26th Year of Publication

Vol: 26 No. 04
Monthly April 2020

INSIGHT

Hurriyat leaders Pakistan urges world to Thousands of women

denounce India’s anti- intervene on Kashmir killed, molested in IOK
Kashmir moves amid coronavirus since January 1989
 Pakistan’s unwavering
support to Kashmir cause

“I assure the people of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir

that Pakistan will stand shoulder to shoulder with them and will
continue its moral, political and diplomatic support for their
legitimate right to self-determination.”
(President, Dr Arif Alvi,
in his message on Pakistan Day,
in Islamabad, March 23, 2020)

“Kashmir dispute is unfinished agenda of the partition of

subcontinent. Pakistan will continue to support Kashmiris at all
diplomatic forums.”
(Prime Minister, Imran Khan,
in his message on Pakistan Day,
in Islamabad March 23, 2020)
 Kashmir Insight
Printed & Published by All Parties Hurriyat Conference AJK
Vol: 26, No.04, April 2020
Ph: +92-51-4861457, Fax: +92-51-4861458
Editor: M Raza Malik Printers: Web Brothers,Al-Rehman Plaza, 44-H,
Art Editor: M.Haroon Haider Road, Rawalpindi
Sub Editor: Benazir Khan Ph:051-5566348, Fax: 051-5516142

CONTENTS FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

Editorial
India’s nefarious plans to effect
demographic change in IOK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02
Cover Story
Coronavirus poses threat to lives of
Kashmiri detainees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03
Reports
Hurriyat leaders denounce India’s anti-Kashmir
moves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07
Pakistan urges world to intervene on Kashmir
amid coronavirus outbreak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Hurriyat leaders felicitate Pakistanis on their
National Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Pictorial
Images speak louder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Human rights situation
Indian atrocities on IOK people during
March 2020
Raies Ahmed Mir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Reports
International community urged to play role
in release of Yasin Malik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Thousands of women killed, molested in IOK since
January 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Chronology
A chronological account of developments
on Kashmir (164) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Beauty thy name is
Drang-Drung Glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Literature
Good king Hatam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Feedback
Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
The besieged people of occupied Kashmir have been
facing unimaginable hardships since August 05, 2019
when Narendra Modi-led communal government in
New Delhi revoked special status of the territory and
placed it under strict military siege. The miseries of the
Kashmiri people, who were already facing a shortage of
essential commodities and life-saving medicines due to
the curfew-like restrictions, increased manifold after
Narendra Modi announced lockdown in India and
occupied Kashmir on March 24, this year, to prevent
spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The heavy presence of Indian troops across occupied
Kashmir coupled with continued suspension of high-
speed internet has turned the Kashmir Valley into a
virtual hell for its inhabitants. Eight million Kashmiris
continue to be cut off from the absolutely vital
information that was needed to prevent the spread of
the pandemic, when people under lockdown all over the
world are using the internet to work, communicate and
get information.
The international organisations working for basic
human rights of people and journalists including the
UN Human Rights Council, Amnesty International,
Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders or
Reporters Sans Frontières and Committee to Protect
Journalists have been calling again and again for
complete restoration of internet in occupied Kashmir.
This demand has got shriller after the outbreak of
coronavirus. These organisations have termed the
continued restrictions on the high speed internet in the
occupied territory as potentially criminal
irresponsibility of New Delhi that could be deadly
during the pandemic, which has claimed thousands of
lives across the globe so far.
It is unfortunate that when the entire world is under a
lockdown due to the COVID-19 virus and health
professionals recommend watching awareness videos
and films at home, the Indian authorities are writing
one of the darkest chapters in history by keeping the
people of occupied Kashmir deprived of the same. The
lives of Kashmiri people are at risk, as they cannot even
watch video clips released by the World Health
Organisation on coronavirus awareness.
The people of occupied Kashmir are entitled to live with
dignity and be informed of the threats that the deadly
virus poses to their health. During a global pandemic,
when people around the world are isolated and access
to information can mean life or death, it is time to
impose a moratorium on internet shutdowns.
In view of the limited medical facilities available in
occupied Kashmir and the rapidly increasing
number of cases of COVID-19, the Indian
government must immediately restore the internet
services in the territory to provide the masses access
to online healthcare.
 E D I T O R I A L

