Zubair Qureshi
Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Shehryar Khan Afridi and Ambassador of Azerbaijan Ali Alizada at a seminar marking the 29th anniversary of Khojaly genocide and 30th anniversary of Kupwara mass rape tragedy in occupied Kashmir called upon the United Nations and the world bodies to take notice of the gross violations of Human Rights and atrocities committed by the Indian and the Armenian forces in the Occupied Kashmir and the town of Khojaly respectively.
The seminar titled ‘Bombardments, Massacres, genocides, Crime Against Humanity’ was jointly organized by the Islamabad Institute of Conflict Resolution (IICR) and the Embassy of Azerbaijan on Monday.
The chief guest on the occasion Shehryar Afridi said the Indian occupying forces were using ‘rape’ as war tool of genocide against the freedom loving Kashmiris in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the failure of the world community in punishing the culprits of Kupwara mass rapes might lead to eruption of a new war between two nuclear neighbours.
The occupying forces of India in Kunan Poshpora, Kupwara committed mass rape on February 23, 1991. Afridi said until recently, there existed no punishment for ‘war rape’ in international law.
Shehryar Afridi said that the mass rapes of women in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Khojaly, Nagorno-Karabakh were used by the occupying forces as tool of genocide.
“Any new war may suck in other nuclear powers of the region. Hence, this conflict may not remain limited,” warned the Chairman.
Azerbaijan Ambassador Ali Alizade while appreciating the efforts of the IICR and its organizers for holding seminar marking the 29th anniversary of Khojaly genocide (February 23, 1992) said the memories of the crimes committed by the Armenian forces against women of that town are still itched alive on the minds of the people of Azerbaijan.
He highlighted the genocide perpetrated by the Armenian army in Nagorno-Karabakh town of Khojaly and said that the occupying forces committed massive killings to suppress the voices against freedom of Nagorno-Karabakh.
He expressed gratitude to the government and the people of Pakistan for their unflinching support to Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh.
He said that despite United Nations Security Council resolutions, the world community failed to help the oppressed people of Nagorno-Karabakh.
He also urged the United Nations to hold plebiscite in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council resolutions. Defence analyst Lt General (R) Amjad Shoaib, Prof Dr Salma Malik and CEO of the IICR Saba Aslam also spoke on the occasion. MNAs Ghazala Saifi Naureen and Naureen Ibrahim also attended the event besides a number of diplomats.
