian siege: Knocking at world Conscience", "Indian occupied Kashmir: World's most militarized zone," "Stop Genocide in Kashmir, "End Indian Colonization of Kashmir", "India criminalizes press freedom in Kashmir", Indian Army Out, Out", "Hold India accountable for war crimes in Kashmir", and "Freedom for all, freedom for Kashmir" The trucks appeared on the two cities' roads on Oct. 27, the darkest day in Kashmir's history when India sent in its troops in 1947 to occupy the state. Digital advertising trucks are considered to be the most effective way to spread a message as the brightly lit words on the screens catch attention of the people walking on the streets and those coming in and out of government and commercial buildings. "Our objective was to target the audience at the right places and we were able to control the location where most of the people were able to notice our messages aimed at promoting the cause of Kashmir", Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary-General of the forum told APP. The route of digital truck in Washington included: All federal buildings, including the State Department; the Capitol Hill; Library of Congress; The Washington Monument; The White House; various Museums; Lincoln Memorial; Washington National Cathedral; the Indian Embassy; the World Bank and IMF. The forum also held a protest in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington on Wednesday to mark the Black Day. In New York, the digital advertising truck went round and round the United Nations headquarters, Indian Mission; Indian Consulate; Times Square; Freedom Tower; among other locations. The forum also had a protest in New York along with Kashmir Mission USA at Times Square. (APP/ift)

4        The Tyranny Continues: October 27, 1947 – Day of Occupation: Jakarta, Indonesia. October 27, 2021:“October 27 marks the beginning of Indian Occupation of the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is forever scarred in the collective minds of the Kashmiri people as the day they became occupied. India's attempt to legalize its illegality rests on a bogus instrument of accession by a Maharaja, which the ruler had not authority to sign in any event. British historian, Alaister Lamb has convincingly demonstrated that the Instrument was bogus as an original has never been found, and there is no plausible explanation for a disappearance of an original had it ever existed,” this was stated by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF)), at a webinar, organized by Paramadina University, Jakarta, Indonesia. Other speakers included: Prof Dr. Didik J. Rachbini, Rector, Paramadina University; Ambassador, Muhammad Hassan, Pakistani Ambassador to Indonesia; Dr. Siti Khadijah, State Islamic University, Jakarta; Dr. Mochtar Mahrum, Tadulako University, Sulawesi;
Dr. Pipip A. Rifai Hasan, Paramadina University; Dr. Muhammad Najib Azca, Gajah Mada University, Yogyakarta; Drs. Nur Munir, MTS,MAJS, University of Indonesia; Prof. Dr. Darni M. Daud, Syiah Kuala University,Aceh; Ass. Prof. Dr. Hadza Min  Fadhli Rabbi, Islamic University of Indonesia, Yogyakarta; Dr. Zahir Khan; Mr. Joko Arizal. “We must mention here that, by no stretch of the imagination, can the situation in Kashmir be treated as India’s internal matter, as India argues. Kashmir is recognized as a disputed territory under international law and the United Nations bears the responsibility of preventing the massive violations of human rights that are being committed by the Indian occupation regime. The movement in Kashmir is not secessionist because Kashmir cannot secede from India to which it never acceded to in the first place,” Fai added. Dr. Fai warned: “We must mention here that even by today’s violent world, the behavior of the Indian occupation regime in Kashmir is singular in as much as it has enjoyed total immunity. Not a word of condemnation has been uttered at the important capitols of the world, not even a call on India to cease and desist from its near- genocidal campaign. This is not merely a case of passivity and inaction; in practical effect, it amounts to an abetment and encouragement of murderous tyranny. If tyranny is not condoned inside the territory of a member state of the United Nations, is there not greater reason for the United Nations to intervene when the territory is one whose disposition is to be determine through a fair vote under the impartial auspices of the world organization. Nevertheless, we still have confidence that the world powers will realize that what is at stake in the dispute is not only the survival of the people of Kashmir, but peace in the populous region of South Asia and also the basis of a civilized worldview.” Dr. Fai noted that the denial of self-determination has brought death and destruction to the people of Kashmir.  Kashmir has been brutally victimized by human rights violations perpetrated by 900,000 Indian military and paramilitary personnel. During the past three decades alone, more than 100,000 Kashmiris have been killed because of India's mammoth military occupation and savagery.  Yet the international community has remained largely passive, and crowned India with a veto power over outside intervention. In addition, India’s refusal to accept international mediation seems to shut the door on any kind of international dialogue regarding Kashmir. The Kashmiris are shut in, and the outside world out. It is quite conspicuous that the world powers feel awkward and unequipped to intervene in any international conflict because the country concerned is too powerful and does not listen to morals and ethics when everyone has his wallet on the table. Although the human rights situation in Kashmir is depressing but we must hail the resoluteness of the people of Kashmir in carrying forward their struggle for pursuing their cherished goal of freedom. The militarization of the state not only had worsened psycho-traumatic situation, but it was taking a toll of the state economy, agriculture, and production of the state by converting more and more areas into cantonments. Fai believes that a just and lasting settlement of the dispute is possible only through tripartite negotiations between the Governments of India and Pakistan and the legitimate leadership of the people of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. In fact, a ‘Kashmir Quartet’ should be established that includes Kashmir, Pakistan, China, and India. Moreover, outside intervention and mediation should include the United Nations. The chairmanship of the Kashmir Quartet mediation should be undertaken by a person of international stature, such as Kjell Bondevik former prime minister of Norway or President Mary Robinson of Ireland. Today, the challenge before us is that a new generation in Kashmir has been raised with blood and tears for which death no longer poses a threat for what can death do that life has not done before: their suffering is freeing them from fear. Kashmiris’ fearlessness has led to the powerful protests and the largest demonstrations in recent years. The presence of hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of Srinagar, marching towards the office of the UNMOGIP, is a proof that the freedom struggle is not a terroristic movement but a movement that is indigenous, spontaneous, peaceful, and popular. We thank the Secretary General of the United Nations for articulating the principle stand that Kashmir issue has to be resolved under UN Charter and applicable United Nations Security Council resolutions. We, therefore, urge the Secretary General to intensify his watch over the situation in Kashmir and initiate a peace process to settle the Kashmir dispute to the satisfaction of all parties concerned.Dr. Fai is the Secretary General, Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum.

