HRs Day marked with protests in Indian held-Kashmir
Pakistan Times Kashmir Desk

SRINAGAR: Muslim activists in Indian held Kashmir marked International Human Rights Day on Friday by holding protest marches against alleged abuses by troops.

More than 100 members of the National Conference party, led by two state lawmakers, staged a noisy march in the state’s summer capital Srinagar. “Down with state terrorism”, they chanted. “We want an end to human rights violations.”

“During the present regime human rights violations at the hands of security forces have increased manifold. We want an end to them,” said Ali Mohammed Sagar, senior leader of the party which lost power in 2003.

Javed Mir, a leader, was detained along with a dozen supporters in Srinagar when they held their own protest march, police and witnesses said.

Police also dispersed dozens of activists from the influential Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) who tried to march in the city’s Lal Chowk district.

“Over a dozen JKLF activists were detained,” a police officer said.

A series of demonstrations against alleged abuses by troops has been held in the last month in Indian Kashmir. The Himalayan territory is divided between India and Pakistan.

Human rights groups accuse both militants and troops of abuses. The Indian army says it investigates all complaints and punishes those found guilty.

Last week troops were involved in two shooting incidents that left three civilians dead, sparking major protests.

Tension remains high over the alleged rape of a woman and her 12-year-old daughter by an army major on November 9. The officer has been suspended and faces a court martial.

In occupied Kashmir, political and religious parties representing different shades of public opinion have condemned India for flagrant violation of human rights in occupied Kashmir terming human rights abuses as “war crimes”. They have appealed to international human rights organisations and world community to take immediate cognizance of the situation in occupied Kashmir, reports Kashmir Media Service.

The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League (JKPL) Chairman Sheikh Abdul Aziz asked for revocation of draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) and Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). He said under these laws troops have been given unbridled powers and now they have become law unto themselves. He said: “By letting loose reign of terror India can not suppress people of Kashmir”.

“Fake encounters, custodial killings, torture, rape and other such crimes could not succeed in suppressing our voice”, he said.

Shaikh Aziz said peace and stability in South Asia was impossible until Kashmir issue was not resolved.

The Muslim League (ML) asked international human rights groups to take serious note of the human rights abuses in Kashmir. “Beating and torture, nocturnal raids have become norm here”, ML spokesman in a statement said, adding the arrest and detention is routine and court orders are not being respected by the authorities. The statement said the Indian army was using rape as war weapon. “They have blasted 20,000 houses and still claim themselves champions of human rights”, the statement said.

The Jama’at-e-Islami while condemning human rights abuses expressed surprise over the silence of international community. “Every day incidents of human rights abuses take place here. Youth are being picked up and then killed in custody and fake encounters and world community is acting as silent spectator”, Jama’at statement said.

The statement said hundreds of youth are being kept in various jails. “They have been booked under draconian laws like TADA, PSA and POTA and are not being released, though courts have quashed their detention orders”, the statement said, adding that the world community should take serious note of rights abuses in Kashmir.

The Jammu and Kashmir Anjuman-e-Sharie Shiyaan urged Muslim world to come out and protest against human rights abuses. The party asked Muslims to raise plight of Kashmiris, Palestinians and Iraqis. The statement said on December 10 people should raise their voice against gross human rights abuses in Kashmir and draw the attention of world community towards it.

Muslim Khawateen Markaz, Tehreek-e-Wahdat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir, Students Movement and Islami Tanzeem Azadi have also condemned human rights abuses and asked international community to take serious note of rights abuses.

APHC chairman Syed Ali Gilani and President Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) Shabbir Ahmad Shah have been placed under house arrest here on Friday by the puppet authorities to prevent them from leading public rallies on the occasion of World Human Rights Day.

Syed Ali Gilani was scheduled to lead a protest demonstration in Srinagar on Friday while Shabbir Shah was to address a function organised by Bar Association. Later he was to proceed to Islamabad to address a public rally.

Earlier President Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) Shabbir Ahmad Shah said government of India is trying to crush the political aspirations of Kashmiris through economic packages, but it would not succeed in doing so.

He was addressing his party workers here prior to his arrest.

“New Delhi has never attempted to fulfil the political aspirations of Kashmiris. Instead it has always tried to supress those aspirations using economic packages.

The DFP president stated that Kashmir issue is not related to unemployment, which can be solved by giving jobs to unemployed youth. The issue does not pertain to bread and butter as is being projected by New Delhi. But Kashmir issue is very close to the hearts of the people of the occupied state, he added.

The political aspirations of the people can be fulfilled only after they are allowed to decide their future as per their wishes, Shabbir Shah said.

He claimed that the real cause for the human rights violations is the “unconstitutional occupation of the state”. These abuses are being used as a weapon of war against pro-freedom people by the state puppet government and India, he said. “ The killings, arrests, rapes and arson continue to crush the ongoing movement. Justice loving people across the globe have been raising their voice against human rights violations.

Even the democratic governments try to improve their human rights record”, the DFP president said.

Shabbir Shah said that puppet state regime and its police and military forces do not hesitate to commit human rights violations. According to him while the political activities of the freedom struggle leaders have increased the human rights abuses by Indian army have also gone up. He said that a wrong impression is being created by the puppet state government that every thing was all right in occupied Kashmir.●