The All Parties Hurriyat Conference has said that the BJP-led Indian regime is using the Lok Sabha elections as a veil to hide its atrocities and mislead the international community about the dire situation in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas in a statement in Srinagar highlighted that India has deployed an excessive military presence of over 1,100,000 troops in the UN-mandated disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, treating civilians as enemies with a soldier-to-civilian ratio of 1:10. The troops are not confined to the Line of Control (LoC) and borders but are also stationed within civilian areas, subjecting the populace to widespread raids, arrests, and collective punishment for demanding the UN-pledged right to self-determination.
Minhas emphasized that India’s use of brute force violates international laws, despite UN resolutions affirming the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination through a plebiscite. He lamented the rampant human rights abuses, including fake encounters and torture in military camps and interrogation centers across the Valley.
The APHC drew attention to alarming warnings from international bodies, such as the Genocide Watch statement in February 2019, and recent US intelligence reports foreseeing heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, and India and China. These warnings underscore the urgent need for democratic countries to recognize India’s diplomatic deceit, which exacerbates an already volatile situation.
Furthermore, the APHC hailed senior Hurriyat leader Mushtaqul Islam’s resilience after completing two years of illegal detention in an Uttar Pradesh jail under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA). His arrest, deemed as blatant harassment to stifle political dissent in Kashmir, reflects the ongoing suppression of voices advocating for self-determination.
The APHC urged the UN to fulfill its duty to resolve the Kashmir dispute and halt the bloodshed in IIOJK, emphasizing the imperative for international intervention to address the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the territory.—KMS