N
arendra Modi-led communal Earlier on March 19, India also approved
government in New Delhi is furthering imposition of 37 central laws in occupied
the extremist Hindu organisation, Kashmir to further strengthen its control in the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s nefarious territory.
agenda of complete merger of occupied The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat
Kashmir with India and converting its Muslim Conference, Syed Ali Gilani, the Hurriyat
majority into a minority. Since coming into forum led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other
power in 2014, Modi government is leaving no Hurriyat leaders and organisations strongly
stone unturned to change the demographic denouncing the new domicile law deplored that
composition of the territory. India was hell-bent upon snatching everything
The repeal of Article 370 and Article 35-A of the from the people of Jammu and Kashmir
Indian Constitution that granted special including their identity, land and natural
status and rights to Kashmir and its citizens resources. Syed Ali Gilani said that the people
was the first major of Kashmir would
step towards resist the new
implementing this domicile law tooth
heinous plan. The
revocation of these
constitutional
EDITORIAL and nail. He also
asked the Kashmiris
not to sell their
provisions was properties to the
accompanied by Indians.
severe military It is a fact that India
lockdown in the occupied territory to stop intends to replicate the Israeli model of settler
people from protesting against this unilateral colonialism to turn Jammu and Kashmir into
illegal action. The occupation authorities another Palestine. The Indian move is a
further tightened the inhuman restrictions on violation of the UN Security Council
March 18 when the first positive case of resolutions, which clearly state that the future
coronavirus was reported in Srinagar in the status of Jammu and Kashmir would be
name of preventing spread of the disease, determined in accordance with the will of the
adding to the miseries of the oppressed people. Kashmiri people.
In the latest assaults on the Muslim majority New Delhi needs to realise the fact that its
status of occupied Kashmir, the Indian illegal, dictatorial and unilateral actions
authorities introduced new domicile rules. As cannot change the disputed status of Jammu
per these rules, a person who has resided in and Kashmir and that the only resolution of
occupied Kashmir for a period of 15 years or the Kashmir dispute is the granting of the
has studied for seven years shall be deemed to Kashmiris their internationally-recognised
be eligible to be issued the domicile of the right to self-determination. The international
territory. The domicile would also be given to community particularly the UN must take
the children of Indian Army personnel and cognisance of India’s illegal actions in the
government officials who have served in disputed territory and impress upon it to settle
Kashmir for ten years. The new law will provide the lingering Kashmir dispute in accordance
the Indian people legal justification to get with the Kashmiris’ aspirations for ensuring
permanently settled in the disputed territory. permanent peace in South Asia.

KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 02

 C O V E R S T O R Y

Coronavirus poses threat to

lives of Kashmiri detainees

iven the torment caused by the spread of coronavirus

G
to announce the restrictions
pandemic, scores of families in occupied Kashmir are and asked the people to stay
worried about their jailed members, especially those in indoors. Shops, business
their old age with deteriorating health conditions. As the threat establishments and petrol
posed by the COVID-19 virus is alarming with over 1.4 million pumps were shut while public
infections and over 100,000 deaths across the world, another transport went off the road.
grave concern in Kashmir, apart from the fight against novel The train service was
coronavirus pandemic amid restricted internet, is the suspended. Educational
condition of hundreds of political prisoners languishing in institutions and all public
various prisons across India before and after the events of places, including
August 05, 2019. gymnasiums, parks, clubs
The lockdown in the occupied territory, which has been under and restaurants, were shut.
military siege since August 05, last year, was intensified on Occupied Kashmir continues
March 18, 2020 as the authorities scrambled to come up with a to be under lockdown since
strategy to contain the spread of coronavirus in the Valley, after August 05, 2019 when
a woman with travel history to Saudi Arabia tested positive for Narendra Modi-led
the disease. Strict restrictions on the movement and assembly government in New Delhi
of people were imposed across all districts of the territory. The revoked the special status of
deployment of Indian troops was reinforced and barricades, the territory and put it under
including concertina wire, were put in Srinagar and other military siege. Since then, the
places to ensure the restrictions and contain the public residents of the Kashmir
movement. Indian police used vehicles fitted with loudspeakers Valley are facing immense

KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 03

 C O
problems. To prevent an
uprising against the move,
India put thousands of
Kashmiris, including
Hurriyat leaders and former
puppet chief ministers and
political activists, in jails.
Over 750 of the Kashmiri
detainees have been booked
under draconian law, Public
Safety Act (PSA). Prominent
among those detained include
Hurriyat leaders, Muhammad
Yasin Malik, Shabbir Ahmed
Shah, Masarrat Aalam Butt,
Aasiya Andrabi, Nayeem
Ahmed Khan, Altaf Ahmed
Shah, Peer Saifullah, Ghulam
Ahmed Gulzar, Fehmeeda
Sofi, Naheeda Nasreen, Qazi
Yasir Ahmed, Maulana
Sarjaan Barkati, Muhammad
Yasin Attai, and trade leader,
Muhammad Yasin Khan,
Kashmir High Court Bar
Association President, Mian
Abdul Qayoom, Jamaat-e-
Islami chief, Dr Abdul
Hameed Fayaz, and Jamiat
Ahle Hadith leader, Maulana
Mushtaq Ahmed Veeri.
Holding innocent Kashmiris
as political prisoners during
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020
V E R S T O R Y
the COVID-19 pandemic is a grave violation of human rights by
the Indian authorities.
The coronavirus outbreak, which has gripped the entire world,
has provided another excuse to the Indian authorities to
victimise the freedom-loving Kashmiris. The Indian police and
paramilitary forces are arresting the common Kashmiris on
daily basis on the charges of violating the prohibitory orders
announced to prevent spread of coronavirus. Different segments
of society in occupied Kashmir have said that the Indian double
standards stand exposed as the New Delhi government on March
13 released the Vice President of National Conference, Omar
Abdullah, while prolonging the illegal detention of Hurriyat
leaders and activists.
Meanwhile, Hurriyat leaders, the UN Secretary General, and
human rights organisations, including the Amnesty
International, expressed serious concern about the plight of the
illegally detained Kashmiris lodged in different jails of occupied
Kashmir and India amid growing coronavirus pandemic.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman, Syed Ali Gilani,
in a statement issued in Srinagar urged the international
human rights organisations and the United Nations to put
pressure on India to release all illegally detained Kashmiri
Hurriyat leaders and activists and stop brutalities in occupied
Kashmir amid the outbreak of the deadly disease.
He said that India had converted the entire occupied territory
into a big jail. He maintained that New Delhi would never
succeed to suppress the Kashmiris’ ongoing liberation
movement through inhuman tactics.
The Hurriyat forum led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement
issued in Srinagar called for immediate release of all Kashmiri
political prisoners and youth languishing in various jails across
India and the occupied territory to save them from getting
affected by the pandemic.
Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, led by Muhammad
04
 C O V E R S T O R Y

