Kashmir is an unfinished agenda under the UN resolutions. The only solution for Kashmir is to accede with any of the two countries; no third solution is possible as per historical documents.
ISLAMABAD, Dec 11 (Asia Free Press): Justice Ali Nawaz Chowhan, former Judge at United Nations, called for constituting an independent tribunal for Kashmir in Turkey under the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
While speaking at a colloquium titled “All Human, All Equal” on “Equality” – the United Nations (UN)-designated theme for International Human Rights Day 2021, organised by Islamabad Institute of Conflict Resolution (IICR), an Islamabad based think tank, in collaboration with Legal Forum for Kashmir (LFK), an international advocacy group for Kashmir, and Institute of Research and Reforms (IRR), Justice Chowhan said, Lawfare shall be employed against India because Pakistan cannot fight another battle.
Kashmir is a disputed territory, usurped by India is bringing about demographic changes in Kashmir, which need to be countered legally, he added.
Dr Farzana Bari, Ex-Director, Gender Studies (Quaid e Azam University), while speaking at the event, said the Human Rights Violation in Kashmir is unprecedented, and it is the resilience of Kashmiris which keeps the issue alive.
She further said that, Pakistan must garner support from the international community to highlight the atrocities carried out by India against the Kashmiris.
“Kashmir belongs to Kashmiris, the Kashmiris must be allowed to decide their fate,” she added.
Dr Sameera, an Associate Professor at National Defence University, said Kashmir is an unfinished agenda under the UN resolutions. The only solution for Kashmir is to accede with any of the two countries; no third solution is possible as per historical documents.
She further said, “No one can be subject to authority without prior consent, which aligns with the idea of peace. The consent must be granted to the Kashmiris in the right of self-determination to choose according to their aspirations.”
“The abrogation of art 370, 35A, violation of human rights, is a grave form of atrocities employed by Indian authorities in Kashmir,” she added while urging the world human rights bodies to take account of the Indian atrocities in IOJK.
Ambassador Bou Said Al Haissam, Special Representative, International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) UN Geneva, while addressing the event through video-conferencing said, optimism is the mainframe of work and UN aims to work hard towards no tolerance of human rights violation.
“Kashmir issue is older than Palestine issue, the world politics lack resolve, we can’t compromise over rights, and rights are non-negotiable,” the ambassador added.
“There are obstacles in solving the Kashmir issue; we cannot reach a solution bypassing history. It has to be a hundred per cent in favour of one of the parties,” he said while urging the Kashmiri and the Pakistani organisations to cooperate in finding solutions acceptable to the international community.
Sheikh Abdul Mateen, Representative of the Chairman, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), highlighted the atrocities and human rights violations in IOJK, saying that the atrocities have increased manifold in Kashmir. Kashmiris have been promised the right to self-determination but are still deprived of it despite seven decades of Indian occupation.
He further said that, Kashmiri prisoners, including women, have been incarcerated in Indian jails post unilateral abrogation of article 370, 35A on Aug 5 2019.
He added that India had employed state terrorism, judicial terrorism, and economic terrorism against innocent Kashmiris.
He called for an amicable solution for Kashmir, a permanent solution by addressing the issue as per the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
Mukhtar Baba, Media Coordinator, Muslim League Jammu Kashmir, said that Kashmiris are the worst victims of human rights violations at the hands of Indian occupying forces.
“The Kashmiris are being killed, maimed and tortured. Our women are being raped, molested. Our men are killed and jailed. Our children are suffering,” he lamented.
He testimonied as how he was jailed and tortured by Indian occupational forces. “What was my crime, I believed in a democratic set up but was deprived of my rights by rigging the elections, I chose to pick up the gun for self-defence and the just struggle for right of self-determination, I was tortured and jailed,” he added.
Senator A. Rehman Malik, Pakistan’s former Interior minister, said that Kashmir and Palestine are two places where human rights are being openly violated, and humanity is being humiliated, but the United Nations and other human rights organisations are silent spectators. He expressed that Heart bleeds to see the oppressed people of Kashmir and Palestine whose voices are going unheard by world powers, including the United Nations.
He said that UN Human Rights Commission reported on Jun 14, 2018, that alone, from January 1989 till Jan 31 2018, 94,700 Kashmiris were killed, 8,000 killed in custody, and 11,050 women were killed gang-raped & 7,485 were injured by pellets.
Senator A. Rehman Malik, moved a resolution urging the UN to take notice of human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir which was unanimously adopted.
Advocate Nasir Qadri, director of the Legal forum for Kashmir (LFK), said the Kashmir dispute is a source of “international armed conflict between India and Pakistan.”
He emphasised the importance of legal actions and provisions implacable in the case of Kashmir dispute.
He also prompted the victims to come forward and give testimonies at international legal forums which would result in the conviction of the war criminals.
Article 41 of the UN Charter gives Security Council the authority to create subsidiary organs for enforcing its decisions. These organs have include the international tribunals which have tried people responsible for serious crimes under international humanitarian law.
Many international criminal tribunals, like the ad hoc tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yusgoslavia, were formed under UNSC to prosecute the perpetrators of war crimes, atrocity crimes and crimes against Humanity.
