 |
|
|
|
|
|
Round Table Discussion on
Draconian Laws in Indian Held Kashmir: Contravention of All Human Rights Charters
Organized by
MUSLIM Institute |
|
Islamabad based research think-tank MUSLIM Institute organized a Round Table Discussion on “Draconian Laws in Indian Held Kashmir: Contravention of All Human Rights Charters”. Representatives of different think tanks, Universities and foreign diplomats also participated in the discussion.
|
|
|
Tahir Mehmood
Research Associate, MUSLIM Institute
Tahir Mehmood, Research Associate of MUSLIM Institute while giving a presentation on the topic informed that Indian Government has enforced many brutal laws in Kashmir. These include Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA) 1978, Jammu & Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act 1990, Terrorist And Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) 1990, The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) 1990, Prevention Of Terrorism Act (POTA) 2002, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Ordinance 2004, The National Security Act (NSA), Official Secrets Act (OSA), Newspapers Incitement To Offences Act and many more of this sort, allowing the Indian forces to carry out inhuman actions against the Muslims of Kashmir with absolute impunity. These laws give the Indian forces extraordinary powers to inflict with indemnity all kinds of abuses on Kashmiris in IHK including detention, torture, use of force, shooting (and killing) under the pretext of maintaining public order. Leading international human rights organizations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and UN Human Rights Committee, just to name a few, have expressed severe reservations on these laws describing them as “license to kill” and blatant contravention of all convents of basic human rights accepted worldwide.
|
|
Syed Yousaf Naseem
Convener All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Pakistan & AJK
Syed Yousaf Naseem, Convener All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Pakistan & AJK, expressing his views said that Kashmir is attached with Pakistan not only geographically but religiously, culturally and economically. In 1947 everyone knew that Kashmir would be part of Pakistan even Raja Harri Singh was prepared for this. Kashmir Muslim Conference was only political party having 21 members in council who had the authority to vote, but Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Lord Mountbatten violated the distribution plan and gave district Gurdaspur to India. On 27 October 1947 Indian troops entered Kashmir through this district and started killing of Muslim community. As a result, 300,000 Kashmiri Muslims were killed and more than 500,000 people migrated from Jammu to Pakistan and settled in different districts of Pakistan.
After resistance of Kashmiri people, India took the case to UN General Assembly which accepted Kashmiris’ right of self determination to choose Pakistan or India. However, India later backed out of that commitment and constantly violating the UN’s resolutions since then. It has further enforced numerous Draconian laws in the Occupied Kashmir. The Indian forces are abducting people, who either never return or their dead bodies are later thrown away in deserted places, raping women and girls, even killing people publicly. Nonetheless, these repressive laws give protection to all kind of illegal and abusive actions of occupying forces as even no FIR can be registered without the approval of central government of India. No one can put a case for justice and even relatives cannot meet with prisoners. He said that now many people from India are also writing for rights of Kashmiri people and they are raising voice for Kashmir’s freedom. He regretted that international organizations are merely condemning Indian violations of all basic human rights of people of IHK but not taking any practical steps like exerting pressure on India in shape of some sanctions to check these abuses as well as laws granting permission to carry out the same.
About the Indian government’s plans to construct wall on Line of Control he said that LOC is not the international boundary for India, it is the line where the cease-fire between Indian & Pakistan forces was affected as per UN resolutions for the future plebiscite of Kashmiri people. Therefore India has no right to construct anything in disputed area including any wall.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
