Afzal
Guru’s Martyrdom Keeps the Kashmir’s Struggle Alive By Sajjad
Shaukat (JR132SS23)
Every year, the
martyrdom anniversary of Muhammad Afzal Guru is being celebrated on the 9th of
February to pay homage to him, as India secretly hanged him and buried inside
the Tihar jail complex on February 9, 2013. His martyrdom resulted into
protests in Kashmir and widespread condemnations from various political and
human rights organisations. Afzal Guru was convicted in 2001 Parliament attack
case and awarded death sentence. Afzal had always denied plotting the attack,
which left 14 dead, including five militants.
In the past five
years, during his martyrdom anniversary, a complete shutdown was observed in
the Indian occupied Kashmir and protest demonstrations were held to demand the
return of mortal remains of Afzal Guru.
Every year, call for
the strike is being given by pro-freedom leaders and organizations to mark the
anniversary of Muhammad Afzal. Indian authorities arrest Kashmiri leaders,
Yasin Malik, along with several other Hurriyet activists and lodge them in
different police stations and jails. The authorities also place many Hurriyet
leaders under house arrest.
In their statements
and meetings, all the leaders of the freedom movement of Kashmir paid glowing
tributes to the martyred Muhammad Afzal Guru who sacrificed his live for the
Kashmir cause.
Even, the Sikh
organization, Dal Khalsa President H S Dhami, while paying tributes to Muhammad
Afzal Guru on the eve of his second martyrdom anniversary, in a statement in
Amritsar criticized India for failing to hand over his mortal remains to his
wife.
However, this time, this
very day has come at time when the people of Kashmir have accelerated their
legitimate struggle in the aftermath of the martyrdom of the young Kashmir
leader Burhan Wani by the Indian security forces in the Indian Held Kashmir in
wake of continued sieges, prolonged curfews, arrests and detentions of the
Kashmiri leaders. Since July 8, 2016, Indian forces have martyred more than
1500 innocent persons who have been protesting against the martyrdom of Burhan
Wani.
The very tragedy of
Kashmiris had started after 1947 when they were denied their genuine right of
self-determination which was recognized by the UN resolutions. Passing through
various phases, the struggle of Kashmiris keeps on going unabated.
Nevertheless, various
forms of state terrorism have been part of a deliberate campaign by the Indian
army and paramilitary forces against Muslim Kashmiris, especially since 1989.
It has been manifested in brutal tactics like crackdowns, curfews, illegal
detentions, massacre, targeted killings, sieges, burning the houses, torture,
disappearances, rape, breaking the legs, molestation of Muslim women and
killing of persons through fake encounter.
In fact, Indian
forces have employed various draconian laws like the Jammu and Kashmir
Disturbed Areas Act, and the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers
Act and Public Safety Act in killing the Kashmiri people, and for the
arbitrarily arrest of any individual for an indefinite period.
Besides Human Rights
Watch, in its various reports, Amnesty International has also pointed out grave
human rights violations in the Indian controlled Kashmir, indicating, “The
Muslim majority population in the Kashmir Valley suffers from the repressive
tactics of the security forces”.
In its report on July
2, 2015, the Amnesty International has highlighted extrajudicial killings of
the innocent persons at the hands of Indian security forces in the Indian Held
Kashmir. The report points out, “Tens of thousands of security forces are
deployed in Indian-administered Kashmir…the Armed Forces Special Powers Act
allows troops to shoot to kill suspected militants or arrest them without a
warrant…not a single member of the armed forces has been tried in a civilian
court for violating human rights in Kashmir…this lack of accountability has in
turn facilitated other serious abuses…India has martyred one 100,000 people.
More than 8,000 disappeared (while) in the custody of army and state police.”
In this respect,
European Union has passed a resolution about human rights abuses committed by
Indian forces in the Indian held Kashmir.
It is of particular
attention that in 2008, a rights group reported unmarked graves in 55 villages
across the northern regions of the Indian-held Kashmir. Then researchers and
other groups reported finding thousands of mass graves without markers. In this
respect, in August, 2011, Indian Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights
Commission officially acknowledged in its report that innocent civilians killed
in the two-decade conflict have been buried in unmarked graves.
Foreign sources and
human rights organisations have revealed that unnamed graves include those
innocent persons, killed by the Indian military and paramilitary troops in the
fake encounters, including those who were tortured to death by the Indian
secret agency RAW. In the recent past, more unmarked graves have been
discovered.
It is mentionable
that report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
released on June 14, 2018-“Situation in Kashmir”
pointed out Indian atrocities in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK). It said: “From July 2016, the High
Commissioner for Human Rights has on numerous occasions requested the Governments
of India and Pakistan that his Office be given unconditional access to Kashmir
to assess the human rights situation. India rejected this request; while
Pakistan offered access…The refusal to allow unhindered access to United
Nations team into Indian-Administered-Kashmir gave rise to an idea of “Remote
Monitoring”. The report was then compiled by doing “remote monitoring” on the
situation of Human Rights in Kashmir. The report by the independent authority
is an eye-opener for many. The focus of the report is on the situation of human
rights in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir from July 2016 to April 2018.
