PM's Equating Modi With Hitler Changes Kashmir's Narrative Among Int'l Community: Mazari

Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari on Wednesday said the role played by Prime Minister Imran Khan in terms of changing the narrative of Kashmir among the international community, by equating Modi's human rights abuses and blatant refusal to comply with international Law, with Hitler's fascism

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Aug, 2020 ) :Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari on Wednesday said the role played by Prime Minister Imran Khan in terms of changing the narrative of Kashmir among the international community, by equating Modi's human rights abuses and blatant refusal to comply with international Law, with Hitler's fascism.

"Now that Modi's fascism has come to light, the narrative has changed. We should move forward with active diplomacy," she added.

The minister was moderating a webinar organized by the Ministry of Human Rights to explore the Human Rights Crisis in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), marking the one-year military siege, wide-scale arrests, and an unprecedented communication blackout since India revoked Article 370 of its constitution stripping the Muslim majority territory of Jammu & Kashmir of its autonomy.

Since last August, 1.5 million Kashmiri children in the IIOJK have endured extreme forms of violence. Citizens live in constant fear of forced abductions, arbitrary arrests torture, extra judicial killings and debilitating injuries from pellet guns. They also suffer from restricted access to medical help, the internet, information and educational facilities. The right to life and from the prohibition of torture and other ill treatment as well as the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly are protected under international law including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which India is a party The panel discussion explored how the situation in the IIOJK had deteriorated in the last year, as well as how recent developments relate to International Human Rights Law. The panelists included Fawad Chaudhary, Federal Minister for Science and Technology; Ahmed Quraishi, Executive Director of Youth Forum for Kashmir (YFK); Syed Ali Mohammad Zafar, Senior Partner of Mandviwalla & Zafar & Legal Consultants; and Muhammad Oves Anwar, Director of the Conflict Law Centre (CLC) at RSIL.

Advocate Ali Zafar stated that Pakistan's case was based on self-determination and in today's world that principle would win against arms and boots.

Oves Anwar said India had been turned into a war zone where villagers were used as human shields and hundreds of rape cases had been documented between 1989-2017. He spoke about the significance of appealing to the international community at large, by framing the issue in humanitarian terms, so that it could be understood as a threat to Human Rights all over the world.

Ahmed Qureshi said,"We have seen the narrative shift to Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir from disputed Kashmir." In conclusion, Fawad Chaudhary said there was a lot of support for Pakistan inside Kashmir, the Indian Army had committed numerous human rights violations in the IIOJK and "the next year is monumental for us as well as the Kashmiris".

Ijaz Masih emphasized that it had been 70 years since India had been committing human rights abuses in Kashmir and the Modi government had committed human rights violations that had affected women, children and the elderly.

The Ministry of Human Rights also showcased a powerful film on the everyday struggles of Kashmiris in the IIOJK to mark the occasion and to launch its Reels for Rights Digital Film Festival. "Faryad: A Wail From Kashmir," explores the inter-generational violence suffered by Kashmiris at the hands of the Indian Occupation Forces, by delving into the story of a journalist speaking out for the rights of Kashmiris.\932