MIRPUR (AJK)-The Pakistani Embassy in Amman organised a seminar titled ‘Jammu & Kashmir: A Tale of Unending Miseries’ in the context of 71st Kashmir Black Day.
It was held in collaboration with Pakistan Graduate’s Club Jordan, Saloon of Art and Literature and Pakistan-Jordan Friendship Association. It was attended by a large number of people from different walks of life including Jordanian Senate, diplomatic community, media, think tanks, civil society, human right organisations and Pakistani community.
Kashmiri leader Altaf Hussain Wani attended the seminar on special invitation as guest speaker to represent the subjugated people of Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir.
Jordan-Pakistan Friendship Association President Fakhri Abu Taleb, Senator Ghazi At Tayyeb, Pakistan Graduates’ Club President Zaid Al Muhaisen and renowned Jordanian author and historian Umer Nazal Al Armouti also spoke on the event.
It was noted that Jammu & Kashmir and Palestine are the two long-standing disputes that the Muslim World is facing for the last 70 years. The speakers condemned Indian barbarism against the people of Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IoK) in strongest terms. They urged the international community to take note of the horrendous brutalities. The speakers appreciated the consistent struggle of the valiant people of IoK for exhibiting unmatched resilience and determination in their plight for freedom from Indian occupation.
The speakers called upon the global community, especially the Muslim Ummah, to stand up and raise voices for the oppressed people of Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir. They noted that no oppressor in the world has ever succeeded in subjugating valiant people forever. They expressed hope that soon the people of Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir would also realise their long cherished dream of freedom from the Indian yoke. The speakers urged India to resolve Jammu & Kashmir dispute and urged the international community to support the legitimate right to self-determination of the people of Kashmir as per the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
Pakistan’s Charge’d affaires Saadia Wuqarun Nisa and Defence Attaché Col. Muhammad Yousaf also addressed the gathering and highlighted the human rights violations by 700,000 Indian occupation forces in IoK. It was underlined that since July 2016, Indian brutalities have resulted in the killing of over 460 innocent Kashmiris, injuring over 20,000 and deliberately blinding hundreds of others. Over 200 people have lost their eyesight, while the vision of thousands has been impaired. Over 95,000 people have been killed by the Indian army since 1989, out of which 7,000 have been killed within Indian custody.
About 10,000 Kashmiris have been forcibly disappeared. More than 10,000 women have been dishonoured and more than 6,000 unmarked mass graves have been discovered in IoK with thousands of dead bodies. On 27th October 1947, Indian troops landed in Srinagar, the capital of Jammu & Kashmir, to illegally occupy the State against the wishes of a vast majority of its people. Since that day the grave human tragedy is continuing in Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir where the Indian occupation forces are committing the worst form of state terrorism and crimes against humanity.
Altaf Hussain Wani, the representative of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, said, “Kashmir is the world’s most densely militarised zone, and we have little choice, between life and death. Human rights violations are frightful: extrajudicial killings, torture, rape, abductions, arson, and arbitrary detentions constitute part of our daily life. Since 1989, more than 100,000 Kashmiris have been killed. Indian forces routinely commit war crimes with impunity under emergency laws. Apart from the magnitude of violence unleashed by the Indian military forces against peaceful protesters in Kashmir, the most poignant aspect of the situation is the acute suffering of the whole population caused by the frequent curfews, disregard of normal life, arrests, detentions and sometimes disappearances of innocent civilians by occupation forces.”
He added, “Aimed at a long list of conflicts now, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Yemen and the Wars in Africa, Kashmir was put on the back seat. Recent conflicts were given priority in the global system. It seems that Kashmir is largely a forgotten issue. However, the world broke its silence, 70 years long deadly silence last year. I must share with you that credit goes to the smartphones which are in your hands and those Android and I-phones apps, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. A young man of Kashmir, known as Burhan Wani, by using social media introduced real face of Kashmir to the world. His name was Burhan Wani, through Facebook messages, pictures, videos messages and updates on social media he galvanised the nation. When occupation army killed him, on 8th of July last year entire population came out to streets to salute him.”