In a special message on the 1st Anniversary of India’s Military siege of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Ambassador of Pakistan to Belgium, Luxembourg and European Union, H.E. Zaheer A. Janjua issued a special video message, says a press release received here today from Brussels.
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In his message, the Ambassador noted that it has been one year since the Indian government changed the special status of Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in complete violation of International Law and the UN Security Council Resolutions.
Ambassador Janjua highlighted the Indian government's additional steps to consolidate its illegal occupation by introducing a series of new domicile regulations to change the demographic structure of the illegally occupied territory.
He emphasized that the current Indian leadership is bent upon perpetuating its illegal occupation by brutally crushing the quest of the Kashmiri people for their fundamental rights, especially the right to self-determination, enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.
The Ambassador said that by taking advantage of the world community’s preoccupation with the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian forces further intensified their inhumane crackdown and military siege.
He said that mass extra-judicial killings in fake encounters, burning and looting of Kashmiris houses to inflict collective punishment on communities, indiscriminate use of pellet guns and live ammunition against unarmed peaceful protestors remain the norm as thousands of Kashmiris, including political leadership, remain under arbitrary detention and incarceration.
He underscored that Media has also been stifled with intimidation, detention and harassment. However, the gross human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir have been repeatedly exposed by reports of the international media, human rights organizations and world parliaments, he maintained.
Ambassador Janjua referred to the two reports of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in June 2018 and July 2019 which extensively documented the India gross and systematic violations of human rights, which the UN Secretary General has termed as the voice of UN.
He said that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and multiple UN Special Procedure Mandate Holders have also expressed serious concerns on the human rights situation in IIOJ&K. The UN Security Council has also discussed this issue.
The Ambassador said that last year in September, the European Parliament held an open debate on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir in which a large number of MEPs condemned Indian actions and human rights violations and called upon India to lift the military siege. Vice President of the European Parliament Dr. Fabio Massimo Castaldo, sent a letter, co-signed by other MEPs, to the President of the European Commission and High Representative on the precarious situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, he maintained.
He further said that the Chair of the European Parliament’s Sub-Committee on Human Rights, MEP Maria Arena, also wrote a letter to the Indian Home Minister raising serious concerns on the situation of human rights in India. The international community has an urgent responsibility to address the situation. The travesty of justice and international law must, henceforth, come to an end, he said.
The Ambassador urged the international community to play its role and impress upon India to immediately lift the military siege, rescind the illegal and unilateral actions since 5 August 2019, comply with the UN Security Council resolutions, cease its gross human rights violations and allow access to international human rights and humanitarian organizations, observers and international media to the occupied territory.
He reiterated Pakistan’s continuous political, diplomatic and moral support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir for achieving their right to self-determination guaranteed to them by the UN Security Council.
The Ambassador highlighted that the Government of Pakistan has decided to mark August 5 as Youm-e-Istehsal – the day of exploitation.
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