Ashraf Sehrai, in a statement

issued in Srinagar said that
thousands of families in
occupied Kashmir were
suffering due to the continued
illegal detention of their loved
ones. It demanded that these
Kashmiri detainees should be
brought back to occupied
Kashmir on humanitarian
grounds to save them from the
potential threat of
coronavirus.
Other Hurriyat leaders and
Kashmir United Peace Kashmiri human rights
organisations including Agha
Movement, Professor Nazir lawyers, Ajaz Ahmed Bedar,
Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-
Ahmed Shawl, Barrister Nazir Ahmed Ronga and
Safvi, Ghulam Muhammad
Abdul Majeed Tramboo and Pervez Imroz, in their
Khan Sopori, Shabbir Ahmed
Ali Raza Syed in their interviews in Srinagar said
Dar, Bilal Siddiqi, Yasmeen
statements strongly that the Kashmiri detainees
Raja, Zamruda Habib, Mir
condemned the Modi were kept in unhygienic
Shahid Saleem, Farooq
government for not releasing conditions in Indian jails and
A h m e d T a w h e e d i ,
the Kashmiri political they were more susceptible to
Muhammad Shafi Lone, Nisar
detainees despite the spread contract the coronavirus
Hussain Rathar, Khawaja
of deadly coronavirus. They disease.
Firdous, Umar Aadil Dar,
The United Nations asked New
Delhi to closely monitor the
plight of Kashmiri detainees
as the coronavirus pandemic
continued to spread across
the world. “The Secretary
General [Antonio Guterres],
as we have said earlier,
believes that Member States
need to take a very close look
at incarcerations during a
time of COVID-19. It’s
something the High
Commissioner for Human
Rights has spoken out about,”
Grand Mufti of occupied said that the prisoners could UN Chief’s spokesperson,
Kashmir, Mufti Nasir-ul- be affected by the disease as Stephane Dujarric, told
Islam, Jammu and Kashmir most of the jails lacked basic reporters.
Democratic Freedom Party, facilities. They appealed to the Six international human
Kashmir High Court Bar world human rights bodies to rights organisations
Association, Jammu and play a role in the early release including Amnesty
Kashmir Tehreek-e-Wahdat- of the Kashmiri detainees. International, the Asian
e-Islami, Jammu and
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 05
 C O
Forum for Human Rights and
Development, the World
Alliance for Citizen
Participation, International
Commission of Jurists,
International Federation for
Human Rights and World
Organisation Against Torture
in a joint statement in Geneva
said the fate of hundreds of
arbitrarily detained Kashmiri
prisoners hangs in balance as
the number of confirmed
cases of coronavirus in India
is increasing day by day. They
stressed that under
international law, India had
an obligation to
ensure the physical
and mental health
and well-being of the
inmates. The global
human rights
watchdogs expressed
the apprehension that
various state
governments in India
had begun releasing
detainees, but there
was a concern that
hundreds of Kashmiri
youth, journalists, political
leaders, human right
defenders and others
arbitrarily arrested would not
be among those benefiting
from the measure.
The US Acting Assistant
Secretary of State for South
and Central Asia, Alice G
Wells, in a statement
demanded release of all
Kashmiri political prisoners.
She also called for the
complete restoration of
internet services in occupied
Kashmir amid the outbreak of
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020
V E R S T O R Y
coronavirus.
The Law Society of England and Wales wrote an official letter to
the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, expressing grave
concern over the continued detention of High Court Bar
Association of occupied Kashmir President, Mian Abdul
Qayoom, for the past several months.
Pakistan also urged the world to intervene on occupied Kashmir
amid the coronavirus outbreak as Kashmiris were being treated
inhumanly by India. Foreign Office spokesperson, Aisha
Farooqui, told media in Islamabad that Foreign Minister, Shah
Mahmood Qureshi, wrote letters to the world capitals or spoke to
the top diplomats on the issue.
On the other hand, more than eight million people living in the
Kashmir Valley are unable to access reliable health information
about the COVID-19 as the internet shutdown continues since
August 05, last year. United Nations, Amnesty International,
Human Rights Watch, the International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ)
and its affiliate the
I n d i a n
Journalists Union
(IJU), and many
other human
r i g h t s
organisations and
governments
around the world
have urged the
I n d i a n
government to
r e m o v e a l l
communication restrictions imposed in occupied Kashmir.
With the rapidly increasing number of positive cases of COVID-
19 in India and occupied Kashmir where medical facilities in the
jails are insufficient, the government of India must prioritise
human rights and refrain from abusing its power in this time of
crisis. It must grant protection to all the people in detention and
provide access to healthcare without discrimination. The Indian
government should immediately and unconditionally release all
the Kashmiris deprived of their freedom solely for peaceful
enjoyment of their rights to freedom of expression, association,
peaceful assembly, belief or equality and non-discrimination as
they should not have been imprisoned in the first place. The UN
and other champions of the human rights should also put
pressure on New Delhi to set the Kashmiri prisoners free to save
them from getting affected with the deadly coronavirus.
(Humayun Aziz Sandeela)
06
 R E P O R T

Hurriyat leaders He said that the people of

Kashmir must not accept the
new domicile law and must
denounce India’s anti- resist it tooth and nail. He also
asked the Kashmiris not to sell

Kashmir moves their properties to the Indians.

