By Asim Hussain
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Institute of Conflict Resolution (IICR) in collaboration with Legal Forum for Kashmir (LFK) held an international conference on ‘Atrocity Crimes, Constitutional Onslaught, and Genocide Threat in IIOJK: Role of Human Rights Watchdogs’ here.
The Conference proceedings were divided in two sessions; an inaugural session and a working session with renowned speakers including Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, Justice Ali Nawaz Chowhan (Chairman, Legal Forum for Kashmir), Syed Nazir Gilani (President, JKCHR), Prof Dr Nazir Hussain, Dr Salma Malik, Lt Gen Naeem Lodhi, Lt Gen Amjad Shoaib, Advocate Nasir Qadri (Executive Director, LFK), Muzzammil Thakur (President, WKFM), Sabah Aslam (IICR, Executive Director) Farzana Yaqoob; Barrister Sundas Malik, Barrister Qamar Sabzwari (Vice President, Islamabad Bar Council), and the brainstorming session headed by Dr Rifaat Hussain.
Sabah Aslam, Executive Director IICR, in the opening remarks said, the planned lawfare operation by Modi led BJP government since 2019 posed a serious threat to the civilian population as the unbridled abuse of power by government of India in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) has choked the political space of the dissidents.
The legislative and administrative with full pace have already changed the disputed dynamics of IIOJK governed under various United Nations Security Council resolutions, she added.
The theme was broadly discussed by the national and international experts on Kashmir and recommended that this is the time for the government of Pakistan and OIC states to formulate a uniform white paper on the resolution of Kashmir and stop the fascist Indian forces from perpetrating genocide in the Muslim majority region of IIOJK.
The experts in one voice alarmed the international community including UN Secretary-General to take immediate measures to stop India from committing mass atrocities in Kashmir.
The speakers further urged that the UN Secretary-General must invoke article 99 of the UN Charter, “The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security,” because the occupier is altering the demographic status of the occupied territory and perpetrating war crimes and atrocity crimes against the civilian population.
Nasir Qadri, Executive Director LFK, vowed to initiate criminal proceedings against the Indian war criminals involved in the heinous atrocity crimes as in the earlier petition with Stoke White.
To broaden the scope of lawfare and advocacy on Kashmir, LFK and IICR signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU was undertaken to prepare an exhaustive policy on ICJ’s advisory opinion on Kashmir.
The panelists called for the release of all the Kashmiris languishing in Indian jails, urging for the stop to all the intimidation and coercion of media and human rights activists in IIOJK by the Indian occupying forces and authorities.
In the end, the experts unanimously condemned India’s atrocity crimes in the IIOJK and also urged ICRC and other International Humanitarian Organisations to depute a fact-finding mission to IIOJK.
