GENEVA: Kashmiris staged a protest demonstration outside the United Nations office in Geneva, demanding an immediate end to human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir, Kashmir Media Service (KMS) reported.
Former minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Ashraf and Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) Chairman Altaf Hussain Wani addressed the demonstration. Kashmiri leaders Zahid Hashmi, Pervaiz Ahmed Shah and Shamim Shawl, along with other Kashmiri representatives, also took part.
Speakers expressed concern over what they described as attempts to change the demographic balance of the region. Participants strongly condemned the continued use of laws they called “black laws”, including the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, the Public Safety Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
They urged the UN Security Council to take practical steps to implement its resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir. The speakers said the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination is inalienable and called on the Council to turn its promises and resolutions into action.
The speakers also demanded an end to the harassment and prolonged detention of political leaders, activists and human rights defenders. They called for international monitoring of the cases and detention conditions of all jailed Kashmiri political prisoners, including Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik.
Describing India’s development initiatives in the region as a “colonial settlement project”, the speakers said these measures were aimed at altering the population balance. They further said the militarisation of religious pilgrimage sites and routes poses serious environmental risks to the fragile Himalayan region.
The Kashmiri leaders urged the international community to take immediate action on the issues raised.
