Our Correspondent
Muzaffarabad
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan Friday called upon the President Emmanuel Macron, the people, media and intellectuals of France to support the struggling people of Kashmir so that they achieve their political goal of freedom and the right of self-determination in consonance with the ideal of French Revolution.
‘The French Revolution had a tripartite motto: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. We in Jammu and Kashmir are also inspired by this triad, which subsumes freedom and self-determination. France should help us determinate our political destiny,’ the President said while speaking at a Zoom video link-conference on Kashmir in Paris, said a news release.
Hosted by Pakistan’s Ambassador to France, Moinul Haque, the event was attended by French journalists, academics, diplomats and human rights activists. Describing the latest situation of occupied Kashmir as grave and critical and said rancour against Indian occupation forces is at its peak.
The AJK president said that under the garb of Covid-19, the Indian troops have intensified their repression against the Kashmiri people in a bid to suppress their spirit of freedom. Besides killing the Kashmiris, he went on to say that India has taking actions to turn the Muslims majority into a minority in occupied Kashmir, and the recent change of domicile laws granting settlement rights to Hindus is part of the same heinous attempt. ‘Impaled, Kashmiris won’t fight a full war against 900,000 troops, but they have pinned them down. The Indian troops are in a foreign, alien land but they delude themselves that they’re winning by killing.
The president said in the past one month alone , 32 Kashmiri youth in IOJk have been martyred.. The occupied territory is turbulent; and there is no ‘calm’ that India is projecting.
Sardar Masood Khan said that the international community had enforced lockdown to prevent casualties from Covid-19, but the Indian government has locked down Kashmir to inflict casualties. ‘The Indian occupied troops have virtually besieged eight million Kashmiri people, deny them access to food, education, medicines, employment and the freedom of expression,’ he added.
President Masood said that India’s action of August 5, abolition of article s35-A ad 370 of the constitution, and now amendment in domicile laws violated the UN Security Council resolutions, Geneva Convention and other international human rights laws. Under the UN resolution, he said, Kashmir is a disputed territory.
He appealed to the world leaders, intellectuals and media to take notice of India’s inhuman actions in occupied Kashmir and raise their voice for the solution of Kashmir issue according to the wishes of the Kashmiri people under the UN resolutions. Inviting the participants of the conference to visit and experience by themselves the freedom enjoyed by the people of AJK, President Masood said that India has barred media and human rights organization to enter in IOJK, yet the door of Azad Jammu and Kashmir are open for everyone.
