Fai Hails the Enthusiastic Outpourings Behind Solidarity Day
Washington, DC: Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, Washington-based ‘World Forum for Peace & Justice’, has 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 the 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 the Kashmiri people who are living in the largest open prison under 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 Kashmir is more than a human right issue, it is a freedom struggle for 23 million 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 the Indian parliament.
Professor Khan added that the Indian army is brutalizing and terrorizing Kashmiris to instill utmost fear so that they cannot even whisper about their right of self-determination. Indian army patrol sthe areas, destroys the localities if they meet even a semblance of resistance and capture sthe youth whenever and wherever they find them.
Saleem Qadri called on India to accede to international law in Kashmir and to cooperate in holding a referendum. India itself will benefit by the vast savings in military and paramilitary force in Kashmir, and by the more favorable investment environment that would follow on the heels of peace in Kashmir. He demanded the unconditional release of all political leaders, including Masarat Alam.
Sardar Imtiaz Khan (New Jersey) said that the truth is that the people of Kashmir 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 32 years alone. Long-standing agreements in place have in fact afforded the Kashmiri people the right to determine their own destiny. Sardar Imtiaz added that the way to a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue lies in tripartite negotiations between India, Pakistan and the genuine Kashmiri leadership. He said that it was absolutely necessary to have third party mediation because history shows that bilateral arrangements have never worked out as India is always insincere.
Ziaul Hussain asked: Why, after 75 years of dispute, is the question of Kashmir still lurking in the shadows of international relations, still unresolved, despite its seemingly relative unimportance to global interests in matters of resources and international trade? The lives and hopes of Kashmiris should not be snuffed out by a ‘might-makes-right’ approach to international relations and morality, Ziaul Hussain added.
Tariq Bhatti expressed serious concern over the silence of the world powers over the semi genocidal situation in Kashmir. He said that Genocide Watch has testified before the US Congress that there is a potential of genocide both in India as well as in Kashmir.
Mazhar Chugtai explained that the right of self-determination which was promised to the people of Kashmir by both India and Pakistan and was endorsed by the UN Security Council needs to be fulfilled. The Kashmir dispute has no military solution. It can only be resolved through peaceful negotiations between all parties concerned.
Ms Aisha Khan said that international attention is now focused on Kashmir, and she called for unity among people as they push for freedom from the Indian yoke. She said that the world powers have the moral duty to intervene to bring justice and peace to the people of Kashmir who are being systematically brutalized by the Indian fascist regime.
Other speakers included Sardar Ashiq Khan, Sardar Zubair Khan, Sardar Aftab Roshan Khan, Naeem Butt, Akram Butt, Zulfiqar Khan, Gul Sher Sahi, 15-year Asva Nazim, Sardar Zarif Khan, and Sardar Shoaib Irshad.
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.
