Wani Urges UN Attention To Kashmir Crisis

Altaf Hussain Wani, a notable human rights activist and chairman of the Kashmir Institute of International Relations, emphasized the pressing need for the United Nations to address the human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIoJK)

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Mar, 2024) Altaf Hussain Wani, a notable human rights activist and chairman of the Kashmir Institute of International Relations, emphasized the pressing need for the United Nations to address the human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIoJK).

Speaking at the 5th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Altaf Hussain Wani, representing the World Muslim Congress, highlighted the ongoing challenges in Kashmir.

He emphasized that for the past 76 years, and particularly over the last 34 years, Kashmir has faced a range of human rights violations. These include brutal military occupation, custodial killings, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, sexual abuse, destruction of properties, and torture, all of which persist with impunity.

Wani said, the revocation of Article 370 and 35A served as a pretext for India to pursue settler colonialism and seize land on a large scale. He pointed out that the Hague Regulations of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention impose specific limitations and obligations on occupying powers.

Wani emphasized that the occupier does not gain sovereignty over the territory and must adhere to the laws enforced in the occupied area.

He criticized India for relocating populations to the occupied territory and seizing property belonging to citizens, which he stated violates the Hague regulations.

Wani highlighted that most recently, the Indian state of Maharashtra has purchased land in the occupied state of Jammu and Kashmir, which, according to him, is not only illegal as per state subject laws but also an attempt to deprive indigenous people of their land and rights, protected through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Wani pointed out that India has put Kashmiri land on sale to Indian realtors and has given military power to occupy any land without the consent of local authorities. According to him, what development means to India in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) is the opening of liquor shops, construction of temples, new military cantonments, and Hindu pilgrimage sites, all aimed at systematically erasing Kashmir's political, religious, and cultural identity. He emphasized that this further humiliates, dismembers, disempowers, and disenfranchises the people of Kashmir.

APP/abs-szm