5        Internet in IOJK: Oct , 31, 2021: Kashmir is not unaccustomed to extraordinary measures, of which it is on the receiving end, when it comes to security. In 2019 after the Pulwama suicide attack, authorities placed prohibitions on public movement along the National Highway in the Valley, withholding access to the crucial road for all except military vehicles, twice a week. Since the period had coincided with the export of fruit, the ban dealt a severe blow to the region’s apple economy. It also affected pregnant women from all over South Kashmir whose access to the GB Pant Children’s Hospital, located on the highway upon entry into Srinagar city, was restricted. That year, the arrivals of expectant mothers to the hospital declined up to 50% for the entire month during which the ban was in place. Earlier this year, the government imposed a blanket ban on the sale, transportation, storage and use of drones in Srinagar and Baramulla districts right after forces reported a string of militant attacks involving the use of drones, including the one at the Jammu airport. The ban has since left dozens of commercial drone operators in the lurch, throwing a wrench at their business. Before that, a series of hit-and-run attacks in Srinagar city in February led to an unofficial ‘ban’ on the pheran, a loose Kashmiri winter garment made of tweed, with commuters being asked to take them off at police and CRPF checkpoints. Recently, J&K police seized hundreds of bikes and scooters including those of riders who possessed all necessary documents. This adversely affected the online delivery business. Now, the J&K administration appears to have changed tactic. Users in parts of Srinagar and Pulwama are complaining about spells of internet shutdowns. The Wire got in touch with several users including academics, entrepreneurs and journalists who said that the outages were unannounced, unofficial and sudden. Authorities had recently shut down internet sporadically in several parts of Srinagar in the aftermath of a series of attacks targeting members of the minority community and migrant workers in the region. One could access the internet, let’s say, near Hazratbal area in the city, but found that data connections suddenly snapped while turning the car towards Nowhatta, a neighbourhood prone to stone pelting. Then mobile data would suddenly spring into life as one approached the Fateh Kadal area. But on October 19, these restrictions were reportedly lifted. Many users still complained that their internet access is shut for most of the day. Services, they say, resume mostly between 10 pm and 11 pm and continue through the night. “We have been facing this situation since a gunfight took place in Pampore on October 16,” said Safina Nabi, an independent journalist from Pulwama town. “Internet works consistently only between 11 pm to 4 am. As for the day, services are erratic or sometimes we have none at all.” Nabi shuttles between Srinagar and Pampore, where she resides, everyday, just to make sure her work does not suffer on account of lack of internet connectivity. “I am not associated with any publication. I pitch stories and need to research a lot. My work requires me to be in continuous correspondence with editors. Social media platforms enable me to find new contacts and interact with more people. How many times will I have to rush to Srinagar? It takes four hours to make a back-and-forth journey.”Nabi says she struggles to strike a balance between commuting and working on her stories. “I will lose out if I don’t file my stories on time,” she said. Other residents also complained of similar periodic shutdowns. “My daughter studies in an elementary school and she was supposed to sit for online exams at 10.30 am today. But the services were yet to resume and I had to later call her teachers who rescheduled the test for 11 am,” said father from Pampore who requested anonymity because he is a government employee. Residents of some parts of Srinagar have made social media post to register their outrage at the internet shutdowns at “select” hours. “My eight-year-old nephew had a class/exam today at 4:30 but the mobile internet wasn’t working (it only works in the night and in the day from 11 – 4) and airtel fiber never works at home so he travelled 5 kms with his mom and gave that class in a car,” tweeted @BandaySaab, a Srinagar based user. The Wire also spoke to several users in Srinagar neighbourhoods like Safa Kadal who confirmed similar intermittent restrictions in their areas. A search through the website of the General Administration Department which reports to the Lieutenant Governor also did not reveal any order authorising the latest restrictions. The Twitter handle of the Directorate of Public Relations, J&K whose timeline was once awash with internet ban orders before the restoration of 4G services in February 2021, also did not have any such order. If indeed there is a legal order which backs the selective internet restrictions being reported by residents, they have not been put in the public domain in a manner in which the J&K government would previously do so. AccessNow, a non profit, estimates that the Indian government mutes the internet more than any other country in the world. A majority of these outages take place in J&K. Of 548 internet shutdowns being recorded in India since 2012, 317 have taken place in J&K alone. Software Freedom Law Centre says 41 shutdowns were imposed in India in 2021, of which 16, as per AccessNow, have occurred in J&K. The last internet outage reported by SFLC in J&K took place at Shopian on October 24. This coincides with the killing of a civilian Shahid Aijaz near CRPF camp at Zainapora village in the district.  As per a report by Jammu & Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS), the legal mechanism underpinning the shutdowns in the Valley has historically remained shrouded in secrecy, with officials, while responding to litigations in the court, furnishing vaguely worded orders under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code. That changed in the year 2017 with the enactment of Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules 2017. Since then, all such suspension orders were supposed to be made publicly available, a timeframe for suspension specified and a review committee set up.  in recent times, the Supreme Court laid down strict guidelines for internet shutdowns. The court held that blacking out internet services indefinitely was not permissible under the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Service) Rules, 2017 as the suspension can only be availed temporarily and that all such orders are subject to judicial review.  Though the judgement stopped short of calling the access to internet a fundamental right, it did however, endorse the principle of proportionality for internet shutdowns while reading procedural safeguards into the Telecom Suspension Rules. In the judgment, the court said that “competent authorities are directed to publish all orders in force and any future orders under Section 144, CrPC and for suspension of telecom services including the Internet to enable the affected persons to challenge it before the High Court or appropriate forum.” It also held that “any order suspending the internet issued under the Suspension Rules, must adhere to the principle of proportionality and must not extend beyond necessary duration” and must be “subject to judicial review.” It also outlined the remit of Section 144, calling it “remedial and preventive, exercisable…when there is an apprehension of [such] danger”…as deemed to be “in the nature of an “emergency” and for the purpose of preventing obstruction and annoyance or injury to any person lawfully employed.” It held that the power under Section 144 “cannot be used to suppress legitimate expression of opinion or grievance or exercise of any democratic rights” while also underscoring the need for application of mind. Most importantly, the judgment held that “the Magistrate is duty bound to balance the rights and restrictions based on the principles of proportionality and thereafter, apply the least intrusive measure.” It’s worth mentioning here that during the court proceedings, while hearing Bhasin’s petition, the judges had asked the J&K administration to produce the orders under which it sanctioned the suspensions, and then noted: “The respondent (state) placed on record only sample orders, citing difficulty in producing the numerous orders which were being withdrawn and modified on a day to day basis.” In the verdict however, the court termed issuing repetitive orders, under Section 144, as an “abuse of power.” https://thewire.in/rights/kashmir-residents-are-now-facing-unannounced-unaccounted-for-internet-restrictions 

Kashmir Update 151: Week , Oct ,18, 2021  to Oct,24   ,2021

1        LaC trouble; Oct 10 2021; Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a brief face-off near Yangtse in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, last week. Indian media quoting the people familiar with the development reported on Friday that the face-off was resolved following talks between local commanders of the two sides as per established protocols  The incident came to light days before another round of high-level military talks between the two sides on the eastern Ladakh row. The Corps Commander level talks are likely to take place within the next three-four days https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/08/indian-chinese-troops-engaged-in-brief-face-off-in-arunachal-pradesh.html

2        UK Protest; OCt 19 2021: Tehreek-e-Kashmir, UK, held an anti-India and pro-Kashmir freedom protest outside the Indian Consulate in Birmingham. Hundreds of Kashmiris, Pakistanis and global human rights activists attended the protest. The protesters gathered to express solidarity with the Kashmiris. They raised slogans like “Stop killings in Kashmir”, “We want freedom”, Indian army out” and “Free Kashmir.   political leaders also strongly condemned the extrajudicial killings of Kashmiris by the Indian forces and the arrest of over 1500 Kashmiris on false charges in one of the biggest ever-crackdowns in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/18/british-kashmiris-stage-anti-india-protest-in-birmingham.html

3        Four martyred; October 20: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two more Kashmiri youth, raising the toll to four, today. The troops martyred two youth during a cordon and search operation, this evening, in Devsar area of Kulgam district  Earlier in the morning today, the troops martyred two youth in a military operation in Draged area of the Shopian district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/20/indian-troops-martyr-two-more-youth-today-raising-toll-to-4-in-iiojk.html

