Clock is Ticking

On January 5, 1949, the United Nations Commission passed a resolution which guaranteed free and fair plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir so that the Kashmiri people could use their right to self-determination. However, about seventy-two years have passed by, but the plebiscite in Kashmir has yet to take place. Kashmiris are continually subjected to atrocities by the Indian armed forces that mainly operate under the Hindutva ideology that seeks Hindu dominance over the rest of the minorities living in India, particularly the Muslims.

Indian forces have been committing massive human rights violations in India-occupied Kashmir, which puts a question mark on the credibility of the United Nation. The gross violations are often reported in the international media and timely noted by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, for instance, in 2018 and 2019. On that occasion, Pakistan released a comprehensive dossier, which was an eye-opener for the so-called champions of world justice and human rights.

The part of Jammu and Kashmir that is illegally occupied by India is one of the areas in the world whose inhabitants have been longing for independence for decades. The occupied forces of India have inflicted such atrocities on them that once they are thoroughly investigated and the facts come to light, the oppressed people of the occupied valley would bear the brunt of the worst form of the state terrorism.

Pakistan has repeatedly provided evidence to the international community with regard to the India’s state terrorism. However, the global community and international organizations have done nothing in this regard. There are also decades-old UN and Security Council resolutions that have yet to be implemented. Given this, it seems that the international community is not serious about resolving the Kashmir dispute, otherwise, India is not strong enough to stand defiantly against international pressure.

To expose India, Pakistan has once again provided the UN the evidence of Indian war crimes committed in Indian-occupied Kashmir, such as genocide of Kashmiris, use of chemical weapons, enforced disappearances, human rights violations, fake encounters and false flag operations.

The 131-page dossier has three chapters. The first chapter deals with war crimes, the second chapter focuses on false flag operations, while the third chapter is about the UNSC resolutions and India’s efforts to change the demography of the IIOJK. The dossier contains about 113 references, 26 of which were taken from international media and 41 from Indian think tanks. Of these, only 14 references belong to Pakistan. This is the most authoritative document in which a staggering 3,432 cases are related to war crimes. For instance, as per the dossier, a total of 8,652 mass graves were discovered in about 89 villages of 6 districts of the Indian-occupied Kashmir, out of which 154 graves contained 2 dead bodies while 23 graves contained the bodies of more than 17 people. Indian forces have set up some 239 torture cells in IOK and since 2014, 30,000 people from the occupied valley have been subjected to severe torture, while about 231 people were electrocuted. Chemical weapons were also used.

Ever since the Modi-led BJP government came to power in India, human rights violations have increased in Indian-occupied Kashmir. The dossier also identified about 1,128 people who were extra-judicially killed or pellet guns were used against them. The dossier mentions the desecration of women and more than 100,000 properties that were burned to ashes. It also mentions fake operations carried out by Indian armed forces to defame Pakistan.

The UN Security Council should take note of the serious human rights violations and war crimes in Indian-occupied Kashmir and the decades-long sacrifices of Kashmiris should not go in vain.

The Western countries have a double standard on the human rights abuses in IOK as despite its shameful record, India was given the presidency of the UN Security Council at a time when the human rights violations by India armed forces were at their peak in Kashmir. It is pertinent to mention here that the World community should keep in mind that today the situation in IoK has entirely changed and there is no one to cover up India’s crimes.

Briefly put, the international community should seriously consider the fact that both Pakistan and India are nuclear-armed countries and India’s terror-driven approach poses a serious threat to the security of the entire region. The atmosphere that India is creating in the region under its expansionist ambitions will further deteriorate the situation and will have a severe impact on the world. The clock is ticking.