The APHC Chairman pointed
out that the occupation forces
have brazenly made clear their

I
n occupied Kashmir, Hurriyat leaders and organisations
intentions and have begun
strongly condemning Narendra Modi-led government’s move
their long-cherished plan to
of introducing a new domicile law, which is aimed at granting
change the Muslim majority of
permanent citizenship of the territory to Indian Hindus, have
Jammu and Kashmir into a
said that the move speaks volumes about the motives of
minority. He maintained that
Hindutva forces to change the demographic composition of
the only resolution of the
Kashmir and liquidate its Muslim identity.
Kashmir dispute was the
The new domicile law allows Indian citizens to get permanently
granting of right to self-
determination to the
Kashmiris, and no power on
earth can take away this right
from the people of Jammu and
Kashmir. He reiterated that
the Kashmiris’ fight would
continue till the dawn of
freedom.
Syed Ali Gilani said the Indian
government wants to make the
referendum issue meaningless
and alter the course of freedom
struggle. He pointed out that
India was following Israel and
intends to replicate the Israeli
settled in occupied Kashmir if they have worked in the territory
model of settler colonialism to
for 15 years or studied there for seven years. Children of federal
turn Jammu and Kashmir into
government employees will also get domicile certificates if their
another Palestine. He said, by
parents have lived in Kashmir for 10 years.
this new law, in the coming
Earlier on March 19, India also approved extension of 37 central
years Indians will first acquire
laws to occupied Kashmir that give more powers to both New
land forcibly and then set up
Delhi and its authorities in the occupied territory.
Hurriyat leaders and organisations denounced in strong terms settler colonies in the territory.
The Hurriyat forum led by
the new domicile law introduced by India in Kashmir to change
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a
the demographic composition of the territory. They also
statement in Srinagar said
expressed serious concern over the imposition of 37 more Indian
that the process to change the
laws on Jammu and Kashmir in an attempt to totally annex the
demographic character of
territory with India.
The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali occupied Kashmir started in
Gilani, in a statement issued in Srinagar warned India of dire August 2019 was being
consequences if it issued domicile certificates to its citizens. systematically carried forward

KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 07

 R E P O R T

and the domicile order issued

by the Indian government was
part of that plan.
Senior APHC leader and
Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu
and Kashmir Chairman,
Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, in
a statement in Srinagar said
that when the humanity as a
whole was suffering from
deadly coronavirus epidemic,
Indian brutal regime had
intensified war and criminal
activities against innocent
people of occupied Kashmir.
abrogation of Kashmir’s special status had yet again exposed the
He called upon the UN
Modi-led regime’s anti-Kashmir designs. He deplored that such
Secretary General to take a
decisions were being taken unilaterally by India while the
step forward and appoint a
common Kashmiri was fighting with the coronavirus pandemic.
special representative to
The Acting Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front,
explore a viable solution to the
Abdul Hameed Butt, in a statement in Srinagar rejected the
festering Kashmir dispute and
changing of domicile rules for occupied Kashmir by the Indian
ensure durable peace and
rulers.
stability in the South Asian
Other Hurriyat leaders and organisations including Ghulam
region.
Muhammad Khan Sopori, Shabbir Ahmed Dar, Bilal Siddiqi,
Another senior APHC leader
Yasmeen Raja, Zamruda
Habib, Javed Ahmed Mir,
Khawaja Firdous, Jammu
and Kashmir Democratic
Freedom Party, Tehreek-
e-Wahdat-e-Islami,
Jammu and Kashmir
Ummat-e-Islami and
Grand Mufti of occupied
Kashmir, Mufti Nasir-ul-
Islam, in their statements
condemned India’s latest
assault on the Muslim
majority character of the
occupied territory. They
described it as RSS-
backed BJP government’s
and President of Jammu and practical implementation of its wicked plan of altering the Muslim
Kashmir Anjuman Sharie demographic dominance in the territory like Israel has done in the
Shian, Agha Syed Hassan Al- occupied Palestinian territories.
Moosvi Al-Safvi, in a statement Various Sikh bodies, including Sikh Intellectuals Circle Jammu
in Srinagar said that new and Kashmir, International Sikh Federation, Sikh Students
domicile law following the Federation and Sikh Youth of J&K expressed serious concern over

KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 08


the issuance of new dictatorial
domicile law. The Chairman of
Sikh Intellectuals Circle
Jammu and Kashmir,
Narinder Singh Khalsa, told
media persons that Sikh
religious bodies and Sikh
intellectuals of the territory
after telephonic discussions
with senior Sikh leaders of
these organisations had
decided to oppose the
ordinance as it was not only
against the democratic and
fundamental rights of the
people of occupied Kashmir
but also the spirit of the UN
resolutions on the disputed
territory.
Meanwhile, experts on
Kashmir said that with the
new domicile laws, India was
imposing a “settler-colonial
project” in occupied Kashmir
mirroring Israel’s occupation
of Palestinian lands.
Najeeb Mubarki, a Kashmir-
based journalist, in an
interview said that the Indian
state functionaries
themselves had spoken of this
well-thought-out Israeli-style
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020
R E P O R T
solution for occupied
Kashmir. It is certainly a
settler colonialism project
with tragic consequences for
Kashmiris, he said.
Khurram Parvez, a noted
human rights activist in the
occupied territory, said that
because of India’s domicile
law, outsiders would also be
the claimants of existing jobs,
which would worsen an
already huge unemployment
problem. “This is an act
against the interests of
unemployed youth. Those
outsiders who get jobs due to
this order will also claim the
09
right to purchase land in
Kashmir,” he said.
A Palestinian affairs expert
and Director of the Istanbul-
based Centre for Islam and
Global Affairs, Sami Al-Arian,
in an interview said that it was
a blatant attempt to colonise
Kashmir and populate it with
new and old colonisers to
make Kashmir’s indigenous
citizens a minority in their
own land. “The racist and
unjust laws India has been
enacting lately are similar to
the racist laws and practices
Israel has been applying in
Palestine for decades,” he
said.
Hafsa Kanjwal, a historian
who teaches at Pennsylvania’s
Lafayette College, said the law
lends itself to “settler
colonialism in Kashmir”.
Kanjwal added that India’s
plan of demographic change in
occupied Kashmir begins
“with a change in certain laws,
instead of a more widespread
ethnic cleansing, which could
potentially render
international condemnation”.
On the other hand, Hurriyat

AJK leaders including Syed
Abdullah Gilani, Muhammad
Farooq Rehmani, Syed Yousuf
Naseem, Mehmood Ahmed
Saghar, Syed Faiz
Naqshbandi, Altaf Hussain
Wani, Abdul Majeed Malik,
Abdul Majeed Mir, Altaf
Ahmed Butt, Syed Aijaz
Rehmani and Zahid Ashraf in
their statements deplored that
at a time the entire world was
fighting the demon of
coronavirus, Indian rulers
were busy usurping the rights
of Kashmiris. They termed the
new domicile law by India a
deep-rooted conspiracy to
dilute Kashmir’s Muslim
majority identity. They
warned that new law will
completely destroy the
demographic character of
occupied Kashmir as it will
allow the non-Kashmiris,
retired and serving Indian
Army men, Indian civil
servants working in Kashmir,
their children and other
Indians to settle in the
territory.
Kashmiri leaders, Professor
Nazir Ahmed Shawl and
Barrister Abdul Majeed
Tramboo, in a joint statement
condemned the issuance of
the so-called notification by
India. They vowed that the
matter would be raised at all
the intergovernmental forums
like the United Nations, OIC
and Commonwealth. It will
also be taken up at the
European and British
parliaments, they added.
The Chairman of Kashmir
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020
R E P O R T
Council Europe, Ali Raza Syed, in a statement in Brussels said,
Indian new law of domicile for occupied Kashmir to settle Indian
citizens in the territory, is unacceptable to the Kashmiris.
Pakistan Foreign Office in a press statement issued in Islamabad
also condemned and rejected the introduction of new domicile
law, terming it an attempt by India to illegally change the
demographic structure of occupied Kashmir. “This is a clear
violation of international law, including the 4th Geneva
Convention,” said the FO spokesperson, Aisha Farooqui. She
added that the latest Indian action was a continuation of its
illegal and unilateral steps since August 05, 2019.
Earlier on March 19, 2020, India extended 37 central laws to
occupied Kashmir that give more powers to both New Delhi and
its authorities in the occupied territory.
These 37 Indian laws include The Advocates Act, 1961; The All
India Services Act, 1951; The Ancient Monuments and
Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958; The Census Act,
1948; The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017; The
Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952; The Family Courts Act, 1984;
The Income-Tax Act, 1961; The Indian Medicine Central Council
Act, 1970; The Real Estate (Regulation Development) Act, 2016;
The Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867; The Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908; The Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Criminal
Procedure Code, 1973.
Indian Cabinet had given a nod to implement these laws in
occupied Kashmir on February 26, this year.
It is to mention here that on August 05, 2019, the Modi
government revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution thus
repealing the special status of occupied Kashmir and splitting it
into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
(KI Report)
10
 R E P O R T

Pakistan urges world to in occupied Kashmir; drew

attention to the reprehensible

intervene on Kashmir
remarks of the Indian Chief of
Defence Staff about
“deradicalisation" camps for

amid coronavirus Kashmiri youth to subject

them to torture; highlighted

outbreak intensified ceasefire

violations by the Indian forces
on the Line of Control (LoC)