4        Time, for Kashmiris to determine their own future;Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai; October 22, 2021; At the last U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, "We maintain our stance in favor of solving the ongoing problem in Kashmir for 74 years, through dialogue between the parties and within the framework of relevant United Nations resolutions." The Kashmir dispute is one of the oldest unresolved international problems in the world and has been on the agenda of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) since 1948. While the international community has been engaged all along and believes that Kashmir is an internationally disputed territory, and has voiced through numerous UN resolutions that its people should be given the right to determine their own future, India is now engaging in an effort to make the matter solely a domestic issue which no one, not even the Kashmiris themselves, may have a voice in. This effort at the Indianization of Kashmir, more so after abrogation of Article 370 & 35 A, is seen where the central politics and administrative control are dominated by New Delhi with all the decisions being favorable to New Delhi. The limited autonomy that Kashmir has enjoyed was completely subverted on August 5, 2019. Today, Kashmir conflict is perhaps the most dangerous conflict in the world because of the spiraling nuclear and missile race between India and Pakistan coupled with historical enmities that have occasioned three wars between the two rivals. It is implausible to believe that these two neighboring countries will either cap or renounce their respective nuclear genies after they have escaped the South Asian bottle unless the chief source of antagonism between the two -- Kashmir -- is resolved. It is symptomatic of the approach of the world powers that greater emphasis is placed on the “reduction of tensions” than on the settlement of the core issue, i.e., Kashmir. This encourages giving importance to superficial moves and temporary solutions even though it is known that such moves and solutions do not soften the animosities of the parties nor allay the life-and-death concerns and anxieties of the people most directly affected.  An indication of this misplaced focus is the wrong-headed talk about the “sanctity” of the line of control in Kashmir.  It is forgotten that this line was originally formalized by the international agreements as a temporary cease-fire line pending the demilitarization of the State and the holding of a plebiscite under impartial control to determine its future. As long as this line will remain clamped down on the state, it will continue to impose a heavy toll of death on the people of the land. They have had no hand in creating it. It has cut through their homes, separated families and, what is worse, served as a protecting wall for massive violations of human rights. They are not resigned to it becoming some kind of a border. Kashmiris wish to emphasize that their land is not real estate which can be parceled out between two disputants, but the home of a nation with a history far more compact and coherent than India's and far longer than Pakistan's.  To treat this line overtly or otherwise as a basis for the partition of the State is to reward obduracy, countenance iniquity, encourage tyranny and oppression and destroy the hopes for peace in accordance with justice and rationality in Kashmir. To regard this line as a solution is to regard disease as remedy. Any kind of agreement procured to that end, under any foreign influence, will not only not endure; it will invite resentment and revolt against whichever leadership in Kashmir will sponsor or subscribe to it.  Sir Benegal Rama Rau, Indian delegate to the United Nations admitted at the Security Council on March 1, 1951, “The people of Kashmir are not mere chattels to be disposed of according to a rigid formula; their future must be decided on their own interest and in accordance with their own desires.”  Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani has stated it well on October 14, 2021, “The United Nations (India and Pakistan as member nations and as parties) have recognised ‘the rights and dignity, the security and the self-determination of the historic people of Jammu & Kashmir.’ Dr. Gilani reminded India when she explained “the human aspect of the problem” at the 533rd Meeting of Security Council held on 01 March 1951. It has stated that, “The people of Kashmir are not mere chattels to be disposed of according to a rigid formula; their future must be decided in their own interests and in accordance with their own desires.”  Meanwhile the U.S., the sole superpower in the world which must bear the responsibility for setting the moral tone through disciplined and rightful leadership, sits back and does nothing. Such a behavior poorly disguises the financial incentives that have opened India up to USD $500 billion in American investment during the coming five years. The U.S. was once considered a shining example to the rest of the world of what democracy can mean, and yet, now, too, we see a complete breakdown of this grand vision at its very source that awakened generations of people to hope for real change.  What is the significance of an alliance between the great democracy (US) and so-called largest democracy in the world (India) when universal principles, democratic values and human rights are completely ignored?  Kamala Harris spoke her mind about Kashmir as a Vice Presidential candidate on October 8. 2019, “We have to remind the Kashmiris that they are not alone in the world. We are keeping a track on the situation. There is a need to intervene if the situation demands.” Since then, she has wavered.  She has quit talking about Kashmir, believing perhaps that U.S. business ties with India have greater priority than ruffling any feathers. But Biden Administration still has an opportunity to walk and talk straight to India and Pakistan to help set a stage for the peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute. The priorities of world peace are much greater than selling a few more missiles to a country which threatens the international peace and security. We still believe that the Kashmir dispute is soluble if an international body intervenes as suggested by Kamala Harris. India and Pakistan must resolve the dispute, while associating the genuine Kashmiri leadership with the negotiations which was originally promised by them at the United Nations. However, much India would like Kashmir dispute to be off the table in any discussions, it is on the table and will always be brought to bear upon the consciousness and conscience of the Indian leadership until the matter is settled. India and Pakistan should realize that they can impose any solution upon the people of Kashmir; the Kashmiri mainstream leadership can sign any accord with India; but the question arises, are they going to be able to sell these agreements to the people as was attempted by Sheikh Abdullah in 1050’s? The answer is big “NO.”  It is time, India, to show her humanity and put some strength in those democratic principles which she alleges to idealize.  It is time, world powers, to back up their words with deeds instead of just lip service and to truly lead in championing those values that have brought progress to the world community instead of selling them all for corporate profits. Perhaps it’s time the major powers take this seriously. The answer is plain as day for anyone. The clock is ticking. Every day that passes without resolution of Kashmir dispute is one day closer to a cataclysm that will reach far beyond the borders of all countries involved.  It’s time to end the violence.  It’s time to end the charade.  It’s time for Kashmiris to sort out their own affairs and determine their own future. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai is the Secretary General, Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness forum. He can be reached at: 1-202-607-6435. Or. gnfai2003@yahoo.com  

Kashmir Update 150 Week , Oct ,11, 2021  to  , Oct 17 2021    ,2021

LaC trouble; Oct 10 2021; Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a brief face-off near Yangtse in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, last week. Indian media quoting the people familiar with the development reported on Friday that the face-off was resolved following talks between local commanders of the two sides as per established protocols  The incident came to light days before another round of high-level military talks between the two sides on the eastern Ladakh row. The Corps Commander level talks are likely to take place within the next three-four days https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/08/indian-chinese-troops-engaged-in-brief-face-off-in-arunac

Kashmir Update 149: Week , Oct ,4, 2021  to Oct,10   ,2021

1        Kashmir Dispute: Challenge to world Conscience: Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai: October 1, 2021:  The most pertinent evidence of that conflict is that India has in recent years had as many as 900,000 military and paramilitary forces stationed on a piece of land no larger than the state of Tennessee (USA). By comparison, during the height of the Iraq war, in October 2007, U.S. Troop strength was only a little over 166,000. Iraq compares in size to the state of California. Obviously, the number of troops stationed in Kashmir is highly significant. There is no war taking place there. There is no imminent external threat of a foreign invader, with troops amassed at its border. Why so many troops? India frequently justifies its military presence, first, by asserting that Kashmir is an ‘integral part’ of India, and, second, that Pakistan, just across the border, is a threat. Both are nuclear-armed, and cross-border skirmishes occur periodically among a handful of troops stationed along the UN-established Cease-fire Line. However, to whatever extent such a threat exists, such an enormous volume of troops is well beyond whatever need there might be to resist such incursions. The best way to make sure that there is no such infiltration is to let the United Nations be allowed to monitor the Cease-fire Line. “The barrier itself consists of double-row of fencing and concertina wire eight to twelve feet (2.4–3.7 m) in height and is electrified and connected to a network of motion sensors, thermal imaging devices, lighting systems and alarms. They act as “fast alert signals” to the Indian troops who can be alerted and ambush the infiltrators trying to sneak in. The small stretch of land between the rows of fencing is mined with thousands of landmines.” Wikipedia The truth is that the people of Kashmir themselves have always been hostile to the presence of India’s troops on their soil and have resisted to such oppression, and over hundred thousand Kashmiris have died within the past 30 years alone. Long standing agreements at the United Nations in place have in fact afforded the Kashmiri people the right to determine their own destiny. What we have, then, is a case of a large country bullying a small nation into submission in violation of not only their right to sovereignty but international agreements and two dozen UN resolutions giving them the right to determine their own political fate. The purpose of so many troops stationed in this small country is for no other purpose but blatant oppression. Their presences make Kashmir the largest army concentration anywhere in the world. Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani has written on the subject, “The United Nations has defined the people of Jammu & Kashmir as ‘People of legend, song and story, associated with snow-capped mountains, beautiful valleys and life-giving waters’. Today we associate them with living in a highly militarised zone and locked down inside their homes. We associate them with a habitat where children are recruited to carry out espionage for the Indian Security Forces (a war crime),” Dr. Gilani added. You would think that the international community would be up in arms over such abuse, particularly in view of the fact that the Kashmiris have shown an iron determination to resist tens of thousands of killings, and thousands of rapes, disappearances and torture inflicted upon the population at the hands of these foreign occupiers.

