London, December 23, 2018 (PPI-OT): The President of London-based Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR), Dr Syed Nazir Gilani, has expressed serious concern over the bloodshed by Indian troops in the territory particularly the killing of six youth in Tral area of Pulwama district on Saturday.
Dr Syed Nazir Gilani in a letter sent to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, through e-mail urged her to take cognizance of the stepped up Indian state terrorism in occupied Kashmir.
Following is the full text of the letter:
22 December 2018
Excellency Mme Michelle Bachelet,
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais des Nations,
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.
Mme High Commissioner
Killing in Tral, Indian occupied Kashmir
JKCHR wishes to congratulate you on your assumption of office as the seventh UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
This NGO has a special cause to celebrate your appointment. We were on the UN-NGO Liaison Committee elected at the UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in June 1993, which was responsible for the substance and procedure of the World Conference. We remained engaged in the process at the World Conference, when the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was formally discussed and established.
Your predecessor His Excellency Mr Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein lived up to his belief that States engaged in “shaming’ a human person by violating his or her rights need to be “named and shamed”. We endorsed his views that “The shame comes from the actions themselves, the conduct or violations at issue. The denial of the right to life shames; killing or murder, sometimes on a massive scale, produces shame stunningly, in seemingly inexhaustible supply”.
The 14 June 2018 OHCHR report on “The Human Rights situation in Kashmir”, is the second indirect contact made by the United Nations using the Remote Monitoring with the people of Kashmir. The first direct contact was made when UN Secretary General visited Srinagar for two days from 20-22 March 1959.
The 14 June 2018 report has asked among the 25 recommendations for:
(i) “Establishment of a commission of inquiry to conduct a comprehensive independent international investigation into allegations of human rights violations in Kashmir”.
(ii) “Fully respect the right of self-determination of the people of Kashmir as protected under international law”.
The report has highlighted that the presence of 500,000 to 700,000 Indian troops on the Indian side of cease fire line makes Kashmir one of the most militarized zones in the world. The report has missed out on the continued violation by these Indian troops of the four restraints placed on them at the time of their temporary admission into Kashmir on 27 October 1947 and the three restraints placed on their behaviour, number and location in the UN Resolution of 21 April 1948.
These forces’ personnel are now an occupation force and have waged a war on the defenceless men, women and children. The broad spread of their powers under Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1990 has allowed them to operate above law and the civilian courts can’t prosecute them for any violation of human rights. Earlier to the 14 June 2018 OHCHR report, Resolution E/CN.4/Sub.2/1997/L.21 moved by Mrs. Palley British Expert at the 49th session of UN Sub Commission on Human Rights on 15 August 1997, has catalogued in detail the abuses committed by the Indian forces in Kashmir.
People of Indian occupied Kashmir have been making efforts to undo the Indian occupation and are offering a political and an armed resistance since 1990. Indian security forces have killed around 100,000 people, mostly a generation of Kashmiri youth. They have profiled the youth into five categories to be killed against a heavy reward. We have submitted a written statement to the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the rights of peoples to self-determination for consideration at its meeting on 21 July 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
JKCHR has informed the OHCHR on 21 October 2018 about the killing of 9 people in Kulgam and Islamabad (Kashmir). We have again made a written complaint against Indian forces for killing 11 civilians on 15 December 2018 in Sirnoo village of Pulwama – in the Indian occupied Kashmir. Many hundreds were critically injured.
On 22 December Indian security forces carried out a cordon and search operation in Tral area of South Kashmir and killed six youth. In total 17 youth have been killed on two occasions, that is, on 15 December and 22 December 2018. The youth killed today (December 22) have been identified as Salih Mohammad Akhoon, Rasikh Mir, Rauf Mir, Umar Ramzan, Nadeem Sofi and Faisal Javaid Khanday. Indian forces have terminated the internet and telephone services in Tral and the people remain adversely cut off from rest of the territory.
Excellency, 14 June 2018 OHCHR report on Kashmir, has engaged the interest of people at all levels. I have attended 4 Conferences in Islamabad from 8-17 December 2018, whereat participants, expressed a sincere hope that the OHCHR would monitor the progress on recommendations made in the report. People of Jammu and Kashmir, deserve to enjoy the full regime of human rights and are eagerly waiting to vote in a UN supervised referendum.
Mme High Commissioner, we would respectfully urge that Government of India is cautioned by your office to:
(i) respect the three restraints placed on the behaviour, number and location of its security forces in Kashmir vide the UN Security Council Resolution of 21 April 1948
(ii) respect the regime of rights slated in the said Resolution and (iii) take action on the 17 recommendations made in the 14 June 2018 report of OHCHR.
Mme High Commissioner kindly rest assured of our best regards and highest consideration.
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