P
akistan continues its efforts to highlight the Kashmir since 12th December 2019;
dispute and the Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir, and stressed the possibility of
drawing attention of the United Nations and its Security India staging a ‘false flag'
Council towards the worst situation in the territory amid operation to divert
outbreak of coronavirus pandemic. international attention from
In line with the Government of Pakistan's efforts to highlight the grave human rights and
the dire human rights and humanitarian situation in occupied humanitarian situation in the
Kashmir, Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, occupied territory.
Furthermore, the foreign
minister highlighted
irresponsible statements by
the Indian leadership,
including by Prime Minister,
Narendra Modi, threatening
the use of force against
Pakistan.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi
particularly highlighted
India's machinations aimed at
changing the demographic
composition of occupied
Kashmir.
In this regard, he drew
attention to forcible
addressed another letter to the President of the United Nations confiscation of properties of
Security Council (UNSC) and the United Nations Secretary Kashmiris and allocation of
General (UNSG), invoking their attention to the developments over 6,000 acres of land to the
in the territory as well as belligerent Indian rhetoric and non-Kashmiris in clear
aggressive actions on the ground, the Foreign Office said in a violation of international law.
statement. The foreign minister also
The foreign minister has been regularly updating the UNSC underlined that the targeted
President and the UN Secretary General on the Indian actions killings of Muslims in New
in occupied Kashmir since 5th August 2019 that have posed a Delhi in February 2020 were
threat to peace and security in South Asia. directly attributable to the
In his recent letter, dispatched on 9th March 2020, the foreign majoritarian mindset and
minister inter alia rejected India's false narrative of “normalcy" supremacist and divisive

KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 11


“Hindutva" ideology.
In his letter, Shah Mahmood
Qureshi made it clear that
durable peace and stability in
South Asia would remain
elusive without a just and
lasting resolution of the
Kashmir dispute.
As such, he underlined that
the UN Security Council must
remain seized of the Jammu
and Kashmir dispute and play
its role in enabling the people
of Jammu and Kashmir to
exercise their right to self-
determination as promised to
them under its relevant
resolutions.
In further follow-up of the
foreign minister's letter,
Pakistan has been calling for
immediate lifting of
communication restrictions
and unfettered access to
medical and other essential
supplies in the wake of
outbreak of coronavirus in
occupied Kashmir.
Similar voices have been
raised by human rights
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020
R E P O R T
organisations and the civil society, particularly after the
increasing number of cases and deaths in the territory due to the
virus.
On the other hand, Foreign Office spokesperson, Aisha
Farooqui, in an interview on March 26 maintained that Pakistan
has urged the world to intervene on the situation in occupied
Kashmir amid the coronavirus outbreak as Kashmiris were
being treated inhumanly by India.
Pakistan has written letters to the world capitals or spoken to
the top diplomats on the
issue in the recent days, she
told The Nation.
She said that Foreign
Minister, Shah Mahmood
Qureshi, took up the
Kashmir dispute with his
counterparts in and outside
the region.
“At this point, Kashmiris are
in dire need of help. The
world must intervene,” she
said.
Aisha Farooqui said
Pakistan calls upon the
Indian government to lift the
communications blockade especially in view of the outbreak of
COVID-19 and reported cases of affected people in occupied
Kashmir.
“Pakistan urges India to lift the blockade in the region in order to
obtain full information on affected people and provision of
essential items and medical supplies to the affected people,” she
said.
12

Hospitals in the occupied
territory have an acute
shortage of doctors and
paramedics, while healthcare
facilities are insufficient to
meet the crisis, which has
unsettled countries with
world-class medical
infrastructure.
Quoting a statement of
Amnesty International, Aisha
Farooqui said that the human
rights organisation had also
asked the Indian government
to immediately restore full
internet services to the people
of occupied Kashmir. Amid
the coronavirus pandemic,
the human rights group said
that the Indian government
must lift internet restrictions
so that people in the territory
have full access to health and
safety related information,
she added.
The Foreign Office
spokesperson said that the
situation in relation to the
coronavirus is constantly
evolving. “To ensure its full
communication to the people
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020
R E P O R T
of occupied Kashmir, the
government of India must
urgently lift internet
restrictions in the territory
and ensure real time
preparedness of the people
against the spread of the
virus. The responses to
coronavirus cannot be based
on human rights violations,
censorship and a lack of
transparency,” she added.
Aisha Farooqui said that the
lockdown faced by the people
in occupied Kashmir was
nearing 250 days. “They
continue to be deprived of
13
their fundamental freedoms;
their right to liberty, health,
education and food,” she said.
Pakistan, she said, condemns
the inhuman and brutal
repression of the people of
occupied Kashmir by the
Indian forces. She said
Pakistan also rejects all
attempts by the Indian
government to call the
occupied territory an ‘integral
part’ of India which is a clear
violation of the resolutions of
the United Nations Security
Council.
She also pointed out that
Pakistan Foreign Minister,
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has
also written a letter to the
European Union and spoke to
his several European and
Asian counterparts,
highlighting the suppression
of the Kashmiris amid the
coronavirus pandemic. He
urged them to press India to
ensure human rights in
occupied Kashmir and
implement the UN
resolutions, she added.
(KI Report)
 R E P O R T