In a more idealistic mood President Joe Biden said on February 4, 2021, “We must start with diplomacy rooted in America’s most cherished democratic values: defending freedom, championing opportunity, upholding universal rights, respecting the rule of law, and treating every person with dignity.” And again on September 13, 2021, "I've been clear that human rights will be the center of our foreign policy." Earlier President Barack Obama who choose Joe Biden as his running mate addressed the problem of Kashmir, in one of his rare moments of candor. “We should probably try to facilitate a better understanding between Pakistan and India, “he announced,” and try to resolve the Kashmir crisis.”  It wasn’t long after Obama’s newly anointed status, however, that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in New Delhi shuffling cards, engaging in toasts, and making deals on Boeing aircraft. Little more, if anything, was ever said about Kashmir. Trade between India and the U.S. has since become a $100 billion dollar business, with growth estimated in the near term as high as $500 billion. Given such platitudes, while American foreign policy is supposed to be grounded on moral values, democratic ideals and universal principles, it would appear that wherever the crowd of commercial interests get VIP status, such ideals and principles are easily set aside, relegated to the back of the room, where it’s standing room only. Money talks: ideals walk. Situation ethics is the name of the play. It is quite conspicuous that the world powers feel awkward and unequipped to intervene in any international conflict because the country concerned is too powerful and does not listen to morals and ethics when everyone has his wallet on the table. In addition, India’s refusal to accept international mediation or facilitation seems to shut the door on any kind of international dialogue regarding Kashmir. The Kashmiris are shut in, and the outside world out. Doesn’t the world community recognize such double standards? How is international credibility and trust engendered by such behavior? For whom does this bell toll but for last vestiges of all that we hold dear, while the corrupt and cynical become more emboldened, and does it not sow the seeds of hatred and deeper more lasting conflict among those who suffer because of it? “Bigger nations should not be able to bully smaller ones… people should be able to choose their own future,” President Barack Obama said, when he spoke to the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, 2014. “Too often,” he added, “we have failed to enforce international norms when it’s inconvenient to do so.” It would have been nice if President Obama had mentioned Kashmir in the same breath. However, speeches by a U.S. President on foreign policy usually engage issues that are relative to immediate concerns and objectives, and he seemed much more interested in pointing fingers at Russia for supporting the separatist fight in Ukraine and the need to impose sanctions. So, while the U.S. imposes sanctions on Russia for interfering in stability and peace in a country more than 5,000 miles away which is of no strategic pertinence to American safety or freedoms, it engages in trade with India and says nothing about India’s failure to enforce “international norms” where it is apparently inconvenient to do so. India’s transgressions in Kashmir are clearly far more relevant to the issue of international norms, given their history, than anything now occurring in Eastern Europe. If, in Indian Prime Minister Modi’s address to the same United Nations forum on September 26, 2020, he said that “Within the halls of the United Nations, one has often heard the words ‘the world is one family’. We treat the whole world as one family. It is part of our culture, character and thinking.” A grand statement, to be sure, but it has little credibility in the face of persistent policies by India against the defenseless people of Kashmir. Nevertheless, we accept Prime Minister Modi’s challenge, “The ideals on which the United Nations was founded, and India's own fundamental philosophy has a lot of commonalities. They are not different from each other.” Then Prime Minister Modi should agree that the point of departure for resolving Kashmir dispute has to be the same – to go back, yes, back to the United Nations which has prescribed the resolution of the Kashmir problem through a democratic method of a free and fair plebiscite. And how do the world powers, the U.S. among them, justify the inclusion of India as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and currently a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council when all the world sees that it is in violation of the UN’s own charter? This makes the mockery of the international obligations. Mr. Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations needs to be applauded for his statement that he made regarding Kashmir on February 18, 2020, "Diplomacy and dialogue remain the only tools that guarantee peace and stability with solutions in accordance with the Charter of United Nations and resolutions of the Security Council.” "I offered my good offices from the beginning. I am ready to help if both countries agree for mediation,” he added. Encouragement to India and Pakistan through numerous resolutions have been taking place for the last 73 years. Perhaps it is time that the authority entrusted to the United Nations be taken a little more seriously. Isn’t it also time that Mr. Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations brings the situation in Kashmir to the attention of the Security Council under the provision of the Article 99 of the United Nations Charter? It is here in the region of South Asia that the two nuclear powers have been eyeball to eyeball for the last two years? The Article 99 authorizes the Secretary General to ‘bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security’. Lastly, the world powers and the saner elements in both India and Pakistan need to realize that the participation of Kashmiri leadership in the dialogue process with India and Pakistan is the sine qua non that will help to achieve the lasting peace and tranquility in the region of South Asia. Dr. Fai is the Secretary General, Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum. He can be reached at: 1-202-607-6435 gnfai2003@yahoo.com

2        UK Protest; Oct 6 2021; Hundreds of protesters marched through Manchester to support the political struggle of both Kashmiris and Palestinians on the occasion of UK’s Conservative Party's annual conference. The march began at Whitworth Park and made its way through the city before finishing at the Manchester Central convention centre. The protesters were chanting slogans “stop arming India”, “stop arming Israel”, “end Indian occupation of Kashmir". The demonstrators also distributed thousands of pamphlets titled “Kashmir under Indian siege knocking at world conscience”. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2323269/hundreds-march-in-uk-to-protest-against-indian-israeli-atrocities

