Kashmiris stage demonstration outside UN building against Indian atrocities

NEW YORK: A large number of Kashmiris from across the United States staged a huge demonstration outside the United Nations building as India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar addressed the UN General Assembly in New York.

Speaking on the occasion, Azad Kashmir President Barrister Sultan Mehmood urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to appoint a special envoy to resolve the decades-old Kashmir dispute on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions that pledged the right of self-determination to the Kashmiris.

Sultan Chaudhry denounced India’s illegal measures of 5 August 2019 that revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. He said the unstinted effort to internationalize Kashmir issue will continue with full vigour.

He added it was he was the duty of both Azad Kashmir and Pakistani governments to highlight the human right abuses which have now reached unprecedented proportions. He unequivocally condemned the abominable act of changing the demographic character of the region.

Sardar Haleem Khan, who is one of the rally’s organizers, emphasized that no solution to Kashmir will be acceptable if it does not recognize the right of self-determination of the people of Jammu & Kashmir.  He deplored the life imprisonment handed down by an Indian court in New Delhi to Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik.

Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, chairman of World Forum for Peace & Justice, said the application of international law was not selective in resolving international conflicts.  He warned the world powers that the status quo in Kashmir, if left unchanged, will only result in further deterioration of the situation and can never be justified under international law.

Protesters outside UN building call for Kashmir’s freedom from Indian yoke
Dr Amarjit Singh speaking to protesters outside the UN Headquarters in New York

Dr Imtiaz Khan, Professor at George Washington University Medical center, stated that abuses on innocent people of Indian occupied Kashmir continue unabated.

He appealed to the United Nations to take practical measures that dissuade India to indulge in gross human rights abuses against innocent Kashmiri population and sway them to participate in tripartite negotiations involving Pakistan and genuine leadership of Kashmir.

Kashmiris and Pakistanis attended the rally, ddenounced India’s reign of terror in Kashmir and raised vociferous anti-India slogans and waved placards. A number of Sikhs also joined the rally.

Dr Amarjit Singh, the head of Washington-based Khalistan Affairs Centre, expressed solidarity with the Kashmiris struggle for freedom from India. “We stand with you against our common enemy,” he told the protestors.

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