Hurriyat leaders felicitate

Pakistanis on their National Day

Muslims of the subcontinent

I
n occupied Kashmir, Hurriyat leaders and organisations
felicitated the people and the Government of Pakistan on as it was on this day in 1940
their National Day on 23rd March, 2020 and prayed for the when Quaid-e-Azam
prosperity, stability and security of Pakistan. Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his
The leaders in their statements and messages termed Pakistan colleagues firmly set on the
as a centre of hope for the oppressed Kashmiri people and the course to create an
Muslim Ummah. They lauded the unparalleled sacrifices independent state for the
rendered by the Muslims for the creation of Pakistan and Muslims of the region. They
said that it was the time when
such a goal was deemed
impossible as Hindutva forces
were forcefully opposing this
very idea, but the
determination of the then
leadership and unparalleled
sacrifices offered by the
Muslims of that time made it
possible.
Hurriyat leaders and
organisations including Bilal
Siddiqi, Shabbir Ahmed Dar,
Muhammad Farooq Rehmani,
Umar Aadil Dar, Farooq
Ahmed Tawheedi, Khawaja
Firdous, Ahmed Rathar,
described the country as Almighty Allah’s blessing for the Shaikh Ahmed, Syed Hussain,
Muslims. Abdul Majeed Malik, Abdul
The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Majeed Mir, Aijaz Rehmani,
Gilani, in a statement issued in Srinagar felicitated the people Imtiaz Wani, Khawaja Naeem-
and the Government of Pakistan on Pakistan Day and prayed for ul-Hassan and Jammu and
peace, security and prosperity of the country. Kashmir Islami Tanzeem-e-
He said that Pakistan was the centre of hope for the entire Azadi, in their separate
Muslim world and the Kashmiri people, who have been facing statements also greeted the
the Indian oppression for over seven decades, and this country people and the Government of
was Almighty Allah’s great blessing for the Muslims. Pakistan on their National
He said that Pakistan was created on the basis of a great vision Day. They thanked Pakistan
and the people of Kashmir were fighting and sacrificing their for highlighting the Kashmir
lives on daily basis for the survival of this vision. dispute and exposing Indian
The Chairperson of Kashmir Tehreek-e-Khawateen, Zamruda atrocities in occupied Kashmir
Habib, and General Secretary, Shamim Shawl, in their at all international forums.
statements said 23rd March holds great significance for the They said that Pakistan as an

KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 14


ideological state had always
supported not only the just
cause of the people of Jammu
and Kashmir but all other
oppressed and suppressed
people across the world. They
said that the Indian
authorities had crossed all
limits in occupied Kashmir
and the Kashmiri people and
leadership were caged, hence
it was the duty of the people of
Pakistan to represent their
aspirations at all global
forums.
Various Sikh organisations
including Sikh Intellectual
Circle, Jammu and Kashmir
International Sikh
Federation, Sikh Students
Federation and Sikh Youth of
Jammu and Kashmir at a
meeting in Jammu while
greeting Pakistan on its
National Day said the
settlement of the Kashmir
dispute is the dream of the
Kashmiri people. They lashed
out at communal forces of
India for trying to create
hurdles in achieving that
objective.
Executive Members of
Organisation of Kashmir
Coalition, Professor Nazir
Ahmed Shawl and Barrister
Abdul Majeed Tramboo, in
their messages said that the
historic resolution that was
adopted in Lahore on 23rd
March 1940 became a reality
in 1947 and a new geography
was carved out under the
dynamic leadership of Quaid-
e-Azam Mohammed Ali
Jinnah. They said a stable and
strong Pakistan can become a
determining factor in global
politics. They deplored that
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020
R E P O R T
the people of Jammu and Kashmir continue to remain deprived of
their right to self-determination due to India’s intransigent
approach on the Kashmir dispute.
Meanwhile, President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, and Prime
Minister, Imran Khan, reiterated Pakistan’s moral, political and
diplomatic support for the Kashmiris in their just struggle for
securing their right to self-determination.
The President and the Prime Minister in their separate messages
on the Pakistan Day expressed unshakable support to the
oppressed people of occupied Kashmir who have been subjected
to an inhuman lockdown since August 05, 2019.
President Dr Arif Alvi assured the people of Jammu and Kashmir
that Pakistan will stand shoulder to shoulder with them and will
continue its moral, political and diplomatic support for their
legitimate right to self-determination.
Prime Minister, Imran Khan, said the Kashmir dispute is an
incomplete agenda of the division of the subcontinent and
reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering moral, political and diplomatic
support for the Kashmiris’ inalienable right to self-
determination.
Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in his
message on the Pakistan Day while paying homage to the vision
of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, made a particular
mention of over eight million Kashmiris besieged by the Indian
forces in occupied Kashmir.
He said that the Kashmiri people are suffering unimaginable
hardships for the crime of yearning for Azadi (freedom). With an
iron-will, and with all the political, diplomatic and moral force at
its command, Pakistan will continue to stand by its Kashmiri
brethren till they achieve their cherished goal, he maintained.
(KI Report)
15
 09-03-2020 Shopian 10-03-2020 Shopian 13-03-2020 Baramulla