3        United Nations Urged to Help Resolve Kashmir Dispute Washington, DC: October 4, 2021:“The current resistance in Indian illegally occupied Jammu Kashmir (IIOJK) is rooted in the struggle of the people for the exercise of the right of self-determination - the promise which was given to them by the United Nations Security Council in 1948. While the people of IIOJK hold peaceful protests on the streets of Srinagar, Baramulla, Islamabad, Kupwara and elsewhere, Indian army has fired upon these peaceful protestors, killing more than 100,000 innocent civilians, including women and children since 1990,” this was stated by Shehryar Khan Afridi, Chairman, Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir at a reception given by Washington based World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF) at Sapphire Tyson. The hall was packed to its capacity .The Chairman articulated that Pakistan has consistently upheld the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to self-determination in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. These resolutions provide the pathway for the holding of a free and impartial plebiscite for the determination of the future of the State by the people of Jammu and Kashmir. History tells us that attempts to forcibly suppress the legitimate demands of the people of Jammu and Kashmir have resulted in failure. Similarly, threats of use of force have not affected Pakistan’s resolve to maintain its position of principle. One thing is crystal clear that without an active interest of big powers to come to the rescue of Kashmiris, India will not agree to any meaningful talks on Kashmir. He urged the world powers to break their silence and help the people of Jammu & Kashmir as the situation there was brewing with anger, and it may erupt anytime due to uninterrupted and prolonged atrocities being committed on the Kashmiris by fascist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Chairman added that his purpose of coming to America is to increase awareness in the corridors of power in Washington about the Kashmir issue. His sole purpose was to mobilize world opinion in support of the cause of right of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir as well as the principle stand of Pakistan;. The Chairman praised Prime Minister Imran Khan who pleaded the case of the people of Jammu & Kashmir at all international fora including the United Nations that Pakistan supports initiatives and efforts aimed to achieve a just and durable settlement of the Kashmir problem, in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Afridi Sahib expressed his resolve to interact with the elected representatives, civil society, members of think-tanks, academia to pursue forward the vision of his prime minister, Imran Khan Sahib. He expressed his unconditional moral, political, and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir for a just and peaceful solution to the long-standing dispute. He said that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our Kashmiri brethren. Ambassador Dr. Asad Majeed Khan, Pakistan’s Ambassador toe United States presented historical perspective of the dispute and underscored the efforts made by the current Government towards resolution of the Kashmir dispute. Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Khan said that Prime Minster Imran Khan has termed himself as the Ambassador for Kashmiri people and has been effectively pleading the case for Kashmir at all international forums including the United Nations. He briefed the audience on the recent visit by the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to attend the 76th Session of the UNGA in New York. During the visit, Foreign Minister along with President Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Chairman Pakistan Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir sensitized the international community on the plight of Kashmiri people and urged them to play their role in resolution of the Kashmir dispute as envisaged in the UNSC Resolutions and in accordance with wishes of the Kashmiri people. Ambassador Khan highlighted that India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5th August 2019 were in contravention to its international obligations, commitments to the United Nations and bilateral agreements and understandings between the two countries. He also drew attention of the audience to the grave peace and security threat posed by these Indian actions in South Asia and called for the international community to urge India to end its human rights violations in IIOJK and rescind illegal and unilateral actions taken on August 5, 2019  Ambassador Khan also lauded the role played by the Pakistani and Kashmiri American community in highlighting the gross human rights violations in IIOJK and echoing the voice of innocent Kashmiris in the corridors of U.S. Congress. He stressed upon them to continue sensitizing the respective Congressman and members of civil society on this grave issue. Ambassador Khan reiterated Government of Pakistan’s continued moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their struggle for right to self-determination. Dr. Ghulam N. Mir, President, WKAF said Kashmiris cherish the moral and political support of the brotherly people of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan in fighting off the oppression unleashed by the Indian regime. We are grateful to the indomitable prime minister Imran khan for forcefully advocating the cause of Indian Occupied Kashmir at all international platforms, including his powerful speeches at the 76th United Nations General Assembly session on September 24, 2021. He continues to support our principled position that Kashmir conflict must be resolved according to the UNSC resolutions passed as far back as 1948. Kashmir remains one of the most important unfinished business items United Nations’ agenda. Dr. Mir voiced his optimism that the political resistance in Kashmir is alive, despite the brutal tactics of Indian occupation forces. He emphasized that Kashmiri diaspora need to pursue the goal of right of self-determination as a united front. United we stand but divided we fall, Mir added. Dr. Mir appealed to the world powers in general and the United Nations in particular to bring immense moral and political influence to bear on initiating a peace process which will lead to a speedy, just and honorable settlement of the dispute and restore to the people of Kashmir their inalienable right to self-determination. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, WKAF said that the United Nations bears a special responsibility to bring peace to Kashmir because it was in its chamber more than 74 years ago that India made a pledge to the world body in general and to the people of Kashmir in particular that they would be enabled to decide their future under an impartially supervised plebiscite on the basis of their unfettered right of self-determination. That promise has not been kept and in fact, has been repudiated in cynical violation of the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. “No consideration of the Kashmir dispute which is designed to arrive at a peaceful settlement will yield any result unless the Kashmiri viewpoint is fully taken into account,” Fai emphasized. Dr. Fai said that Kashmir conflict has many dimensions: Political, diplomatic, humanitarian, etc. But the goal of all these dimensions is just one: to have a greater understanding of world powers, including the United States to help us to exercise the right to self-determination as was guaranteed under UN Security Council resolutions. ‘Unfortunately, both Trump and Biden administrations favored India over the people of Kashmir. They made no protests at the United Nations Security Council over India's violations of human rights or its plebiscite resolutions. They gave India a veto over any third-party intervention knowing it would be employed to the disadvantage of Kashmiris,” Fai said.  Dr. Imtiaz underscored that the events of August 5, 2019, are consistent with the ruthless occupation and suppression the people of Kashmir have suffered under the unpopular Indian rule. All the features of severe political repression are evident -- the detention without trial, torture, execution, the torturing of neighborhoods, imprisonment of leadership and gang rapes by the Indian army -- are common daily occurrences. It is in the interest of world peace that India and Pakistan need to resolve the Kashmir dispute to the satisfaction of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Sardar Zarif Khan, Chief Coordinator of the event said despite the persistent and pernicious tyranny, the people of Kashmir never have nor ever will give up their right to be free. It is based on the internationally recognized, and principled stand.  The Kashmiri diaspora and its allies worldwide stand in solidarity with the people of Jammu & Kashmir. We stand in support of their unyielding struggle to resist occupation and achieve their right to self-determination. Sardar Shoaib Khan, Coordinator of the event said that it was our duty to support the people of Kashmir who are struggling for their right to self-determination. Our objective is to draw the attention of the world powers to the situation in Kashmir and to exert pressure on the government of India and to resolve dispute over Kashmir and help stop human right violations in Indian occupied Kashmir.  In the end, the participants called upon the United Nations in general and Biden Administration in particular to play an active part in ensuring that the promises made to the people of Kashmir at the U.N. more than seven decades ago, be fulfilled and an opportunity given to the people to participate in a free and fair referendum to determine their future in line with their inalienable right to self-determination. Dr. Fai can be reached at: 1-202-607-6435 / gnfai2003@yahoo.com

 

4        Two martyred; Oct 10 2021; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian police martyred a Kashmiri youth in Srinagar, this evening. The police shot dead the youth in Natipora area of Srinagar. Indian troops martyred an unarmed civilian, Pervez Ahmad, by opening fire on his vehicle at Monghal Bridge in Islamabad district, last evening. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/08/one-more-youth-martyred-in-iiojk-toll-rises-to-two.html

5        FAFT; Oct 10 2021; India under fascist Narendra Modi has become a security threat to the world but is being overlooked by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and other global bodies. A report released by Kashmir Media Service, today, said India is financing and sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan and other regional countries. “India is a fit case to be blacklisted by FATF for its money laundering, terrorism sponsoring. 44 Indian banks have been flagged for carrying out suspicious transactions worth more than $1 billion,” it said.  The report said that the FATF must take action against India and Modi for being involved in terror financing and money laundering and the upcoming plenary meeting of the financial body is the right time to blacklist New Delhi for its suspicious transactions. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/09/fatf-must-blacklist-india-for-terror-financing-money-laundering.html

