Islamabad
Speakers at a webinar hosted by Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) and World Muslim Congress (WMC) made a passionate appeal to the international community urging it to stand up for the rights of Kashmiri children who have been the worst victims of the lingering dispute and Indian state terrorism.
Hosted in Islamabad as a sideline event of the ongoing 46th Session of United Nations Human Rights Council, the webinar titled “Forgotten children of Kashmir conflict” was participated and addressed by noted human rights activists, scholars, academicians and international experts including His Excellency Ambassador Dr Shahid Ameen Khan, World Chairman and Ambassador at Large, International Human Rights Commission; Ms Danielle Khan Special Assistant to Dean Eliot A Cohen at Johns Hopkins Paul H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies; Rana Shama Nazir, Chairperson British Kashmiri Women Council, UK; Barrister Nida Salam, British-Kashmiri Barrister; Ms Marrina Zucca, Human Rights Activist Italy; Dr Shaheen Shora, Consultant Psychiatrist and Medical Lead for Mental Health Services, Hertfordshire, UK; Mr Ahmed Bin Qasim, son of political prisoners Dr Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo and Aasiya Andrabi; and Prof Shugafta Ashraf, Amb. Ibhrim Dadu Said of Lebanon, whereas the event was moderated by the KIIR Chairman, Altaf Hussain Wani.
The speakers while highlighting the plight of Kashmiri children said that decade-old conflict has left the life of Kashmiri children completely devastated.
“Besides affecting the mental and physical health of children the unending violence has rendered their future bleak”, they said adding that the life of Kashmiris especially the children who have always been at the receiving end has sadly been crippled by the long-running dispute.
“The fact remains that no facet of life in Kashmir has been left unaffected from the brutal war. However, being a vulnerable segment of the society children in Kashmir have been the worst victims of direct and indirect forms of violence and brutality, which has left indelible imprints of war on their memory.
The atmosphere of violence has virtually robbed them of their childhood activities and cherished memories. Grown up witnessing nothing but the sounds of gunshots, killings and cries of the injured, the children have literally lost the meaning of childhood,” they said.
The speakers maintained that like other parts of the world, children of Kashmir deserve the right to live a peaceful life in a violence-free environment.
They said, these silent sufferers of the conflict deserve the right to health and education. “Hundreds of innocent children have fallen to the bullets of Indian army while thousands of others have become orphans after losing their parents, and many have been left to rot in detention and interrogation centers without any fault.
Young generation of Kashmir has been searing in the flames of withering injustice, discrimination,” the deplored.
The speakers said apart from dire economic impact, the violence has cast a dark shadow on the physical and mental health of Kashmiri children.—KMS
