960410

Human rights

violations in

held Kashmir

condemned

ISLAMABAD: The representatives of the All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) from Indian Occupied Kashmir and Azad Kashmir, the representatives of the Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and the representatives of human rights organizations from the United Kingdom and the United States held a joint meeting in Geneva to review the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and condemned the genocide of the Kashmiris by Indian forces, a message received from Geneva said here on Wednesday.

The leaders during the 52 end session of the Commission on Human Rights adopted a statement to chide the massive human rights abuses and called for giving Kashmiris the right to self-determination.

The statement condemned serious crimes against humanity committed by the Indian Government, through its military and paramilitary personnel, renegades and mercenaries in Jammu and Kashmir during the last seven years. These crimes include genocide, massacres, extrajudicial killings, reprisal killings, arbitrary detention, torture, use of rape as an instrument of suppression, burning of houses, villages and townships, and destruction and desecration of holy places.

Condemning the continuing violations of human rights in Jammu and Kashmir it said the same have claimed the lives of 50,000 Kashmiri men, women and children, rape of thousands of women and unlawful detention of tens of thousands of political prisoners.

It affirmed that despite the concentration in Jammu and Kashmir of Indian troops, now numbering around 700,000, massive repression of unarmed civilians, including women and children, and destruction of the economic means for productive employment, the Indian Government has failed to crush the will of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

It recalled the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council which upholded the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

It expressed serious concern at the deteriorating political and Security situation in South Asia which could erupt into nuclear confrontation.

They urged the international community to take immediate measures to address the root causes of the deterioration of the security situation through the invocation of available mechanisms for the pacific settlement of disputes.

The strongly condemned the unlawful arrest and brutal murder of Jalil Andrabi, Advocate, Chairman of the Kashmir Commission of Jurists, by the Indian army.-APP