6        LaC Talks fail; OCt 11 2021;  China has accused India of making unreasonable demands in their latest round of talks as the two neighbours continued to blame each other for the latest flashpoints on their disputed border  “The Chinese side has made great efforts and fully demonstrated its sincerity to promote the de-escalation of the border situation,” Long said in a statement.“But the Indian side still insists on unreasonable and unrealistic demands, making the negotiations more difficult.“China’s determination to safeguard national sovereignty is unwavering and we hope that the Indian side will not misjudge the situation.” He urged India to prove its sincerity about working with China to achieve peace and stability on the border. Liu Zongyi, an associate research fellow with Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said India’s demands included disengagement at Hot Springs, the Depsang Plains and Demchok, requiring Chinese troops to withdraw behind India’s version of the border line. The two countries have differing interpretations of where parts of the LAC are drawn. “These are the places that used to be controlled by China,” Liu said. “Now India is asking Chinese troops to move backwards to the position it designated, which is not acceptable.” Hopes of achieving full disengagement before the harsh Himalayan winter were fading after the fruitless talks, and the military stand-off was likely to continue, Liu said.“This is a sovereignty issue that there’s no room for China to compromise on,” he said. In Beijing, state-owned China Daily on Saturday published a report rejecting Indian media reports that about 200 Chinese border troops had been detained by Indian counterparts for crossing the LAC. It said a routine patrol had been “unreasonably obstructed” late last month, the Chinese soldiers took countermeasures after being obstructed and returned after completing their mission. China has carried out several high-profile military drills in Tibet and Xinjiang, which observers viewed as warnings to India. These included a live-fire drill involving battle tanks near the Karakoram mountain range at 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) above sea level “to refine combat ability in high-altitude conditions”, state broadcaster CCTV said on Monday  The two sides agreed after the 10th round of negotiations in February to disengage their troops around Pangong Tso. They also disengaged in Galwan Valley in July and Gogra in August, although points of friction remain. “Unfortunately, the tenor of statements, particularly from the Chinese side, indicates that there is a hardening of position,” the Hindustan Times newspaper quoted former Northern Army commander Lieutenant General DS Hooda as saying. “This will obviously lead to an extended period of tension along the LAC.” Tensions have been high since deadly clashes in June last year in the strategically important Galwan Valley in Ladakh, the deadliest encounter between Indian and Chinese forces in more than four decades. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3151884/india-made-unreasonable-demands-china-says-after-failed-border?utm_medium=email&utm_source=cm&utm_campaign=enlz-china&utm_content=20211011&tpcc=enlz-china&UUID=ba1afc63-71e0-44dc-82af-b57ad5a38b3a&next_article_id=3151840&tc=5&CMCampaignID=72d48eac077ab98465cafb6b93da2c72

7        Indian Army losses; Oct 12 2021; Suspected rebels have shot dead five soldiers in Indian-administered Kashmir in the deadliest incident since February, an Indian army spokesman says. One JCO (junior commissioned officer) and four soldiers were killed during a search operation   . “Kashmiris are caught in unending violence from attacks by militants and abuses by government authorities and security forces,” HRW’s South Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly said in a statement. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/11/kashmir-suspected-rebels-five-indian-soldiers

8        Two martyred; Oct 12 2021; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism, martyred two Kashmiri youth in the territory. Indian troops during violent cordon and search operations killed a youth Imtiyaz Ahmad in Shahgund area of Bandipore district and another in Khagund area of Islamabad district.The troops also arrested five youth during the operations in Bandipore district and Islamabad districts. An Indian police man also received bullet injuries during the operation in Khagund area. He was shifted to nearby hospital for treatment. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/11/indain-troops-martyr-two-kashmiri-youth-in-iiojk.html

9        Five martyred; Oct 13 2021; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism, martyred five more Kashmiri youth in Shopian district, today. Indian troops during a violent cordon and search operation (CASO) killed three youth in Tulran area of Shopian district. Two more youth were killed by the troops during an operation in Feeripora area of the same district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/12/indian-troops-martyr-three-youth-in-shopian.html

10   Arunachal Pradesh and china; Oct 14 2021;   the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement in response to a Chinese state media question on the visit, asking India to “stop taking actions that would complicate and expand the boundary issue”. Naidu, on a tour of the Northeast, was in Arunachal over the weekend. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said   The Chinese government never recognizes the so-called Arunachal Pradesh established unilaterally and illegally by the Indian side, and is firmly opposed to the Indian leaders’ visits to the area concerned. We urge the Indian side to earnestly respect China’s major concerns, stop taking any action that would complicate and expand the boundary issue, and refrain from undermining mutual trust and bilateral relations. It should instead take real concrete actions to maintain peace and stability in the China-India border areas and help bring the bilateral relations back on to the track of sound and steady development.” China claims up to 90,000 sq km in Arunachal in the eastern sector, 

11   Youth martyred; October 13 : In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one more Kashmiri youth in Pulwama district, today.  The troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Tral area of the district https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/13/indian-troops-martyr-one-kashmiri-youth-in-pulwama.html

12   Indian soldiers killed; October 14; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, an Indian officer and soldiers were killed in an attack in Bhata Dhurian village near Bhimber Gali area of Poonch district, today A Junior Commissioned Officer and the soldier were killed in the firing while one soldier sustained injuries in the area. Two days ago, five Indian soldiers including a JCO were killed in the same area.
 . https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/14/indian-army-officer-killed-two-soldiers-injured-in-attack-in-poonch-traffic.html

13   Journalists held: Oct., 16, 2021: Authorities in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir must immediately release journalists Salman Shah and Suhail Dar, cease detaining and questioning journalists in relation to their work, and commit to allowing the media to operate freely and independently, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since October 8, authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have detained four journalists, subsequently releasing two of them, and questioned one other The five journalists are: Salman Shah, editor of Kashmir ;Suhail Dar, a freelance journalist; Mukhtar Zahoor, a freelance journalist contributing to the BBC; Majid Hyderi, a freelance journalist and commentator; Sajad Gul, a freelance journalist contributing to privately owned news websites The Kashmir Walla and Mountain Ink .“India needs to move quickly to improve its shameful record of harassing and detaining critical journalists in Jammu and Kashmir in a complete abandonment of India’s once-proud tradition of press freedom,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “Police must immediately release Salman Shah and Suhail Dar and allow journalists to do their jobs without fear         https://cpj.org/2021/10/jammu-and-kashmir-authorities-detain-question-5-journalists-hold-salman-shah-suhail-dar/

14   Two martyred; Oct., 16, 2021:  In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh acts of state terrorism martyred two Kashmiri youth in Srinagar and Pulwama, today. The troops martyred one youth during a cordon and search operation in Bemina area of Srinagar. The troops martyred another youth during a similar operation in Wahibug area of Pulwama district. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/15/indian-troops-martyr-two-youth-in-iiojk-2.html 

