Sada-e-Watan
Sydney ™
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High Commissioner Babar Amin
Transcript of Speech of the High Commissioner H.E. Mr. Babar Amin at the Seminar
on the topic: “Lockdown of 8 million Kashmiris”
24
October 2019 – at NSW Parliament, Sydney
(Published in Sada-e-Watan Sydney on Tuesday, 29 October
2019)
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Dr. Ali Sarfraz,
Distinguished Representatives of the Kashmir Council of
Australia,
Honourable Speakers, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Assalam ul Alaikum
and Good Evening,
I would like to thank the Kashmir Council of Australia for organizing this
seminar to create awareness about the situation of Human Rights violations and
humanitarian crisis due to the Lockdown of 8 million Kashmiris since 5 August
this year.
Let me at the outset thank and
acknowledge Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane, Hon. Madam Lee Rhiannon, Hon. Shayne
Mallard, Hon. Jihad Dib, Hon. David Shoebridge, Mr. Keysar Trad, Ms. Amara
Khan, Mr. Anjum Rafiqui, Ms. Zainab Kamran and all of you present here today,
for standing up and raising your voice for Kashmiris.
Today’s
seminar also coincides with the Kashmir Black Day marked by Kashmiris across
the world to condemn the illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian
Armed Forces on 27th October 1947.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On 5th August 2019, India unilaterally and illegally decided to abrogate the
autonomous status of IOJ&K and divided it in two separate union territories
to be directly governed by the Indian Central Government.
Indian Government
also lifted restrictions on non-J&K persons to acquire permanent domicile
in the territory. This would change demographic composition of the territory,
adversely affecting the future UN organized plebiscite in J&K.
The
Indian actions are illegal under international law for being in violation of UN
Charter, UN Security Council Resolutions and bilateral Agreements between
Pakistan and India on Jammu and Kashmir.
Several UNSC Resolutions state
that “the final disposition in Jammu and Kashmir will be decided in accordance
with the will of people through democratic, free and impartial plebiscite.
These Resolutions bar both India and Pakistan from taking any unilateral action
to alter situation until the plebiscite is held for the purpose.
The Shimla
Agreement between Pakistan and India also states that the Representatives of
the two sides would discuss modalities and arrangements for a final settlement
of Jammu and Kashmir. The Agreement further mentions that pending final
settlement of any problems between the two countries neither side shall
unilaterally alter the situation.
Following the abrogation of Articles 370
and 35A, the UN Secretary General in his statement, while expressing concern on
the situation reaffirmed that “the position of UN on this region is governed by
the Charter of the United Nations and the applicable Security Council
Resolutions.” He further recalled that the 1972 Shimla Agreement between India
and Pakistan states that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir would be settled
by peaceful means, in accordance with the UN Charter (8 August 2019).
Being
aware that its illicit actions would be completely rejected by the people of
Jammu and Kashmir, India inducted additional 180,000 troops into the occupied
territory to supplement the already 700,000 stationed over there for decades.
In a bid to brutally suppress any dissent against its illegal actions the
Indian Administration resorted to unprecedented lockdown by imposing curfew and
communications blackout.
The UN Human Rights Experts in media release of
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, called the lockdown and
communications blackout a form of collective punishment of the people of Jammu
and Kashmir, without even the pretext of participating offence. (22 August
2019)
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As a result of this lockdown, 8 million Kashmiris are faced with acute food
shortages, little access to health services and have been deprived off their
means to livelihood.
The marginalized communities, women and children,
daily wage earners are the worst affected. Due to curfews and communications
shutdown the businesses are closed and even many salaried persons would have to
go without pay now for the third consecutive month.
Due to the curfew fruits, which, are the main cash crop of the farmers were
rotted on the trees. Tourism the main stay of Kashmir’s economy has also
collapsed.
According to various reports by the Human Rights organizations
and media, both international and Indian, thousands of people belonging to all
walks of life; politicians, activists, professionals, students and young people
have been arrested. Many of these have been shifted to undisclosed locations
outside IOJ&K.
Children as young as between 9 to 16 years old are
taken away by the Indian military on a regular basis during the night raids at
homes. The UN Rights Experts regard it as a serious human rights violation.
The families of many such children abducted by the Security Forces are
subsequently unable to trace their whereabouts, which has been likened to
enforced disappearances by the UN Rights Experts. There are also reports of
molestation and sexual harassment of women by the Security Forces during such
night raids.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had
earlier released two back-to-back comprehensive reports in June 2018 and July
2019 about human rights in Jammu and Kashmir. These reports highlight a long
history of systematic human rights violations in IOJ&K by the occupying
forces. These include:
1. Unabated violence, torture, enforced
disappearances, extra judicial and custodial killings by the security forces.
2. Excessive firing of pellet gun shots on
demonstrators causing injuries and partial or permanent loss of eyesight to
thousands of young people.
3. Sexual violence
against women perpetrated by members of armed forces or uniform personnel
including use of mass rapes to counteract political opposition and insurgency.
4. Adverse impact to health of women,
psychological disorders, post-traumatic stress and fear psychosis that also
impacted their physical wellbeing.
5.
Detention of children in contravention to international treaty obligations and
domestic laws.
6. Loss of innumerable school
days to children (130 school days were lost to 1.4 million children in 2006
alone).
7. Draconian laws such as Jammu &
Kashmir Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that gives immunity and
impunity to security forces from prosecution, trial or punishment for any sort
of crime.
8. According to UN Special Rapporteur
AFSPA grants powers to soldiers, even to violate right to life.
9. The Jammu and Kashmir Public Security Act (PSA)
allows the government to detain any person in custody for up to a period of two
years without any charge and trial.
10.
Incidentally, the Amnesty International in its three reports released in 2011,
2012 and 2019 called PSA as a Tyrant Lawless Law, which, legitimized habeas
corpus.
I would conclude by thanking the worthy Speakers and
audience for their collective call in today’s seminar to respect the human
rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, including their inalienable right to
self-determination; immediate redressal of the humanitarian plight by ending
curfews and lockdown and to implement the recommendations of the UN OHCHR’s
Reports including constituting an Independent Commission of Inquiry to
investigate Human Rights situation in Kashmir.
Thank you very
much!
Pakistan
Zindabad
High Commissioner H.E. Mr. Babar Amin speaking at the Seminar held at the NSW Parliament on the topic: “Lockdown of 8 million Kashmiris”
