Friday 29th of March 2024
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   Op-ed
India`s oppressive siege of Kashmir tramples human rights
  Date : 29-03-2024

More than 8 million Kashmiris face imprisonment in what is largest open-air prison in the world

Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi: Home to enthralling mountains, spectacular valleys and magnificent lakes, Kashmir’s legendary beauty is best described by the famous poet Amir Khusrau in a Persian couplet which reads: “If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this.”

Sadly, this paradise on earth is under siege. Exactly, a year ago, India imposed an armed siege and communications blackout in Kashmir. For the people of Kashmir who have already suffered unspeakable pain and humiliation over the last seven decades at the hands of India, this was a new and unprecedented indignity, as it coincided with India’s illegal attempt to alter the internationally recognized disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Thousands of Kashmiris, including minors, have been arrested and tortured. Indian security forces routinely stage fake encounters to kill young Kashmiri protesters. The ranks of young children and women blinded by India’s indiscriminate use of pellet guns continue to swell.

Today, more than 8 million Kashmiris face incarceration in what is effectively the largest open-air prison in the world. After barring two U.S. senators from visiting Kashmir last October, India has made sure that no independent observers or organizations visit the occupied territory — lest the voices of oppressed Kashmiris are heard.

Instead of letting up in its oppression, India has used the COVID-19 crisis to dial up pain for the hapless Kashmiris, thus doubling-up their inflictions and tribulations. There has been a spike in arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings. Following a year-long Internet blockade, Kashmiris are stuck in an information black hole, at a time when the rest of the world is using Internet-based platforms to fight a raging pandemic.

The grim human rights situation in Kashmir has attracted the attention of the people of conscience around the world. Amnesty International is alarmed while the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in its recent reports on Kashmir has reiterated the “urgent need to address past and ongoing human rights violations and to deliver justice for all people in Kashmir.”

In the United States, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a historic hearing on Nov. 14 last year to shed light on human rights abuses in Kashmir. Many witnesses provided compelling evidence of the pervasive human rights violations committed by the Indian government security forces, especially since Aug. 5, in an environment of impunity.



  
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