Kashmir Update 149: Week , Oct ,4, 2021  to Oct,10   ,2021

1        Kashmir Dispute: Challenge to world Conscience: Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai: October 1, 2021:  The most pertinent evidence of that conflict is that India has in recent years had as many as 900,000 military and paramilitary forces stationed on a piece of land no larger than the state of Tennessee (USA). By comparison, during the height of the Iraq war, in October 2007, U.S. Troop strength was only a little over 166,000. Iraq compares in size to the state of California. Obviously, the number of troops stationed in Kashmir is highly significant. There is no war taking place there. There is no imminent external threat of a foreign invader, with troops amassed at its border. Why so many troops? India frequently justifies its military presence, first, by asserting that Kashmir is an ‘integral part’ of India, and, second, that Pakistan, just across the border, is a threat. Both are nuclear-armed, and cross-border skirmishes occur periodically among a handful of troops stationed along the UN-established Cease-fire Line. However, to whatever extent such a threat exists, such an enormous volume of troops is well beyond whatever need there might be to resist such incursions. The best way to make sure that there is no such infiltration is to let the United Nations be allowed to monitor the Cease-fire Line. “The barrier itself consists of double-row of fencing and concertina wire eight to twelve feet (2.4–3.7 m) in height and is electrified and connected to a network of motion sensors, thermal imaging devices, lighting systems and alarms. They act as “fast alert signals” to the Indian troops who can be alerted and ambush the infiltrators trying to sneak in. The small stretch of land between the rows of fencing is mined with thousands of landmines.” Wikipedia The truth is that the people of Kashmir themselves have always been hostile to the presence of India’s troops on their soil and have resisted to such oppression, and over hundred thousand Kashmiris have died within the past 30 years alone. Long standing agreements at the United Nations in place have in fact afforded the Kashmiri people the right to determine their own destiny. What we have, then, is a case of a large country bullying a small nation into submission in violation of not only their right to sovereignty but international agreements and two dozen UN resolutions giving them the right to determine their own political fate. The purpose of so many troops stationed in this small country is for no other purpose but blatant oppression. Their presences make Kashmir the largest army concentration anywhere in the world. Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani has written on the subject, “The United Nations has defined the people of Jammu & Kashmir as ‘People of legend, song and story, associated with snow-capped mountains, beautiful valleys and life-giving waters’. Today we associate them with living in a highly militarised zone and locked down inside their homes. We associate them with a habitat where children are recruited to carry out espionage for the Indian Security Forces (a war crime),” Dr. Gilani added. You would think that the international community would be up in arms over such abuse, particularly in view of the fact that the Kashmiris have shown an iron determination to resist tens of thousands of killings, and thousands of rapes, disappearances and torture inflicted upon the population at the hands of these foreign occupiers.

In a more idealistic mood President Joe Biden said on February 4, 2021, “We must start with diplomacy rooted in America’s most cherished democratic values: defending freedom, championing opportunity, upholding universal rights, respecting the rule of law, and treating every person with dignity.” And again on September 13, 2021, "I've been clear that human rights will be the center of our foreign policy." Earlier President Barack Obama who choose Joe Biden as his running mate addressed the problem of Kashmir, in one of his rare moments of candor. “We should probably try to facilitate a better understanding between Pakistan and India, “he announced,” and try to resolve the Kashmir crisis.”  It wasn’t long after Obama’s newly anointed status, however, that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in New Delhi shuffling cards, engaging in toasts, and making deals on Boeing aircraft. Little more, if anything, was ever said about Kashmir. Trade between India and the U.S. has since become a $100 billion dollar business, with growth estimated in the near term as high as $500 billion. Given such platitudes, while American foreign policy is supposed to be grounded on moral values, democratic ideals and universal principles, it would appear that wherever the crowd of commercial interests get VIP status, such ideals and principles are easily set aside, relegated to the back of the room, where it’s standing room only. Money talks: ideals walk. Situation ethics is the name of the play. It is quite conspicuous that the world powers feel awkward and unequipped to intervene in any international conflict because the country concerned is too powerful and does not listen to morals and ethics when everyone has his wallet on the table. In addition, India’s refusal to accept international mediation or facilitation seems to shut the door on any kind of international dialogue regarding Kashmir. The Kashmiris are shut in, and the outside world out. Doesn’t the world community recognize such double standards? How is international credibility and trust engendered by such behavior? For whom does this bell toll but for last vestiges of all that we hold dear, while the corrupt and cynical become more emboldened, and does it not sow the seeds of hatred and deeper more lasting conflict among those who suffer because of it? “Bigger nations should not be able to bully smaller ones… people should be able to choose their own future,” President Barack Obama said, when he spoke to the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, 2014. “Too often,” he added, “we have failed to enforce international norms when it’s inconvenient to do so.” It would have been nice if President Obama had mentioned Kashmir in the same breath. However, speeches by a U.S. President on foreign policy usually engage issues that are relative to immediate concerns and objectives, and he seemed much more interested in pointing fingers at Russia for supporting the separatist fight in Ukraine and the need to impose sanctions. So, while the U.S. imposes sanctions on Russia for interfering in stability and peace in a country more than 5,000 miles away which is of no strategic pertinence to American safety or freedoms, it engages in trade with India and says nothing about India’s failure to enforce “international norms” where it is apparently inconvenient to do so. India’s transgressions in Kashmir are clearly far more relevant to the issue of international norms, given their history, than anything now occurring in Eastern Europe. If, in Indian Prime Minister Modi’s address to the same United Nations forum on September 26, 2020, he said that “Within the halls of the United Nations, one has often heard the words ‘the world is one family’. We treat the whole world as one family. It is part of our culture, character and thinking.” A grand statement, to be sure, but it has little credibility in the face of persistent policies by India against the defenseless people of Kashmir. Nevertheless, we accept Prime Minister Modi’s challenge, “The ideals on which the United Nations was founded, and India's own fundamental philosophy has a lot of commonalities. They are not different from each other.” Then Prime Minister Modi should agree that the point of departure for resolving Kashmir dispute has to be the same – to go back, yes, back to the United Nations which has prescribed the resolution of the Kashmir problem through a democratic method of a free and fair plebiscite. And how do the world powers, the U.S. among them, justify the inclusion of India as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and currently a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council when all the world sees that it is in violation of the UN’s own charter? This makes the mockery of the international obligations. Mr. Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations needs to be applauded for his statement that he made regarding Kashmir on February 18, 2020, "Diplomacy and dialogue remain the only tools that guarantee peace and stability with solutions in accordance with the Charter of United Nations and resolutions of the Security Council.” "I offered my good offices from the beginning. I am ready to help if both countries agree for mediation,” he added. Encouragement to India and Pakistan through numerous resolutions have been taking place for the last 73 years. Perhaps it is time that the authority entrusted to the United Nations be taken a little more seriously. Isn’t it also time that Mr. Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations brings the situation in Kashmir to the attention of the Security Council under the provision of the Article 99 of the United Nations Charter? It is here in the region of South Asia that the two nuclear powers have been eyeball to eyeball for the last two years? The Article 99 authorizes the Secretary General to ‘bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security’. Lastly, the world powers and the saner elements in both India and Pakistan need to realize that the participation of Kashmiri leadership in the dialogue process with India and Pakistan is the sine qua non that will help to achieve the lasting peace and tranquility in the region of South Asia. Dr. Fai is the Secretary General, Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum. He can be reached at: 1-202-607-6435 gnfai2003@yahoo.com

2        UK Protest; Oct 6 2021; Hundreds of protesters marched through Manchester to support the political struggle of both Kashmiris and Palestinians on the occasion of UK’s Conservative Party's annual conference. The march began at Whitworth Park and made its way through the city before finishing at the Manchester Central convention centre. The protesters were chanting slogans “stop arming India”, “stop arming Israel”, “end Indian occupation of Kashmir". The demonstrators also distributed thousands of pamphlets titled “Kashmir under Indian siege knocking at world conscience”. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2323269/hundreds-march-in-uk-to-protest-against-indian-israeli-atrocities

