A Continuing Disaster

On December 10, 2021, the International Human Rights Day was observed across the world. On that occasion, gross human rights violations perpetrated in different parts of the world were strongly condemned by international organisations championing the cause of human rights. Yet again, the resolutions were passed, but nothing more than that. However, when it comes to the human rights of Kashmiris and Palestinians, who have been deprived of their lands for the last seven decades and have been oppressed by the Indian and Israeli forces, no voice was raised on the international forum, thus giving us a good idea of the world's double standards regarding human rights.

The Palestinian people, under the oppression of the Zionist powers, lost their territories due to American backing in late 1940s. The rise of Zionists pitted against the Arab states in the Middle East, while the United Nations, the representative body, also played a hypocritical role in favour of Israel. The U.S. fully helped the state of Israel to pursue its expansionist ambitions more aggressively.

On this basis, the Israeli forces have tried almost every oppressive means to oppress the Palestinians and have not spared even the first holy place of the Muslims in Jerusalem. The Israeli atrocities being carried out against the helpless and unarmed Palestinians continue today and they are bombarded with bullets every day, (e.g. Giza Strip that was brutally bombarded in May 2021).

In December 2017, the former President of the US, Donald Trump announced plans to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. That move took place on May 14, 2018, which reflects its anti-Muslim prejudice, for which the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling on the United States to reverse its decision. Up to now, the Palestinian people are suffering from Israeli atrocities in their quest for freedom, but the leaders and organizations chanting slogans for the protection of human rights have never been concerned about the protection of Palestinian rights.

The atrocities being committed by the Indian security forces in Indian-held Kashmir , has been a talk of the town. The people of the Indian-occupied Kashmir, who have been fighting for independence from Indian rule for the last 74 years and have made immense sacrifices, have been left in the lurch, reeling at the mercy of their fate. Moreover, at the behest of the Hindutva ideology, Kashmiris' human rights and freedoms were first taken away by illegal occupation of the Kashmir Valley at the time of creation of Pakistan in 1947 and then in August 2019 when Kashmir was left without their special status, which was granted to the valley under Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution. Two years ago, on August 5, 2019, the fascist Modi regime revoked those provisions of the India Constitution.

It is worthy to note that the UN Security Council, through its resolution, recognized the right of Kashmiris to self-determination and directed India to hold a plebiscite in the Occupied territories of Kashmir. The UN reiterated its stance to India through various resolutions, but, India has habitually put a blind eye on these resolutions thus far. Nonetheless, the world leaders concerned with the protection of human rights, including the United States and international organisations, e.g. the UN, have not been able to play their effective role in stopping Indian atrocities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K). In India-occupied Kashmir, people are sacrificing their lives in the face of atrocities by Indian security and paramilitary forces.

On the one hand, the security forces have turned the Indian-occupied Kashmir valley into an open prison and the world’s most militarised zone. Facing the wrath of state-sponsored terrorism on the other size, Indian minorities have also deprived of their fundamental rights and religious freedoms.

In this regard, a report by the Human Rights Organisation of Occupied Kashmir has revealed to the United Nations that the occupying forces in Indian-occupied Kashmir have martyred over hundred thousand Kashmiri people in 32 years, out of which some eight thousand five hundred thirty two Kashmiris had been subjected to extrajudicial killings. A few years ago, a delegation from Amnesty International, an international human rights organisation, visited the Indian-occupied Kashmir and discovered the mass graves of Kashmiris who were martyred by the Indian occupation forces.

Most importantly, the so-called champions of human rights, international organisations and world leaders must be aware of the fact that since August 5, 2019, there has been a continuous military siege in the Indian-occupied valley, during which about 484 Kashmiris, including women, have been martyred. The brutal use of force, including bullets, pellet guns and tear gas, on peaceful protesters has injured more than 2,000 people and disgraced 118 women over the past two years.
In the recent past, the Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Shah Gilani’s demise during his detention at the same span of subjugation and oppression, is a serious question mark on the credibility of the so-called champions of human rights. It is also a matter of fact that Gilani's dead body was also taken away from his family by the Indian occupation forces.

It should be noted that Pakistan has been supporting the struggle of Kashmiris for the last 74 years, raising its voice on every relevant forum and in the United Nations for the people of Kashmir. On Because of this, India has been at loggerheads with Pakistan from the day one up till now.
Briefly put, Pakistan has never closed the door of dialogue with India, this is India, which has been running away. For the sake of regional and global peace and security, the United Nations must stand in the way of India's expansionist ambitions to implement its resolutions to resolve the Kashmir's long-festering issue.