1n Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the incarcerated All Parties Hurriyat Conference Vice Chairman, Ghulam Ahmad Gulzar, has said that India is grossly violating the international law in the UN-recognized disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Ghulam Ahmad Gulzar in a message from Central Jail Srinagar said, with the deployment of more than one million military and paramilitary troops, India has converted the territory into an open air prison where all fundamental rights and freedoms of the people have been snatched. He deplored that Narendra Modi-led fascist Indian government was using every brutal tactic to implement the Hindutva agenda of extremist Hindu organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to turn the Muslim majority into a minority and destroy the Muslim identity of the territory. The APHC leader urged the world community, particularly the United Nations, to hold India accountable for its atrocities on innocent Kashmiris and force it to resolve the Kashmir dispute by giving the Kashmiri people their right to self-determination.
Meanwhile, Indian troops continued their cordon and search operations in several areas of Srinagar, Ganderbal, Badgam, Baramulla, Kupwara, Pulwama, Islamabad, Shopian, Rajouri, Poonch and Kathua districts of the occupied territory, subjecting the residents to intimidation and harassment.
A report released by Kashmir Media Service, today, said incidents of suicide are common among Indian military personnel as is evident from the data recently released by the Indian Defense Ministry which says that 819 armed forces’ personnel have committed suicide in last five years. The report said the rising suicides among Indian armed forces show increasing level of depression and low morale within the military. It said, one of the main reasons behind the highest suicide rate in the Indian armed forces is their deployment in conflict zones like Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The report added that realization of fighting a futile war and guilt of killing, arresting and torturing innocent Kashmiri people besides the ill-treatment by senior officers and poor services are some main causes of increasing suicides among Indian military in IIOJK.
Speakers of a function held at the office of APHC-AJK chapter in Islamabad vowed to work tirelessly and take all possible steps on the political and diplomatic fronts to highlight the Kashmir cause and apprise the international community of the Indian atrocities in IIOJK. The speakers included Convener of National Solidarity Forum Saudi Arabia Sardar Iqbal Yousuf, senior journalist Waqar-ul-Zaman Kayani, and APHC-AJK Convener Mehmood Ahmad Saghar.—KMS