3        United Nations Urged to Help Resolve Kashmir Dispute Washington, DC: October 4, 2021:“The current resistance in Indian illegally occupied Jammu Kashmir (IIOJK) is rooted in the struggle of the people for the exercise of the right of self-determination - the promise which was given to them by the United Nations Security Council in 1948. While the people of IIOJK hold peaceful protests on the streets of Srinagar, Baramulla, Islamabad, Kupwara and elsewhere, Indian army has fired upon these peaceful protestors, killing more than 100,000 innocent civilians, including women and children since 1990,” this was stated by Shehryar Khan Afridi, Chairman, Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir at a reception given by Washington based World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF) at Sapphire Tyson. The hall was packed to its capacity .The Chairman articulated that Pakistan has consistently upheld the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to self-determination in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. These resolutions provide the pathway for the holding of a free and impartial plebiscite for the determination of the future of the State by the people of Jammu and Kashmir. History tells us that attempts to forcibly suppress the legitimate demands of the people of Jammu and Kashmir have resulted in failure. Similarly, threats of use of force have not affected Pakistan’s resolve to maintain its position of principle. One thing is crystal clear that without an active interest of big powers to come to the rescue of Kashmiris, India will not agree to any meaningful talks on Kashmir. He urged the world powers to break their silence and help the people of Jammu & Kashmir as the situation there was brewing with anger, and it may erupt anytime due to uninterrupted and prolonged atrocities being committed on the Kashmiris by fascist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Chairman added that his purpose of coming to America is to increase awareness in the corridors of power in Washington about the Kashmir issue. His sole purpose was to mobilize world opinion in support of the cause of right of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir as well as the principle stand of Pakistan;. The Chairman praised Prime Minister Imran Khan who pleaded the case of the people of Jammu & Kashmir at all international fora including the United Nations that Pakistan supports initiatives and efforts aimed to achieve a just and durable settlement of the Kashmir problem, in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Afridi Sahib expressed his resolve to interact with the elected representatives, civil society, members of think-tanks, academia to pursue forward the vision of his prime minister, Imran Khan Sahib. He expressed his unconditional moral, political, and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir for a just and peaceful solution to the long-standing dispute. He said that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our Kashmiri brethren. Ambassador Dr. Asad Majeed Khan, Pakistan’s Ambassador toe United States presented historical perspective of the dispute and underscored the efforts made by the current Government towards resolution of the Kashmir dispute. Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Khan said that Prime Minster Imran Khan has termed himself as the Ambassador for Kashmiri people and has been effectively pleading the case for Kashmir at all international forums including the United Nations. He briefed the audience on the recent visit by the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to attend the 76th Session of the UNGA in New York. During the visit, Foreign Minister along with President Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Chairman Pakistan Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir sensitized the international community on the plight of Kashmiri people and urged them to play their role in resolution of the Kashmir dispute as envisaged in the UNSC Resolutions and in accordance with wishes of the Kashmiri people. Ambassador Khan highlighted that India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5th August 2019 were in contravention to its international obligations, commitments to the United Nations and bilateral agreements and understandings between the two countries. He also drew attention of the audience to the grave peace and security threat posed by these Indian actions in South Asia and called for the international community to urge India to end its human rights violations in IIOJK and rescind illegal and unilateral actions taken on August 5, 2019  Ambassador Khan also lauded the role played by the Pakistani and Kashmiri American community in highlighting the gross human rights violations in IIOJK and echoing the voice of innocent Kashmiris in the corridors of U.S. Congress. He stressed upon them to continue sensitizing the respective Congressman and members of civil society on this grave issue. Ambassador Khan reiterated Government of Pakistan’s continued moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their struggle for right to self-determination. Dr. Ghulam N. Mir, President, WKAF said Kashmiris cherish the moral and political support of the brotherly people of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan in fighting off the oppression unleashed by the Indian regime. We are grateful to the indomitable prime minister Imran khan for forcefully advocating the cause of Indian Occupied Kashmir at all international platforms, including his powerful speeches at the 76th United Nations General Assembly session on September 24, 2021. He continues to support our principled position that Kashmir conflict must be resolved according to the UNSC resolutions passed as far back as 1948. Kashmir remains one of the most important unfinished business items United Nations’ agenda. Dr. Mir voiced his optimism that the political resistance in Kashmir is alive, despite the brutal tactics of Indian occupation forces. He emphasized that Kashmiri diaspora need to pursue the goal of right of self-determination as a united front. United we stand but divided we fall, Mir added. Dr. Mir appealed to the world powers in general and the United Nations in particular to bring immense moral and political influence to bear on initiating a peace process which will lead to a speedy, just and honorable settlement of the dispute and restore to the people of Kashmir their inalienable right to self-determination. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, WKAF said that the United Nations bears a special responsibility to bring peace to Kashmir because it was in its chamber more than 74 years ago that India made a pledge to the world body in general and to the people of Kashmir in particular that they would be enabled to decide their future under an impartially supervised plebiscite on the basis of their unfettered right of self-determination. That promise has not been kept and in fact, has been repudiated in cynical violation of the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. “No consideration of the Kashmir dispute which is designed to arrive at a peaceful settlement will yield any result unless the Kashmiri viewpoint is fully taken into account,” Fai emphasized. Dr. Fai said that Kashmir conflict has many dimensions: Political, diplomatic, humanitarian, etc. But the goal of all these dimensions is just one: to have a greater understanding of world powers, including the United States to help us to exercise the right to self-determination as was guaranteed under UN Security Council resolutions. ‘Unfortunately, both Trump and Biden administrations favored India over the people of Kashmir. They made no protests at the United Nations Security Council over India's violations of human rights or its plebiscite resolutions. They gave India a veto over any third-party intervention knowing it would be employed to the disadvantage of Kashmiris,” Fai said.  Dr. Imtiaz underscored that the events of August 5, 2019, are consistent with the ruthless occupation and suppression the people of Kashmir have suffered under the unpopular Indian rule. All the features of severe political repression are evident -- the detention without trial, torture, execution, the torturing of neighborhoods, imprisonment of leadership and gang rapes by the Indian army -- are common daily occurrences. It is in the interest of world peace that India and Pakistan need to resolve the Kashmir dispute to the satisfaction of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Sardar Zarif Khan, Chief Coordinator of the event said despite the persistent and pernicious tyranny, the people of Kashmir never have nor ever will give up their right to be free. It is based on the internationally recognized, and principled stand.  The Kashmiri diaspora and its allies worldwide stand in solidarity with the people of Jammu & Kashmir. We stand in support of their unyielding struggle to resist occupation and achieve their right to self-determination. Sardar Shoaib Khan, Coordinator of the event said that it was our duty to support the people of Kashmir who are struggling for their right to self-determination. Our objective is to draw the attention of the world powers to the situation in Kashmir and to exert pressure on the government of India and to resolve dispute over Kashmir and help stop human right violations in Indian occupied Kashmir.  In the end, the participants called upon the United Nations in general and Biden Administration in particular to play an active part in ensuring that the promises made to the people of Kashmir at the U.N. more than seven decades ago, be fulfilled and an opportunity given to the people to participate in a free and fair referendum to determine their future in line with their inalienable right to self-determination. Dr. Fai can be reached at: 1-202-607-6435 / gnfai2003@yahoo.com

 

4        Two martyred; Oct 10 2021; In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian police martyred a Kashmiri youth in Srinagar, this evening. The police shot dead the youth in Natipora area of Srinagar. Indian troops martyred an unarmed civilian, Pervez Ahmad, by opening fire on his vehicle at Monghal Bridge in Islamabad district, last evening. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/08/one-more-youth-martyred-in-iiojk-toll-rises-to-two.html

5        FAFT; Oct 10 2021; India under fascist Narendra Modi has become a security threat to the world but is being overlooked by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and other global bodies. A report released by Kashmir Media Service, today, said India is financing and sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan and other regional countries. “India is a fit case to be blacklisted by FATF for its money laundering, terrorism sponsoring. 44 Indian banks have been flagged for carrying out suspicious transactions worth more than $1 billion,” it said.  The report said that the FATF must take action against India and Modi for being involved in terror financing and money laundering and the upcoming plenary meeting of the financial body is the right time to blacklist New Delhi for its suspicious transactions. https://www.kmsnews.org/kms/2021/10/09/fatf-must-blacklist-india-for-terror-financing-money-laundering.html