During this period ‘OHCHR’ received reports of allegations of widespread and
serious human rights violations by Indian security forces that led to numerous
civilian casualties.
Notably, in his
address at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 29, 2018, Pakistan’s
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi
said, “The neighbouring country [India] rejected the Pakistani offer of
resuming peace talks on ‘flimsy grounds…We are ready to talk to India on all
issues but with respect…Kashmir issue is the biggest obstacle to regional
peace…the Indian forces subjecting Kashmiris to atrocities for seven decades.
India should not test Pakistan’s patience…we will respond to Indian
aggression…The latest UN report on the occupied Kashmir has exposed Indian
atrocities on innocent civilians…the meeting between the Pakistani and Indian
foreign ministers would’ve been a great opportunity for dialogue. But, the Modi
government chose politics over dialogue…India would have to bear the brunt of
Pakistan’s retaliation if it makes the mistake of any misadventure on the Line
of Control (LoC)”.
It is also of particular attention that pointing out June
14 [2018] UN report that calls for the establishment of a ‘commission of
inquiry’ to investigate the grave human rights violations in Indian Occupied
Kashmir, United Nations Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres expressed the hope on January 18, this year that Pakistan and
India would be able to engage in a “meaningful dialogue” to resolve their
disputes. The report also emphasised that a dialogue includes the people
of Kashmir to resolve their problem. Guterres
said that he has been offering his good offices in relation to the dialogue
between the two countries that until now had no condition of success.
Some online authentic
sources suggest that recent wave of Kashmiri intifada has witnessed repression
of Indian armed forces; large numbers of the dead and injured have been
youngsters. The pellet guns used by security forces have damaged the faces of
1600 people and more than 1100 people have partially or wholly lost their
eyesight making 2016 as the year of dead eyes.
In 2017, reports
also disclosed that Indian security forces have
also used chemical weapons against the Kashmiri civilians in violation of
international law and
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Due to mounting causalities in IOK, Indian security forces
have started giving collective punishment to Kashmiri civilians. In a
development on July 4, 2017, the Indian Army had destroyed houses in Pulwama
and killed 3 Kashmiri civilians. Upon recovery of the bodies, it was discovered
that they were burnt beyond recognition.
Sources report that Indian Army is emulating Israeli tactics
by using white phosphorus bombs to destroy houses of Kashmiris suspected of
harboring Mujahideen. The same tactics was used by Israel during its attacks on
Gaza and it seems that these weapons have been provided by Israel to India for
use in IOK.
As a matter of
fact, Indian authorities are not willing to talk with Kashmiri people on
political grounds. New Delhi reached to a conclusion that only bullet is the
right way of dealing with Kashmiris, demanding their right of
self-determination. Surprisingly, Indian successive governments are trying to
ignore the dynamics of the freedom movement of Kashmiris for the sake of their
alien rule.
Failed in
suppressing the Kashmir movement, Indian central government imposed President’s
rule in Jammu and Kashmir which started from December 20, 2018. The main
purpose is to accelerate atrocities on the Kashmiris who are demanding their
genuine right of self-determination.
And New Delhi is
still showing its intransigence in order to resolve Kashmir issue with Pakistan
by neglecting the fact that Kashmir remains a nuclear flashpoint between both
the neighbouring countries. While, by manipulating the false flag terror
attacks at a military base in Uri and Baramulla, the BJP-led Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has intensified war-hysteria against Pakistan. Indian forces have continued violation of the
LoC by shelling in Pakistani side of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan’s Army has been
compelled to give a matching response. New Delhi’s main aim is to deflect the
attention of the international community from the new phase of Kashmiri
Intifada, while in this regard; pressure has been mounting on the Modi
government both domestically and internationally to resolve the dispute of
Kashmir with Pakistan.
It is noteworthy
that Egbert Jahn in his book, “Kashmir: Flashpoint for a Nuclear War or Even a
Third World War?” has pointed out, “The Kashmir conflict is embedded in the
wider conflict over the incomplete creation of nations and states on the Indian
subcontinent, which during the east-west conflict even threatened at times to
escalate into a nuclear world war between Pakistan and the USA on the one side
and India and the USSR on the other. Until now, there have been three wars
between India and Pakistan over the Jammu and Kashmir: in 1947–49, 1965 and
1999… finally, the Indo-Chinese border war of 1962…after these wars…and could
unexpectedly again lead to a regional and under certain circumstances…even a
major nuclear war or a Third World War.”
Undoubtedly, the
martyrdom of Muhammad Afzal Guru infused a new spirit into the Kashmir’s
struggle remains alive today. His martyrdom anniversary provides an opportunity
to ponder over the fact that various countries of the world got independence by
sacrificing their precious lives. On this vary day, the best way to pay homage
to the hero of Kashmir’s struggle Muhammad Afzal Guru is that all the Kashmiris
must renew their pledge to take the war of liberation to its logical end.
Sajjad Shaukat
writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic
Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International
Relations
Email:
sajjad_logic@yahoo.com
