ISLAMABAD - Senate Standing Committee on Interior Chairman Rehman Malik yesterday urged the government to file a lawsuit in International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Criminal Court (ICC) against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his accomplices for their crimes against humanity and genocide in Indian Occupied Kashmir.

Speaking at a news conference after a meeting with a delegation of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference here, Senator Rehman Malik said the Indian PM must be convicted for his crimes.

The APHC leaders included Muhammad Farooq Rehmani, Pervaiz Ahmed Advocate, Muhammad Hussain, Manzoor Ul Haq, Nasir Mirza, Sultan Butt, Kh. Nazeer Ahmed and Adil Mushtaq Wani.

In the meeting, they discussed the ongoing situation in Kashmir, and strongly condemned Indian forces brutalities against oppressed Kashmiri people and also the future strategy as to how to expose the real cruel face of PM Narendra Modi before the international community.

They also demanded from the United Nations to refer the Kashmir issue to the ICC and ICJ and implement the UNSC Resolutions regarding the right of self-determination to Kashmiri people. They urged the United Nations to immediately deploy its peacekeeping mission in India Occupied Kashmir, constitute a plebiscite commission and announce a fix date for the plebiscite in Kashmir.  

They observed that the Indian government was violating international treaties by denying the access of human rights bodies and international media in Indian Occupied Kashmir; therefore, they asked the UN to constitute a high powered commission to investigate the human rights violations in held Kashmir. They also demanded the immediate restoration of the special status of Kashmir.

The Senator urged the government to follow the precedent set by Gambian Minister of Justice and Attorney General Abubacarr Marie Tambadou who had filed a lawsuit against the Rohingyan massacre before the ICJ and won it a few days ago.

He said: “If a small country like Gambia can stand for Rohingyan Muslims why can’t Pakistan go for their own oppressed Kashmiris in ICJ and ICC. The Senator maintained that he along with legal fertility and APHC leaders would file a lawsuit in the ICJ if the government further delay filing the reference.

He added: “I have dedicated my new book titled ‘Bleeding Kashmir’ to the oppressed Kashmiris who are waiting for Justice and right of self-determination and particular to Insha Mushtaq who lost her eyes as a result of pelleting by the Indian forces and yet continued her education.

He said that he has documented all the facts regarding heinous crimes against humanity being carried by the Indian forces in held Kashmir.

Senator Malik said that Pakistan observed “Kashmir Solidarity Day” to show our solidarity with the oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir and to feel their pains.

He said it is the day to recognize the efforts of Kashmiri people for their legitimate right of self-determination and pay homage to the martyrs of Kashmir, and to highlight across the world the Indian forces brutalities against unarmed people of Kashmir.

“The whole Pakistani nation is concerned about the miserable condition of Kashmiris and it is unfortunate to note that the world including the United Nations and OIC are acting as silent spectators on Indian brutalities,” Malik said, adding that six months of the cruel curfew were completing today and the Indian troops under PM Modi were continuously violating human rights and international laws in IOK, but no action yet was initiated by the UN.

Referring to the UN Human Rights report, he said that Indian forces were committing unprecedented brutalities against the innocent Kashmiris in terms of mass murders, mass blinding, enforced disappearances, torture, rape, political repression and suppression of freedom of speech. He said that according to available statistics the details alone, from January 1989 till January 31, 2018, at least 94,644 innocent Kashmiris had been killed, 7,099 were killed in custody, 11,042 women were gang-raped and 7,485 were injured by pellets.

Senator Rehman Malik added that through a pre-plan strategy the Indian Prime Minister Modi scrapped the special status of Kashmiris by revoking the Articles 370 and 35-A and amended The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019. “Very cleverly, India is sidelining the Muslims and other minorities to convert India into a Hindu State alone which is the ideology of RSS,” he stressed, stressing that the crimes against humanity for which the leadership of the Republic of Myanmar was dragged by Gambian Minister of Justice were being replicated by PM Modi in Kashmir and he must be dealt under the same charges in ICJ.

Farooq Rehmani, while leading the APHC delegation, said: “We Kashmiris are thankful to Senator A. Rehman Malik for organising this event and highlighting the Kashmir cause in a befitting manner on all national and international forums.

He said that Senator Rehman Malik had emerged as ‘Voice of Kashmir’ in the world. He said that they had a deliberate discussion on the current situation in Kashmir and strongly agreed with his stance of filing a petition against India in ICJ and ICC.