14-03-2020 Baramulla 15-03-2020 Islamabad 16-03-2020 Kulgam

21-03-2020 Poonch 27-03-2020 Srinagar

31-03-2020 Srinagar
 H U M A N R I G H T S S I T U A T I O N
Occupied Kashmir has been reeling under brutal and inhuman lockdown where restrictions on the
movement of people and means of communications have been imposed by India since August 05, last
year, when it repealed the special status of the territory. The miseries of the people of the Kashmir Valley
increased manifold as the occupation authorities intensified the restrictions on March 18, 2020 after a
woman tested positive with the coronavirus. The residents of the Valley were already facing a shortage of
essential commodities as they could not stock the same due to the unrelenting military siege for the last
several months.
The COVID-19 virus, which has wreaked havoc across the world, has provided another excuse to the
Indian authorities to victimise the peace-loving people of occupied Kashmir. Even as thousands of
innocent Kashmiris are already languishing in different jails of the occupied territory and India, the
Indian police and paramilitary personnel are arresting the Kashmiri people on daily basis on the charges
of violating the prohibitory orders imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Although the UN, the US and international human rights organisations including Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch have expressed serious concern over the plight of the Kashmiri
detainees but New Delhi is not ready to release them, putting them at the grave risk of getting affected by
the deadly disease.
It is high time for the world community to come forward and impress upon India to refrain from its evil
designs against the people of occupied Kashmir.
Following is a day-to-day account of the Indian atrocities on the people of the occupied territory during
March 2020.

March 01: Indian police during house raids

arrested several youth from different areas of
Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal districts.
March 02: The police arrested two youth, Molvi
Muhammad Rafiq Shah and Bashir Ahmed Lone,
during cordon and search operations in
Ganderbal and Srinagar areas.
The occupation authorities also completely
blocked Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), which
were being used in the Kashmir Valley to connect
to social media websites while the high speed
internet service on mobile phones remained
banned since August 05, 2019.
March 03: Indian police and sleuths of India’s
National Investigation Agency (NIA) during
separate house raids arrested thirteen persons
including Ghulam Hussain, Muhammad Yaseen,
Zakir Hussain, Muhammad Iqbal, Bashir
Ahmed, Tariq Ahmed and his daughter Insha
Tariq from Kishtwar, Pulwama and Budgam
areas.
Compiled by March 04: Indian troops killed a youth, Umar
Subhan, during a cordon and search operation at
Raies Ahmed Mir Warpora in Sopore area of Baramulla district.
Indian police harassed and stopped two
journalists, Qayoom Khan and Qaisar Mir, and
snatched their cameras and mobile phones,
preventing them from carrying out their
professional duties in Pulwama.
Indian police arrested four persons in Srinagar

KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 18

 H U M A N
and Jammu areas.
March 05: The occupation
authorities booked three
youth, Nisar Ahmed Rathar,
Mubarak Ahmed Dar and
Faheem Ahmed Sofi, under
black law, Public Safety Act
(PSA).
March 07: India’s National
Investigation Agency arrested
two youth, Waiz-ul-Islam
Ganai and Muhammad Abbas
Rathar, from Barzulla area of
Srinagar.
March 08: Indian police
arrested a Kashmiri couple,
Jahanzeb Sami and his wife
Hina Bashir Beig, from Jamia
Nagar area of New Delhi.
March 09: Indian troops
killed two youth, Shabbir
Ahmed Malik and Aamir
Ahmed Dar, and damaged a
residential house during a
cordon and search operation
at Khawjapora Reban in
Shopian district.
Indian police arrested three
civilians, Aadil Rasool Ganai,
Riyaz Ahmed Butt and
Muhammad Ishaq Butt,
during house raids in
Pulwama.
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020
R I G H T S S I T U A T I O N
March 11: Indian police
arrested twenty one youth
during house raids in different
areas of Pulwama, Budgam
and Kupwara districts.
The occupation authorities
booked under draconian PSA,
for the third time in a row, an
illegally detained liberation
activist, Zahoor Ahmed Butt,
who was lodged in sub-jail
Kupwara.
March 13: Indian troops
killed a prayer leader, Mudasir
Ahmed Butt, during a cordon
and search operation at
Shutloo Rafiabad in
Baramulla district.
March 14: Indian police and
19
NIA arrested several youth
including Nazir Ahmed Wani,
Bashir Ahmed Wani,
Muhammad Ashraf Mir,
Danish Ahmed Kakroo and
Parvaiz Ahmed Matoo during
house raids and search
operations in Handawara,
Budgam, Sopore, Baramulla,
Tral, Bijbehara and Kulgam
areas.
March 15: Indian troops
killed four youth, Muzaffar
Ahmed Butt, Omar Ameen
Butt, Sajjad Ahmed Butt and
Gulzar Ahmed Butt, during a
cordon and search operation
at Dialgam in Islamabad
district. The troops also
destroyed a residential house
in the area.
March 17: A four-year-old
boy, Afaq Bashir Dar, was
injured after an Indian Army
vehicle deliberately hit a
private car at Palpora in
Handwara area of Kupwara
district.
March 18: Indian police
arrested a youth, Zahid
Farooq Dar, during a house
raid in Arth area of Budgam
district.
 H U M A N
The occupation authorities
further intensified restrictions
in the territory after a woman
was tested positive with
coronavirus.
The continued ban on high
speed 4G internet services
since August 05, 2019 added
to the miseries of the people of
occupied Kashmir who do not
have full access to health and
safety-related information in
the wake of COVID-19
outbreak.
March 19: Indian police
arrested a youth, Junaid
Ahmed Sheikh, during house
raids at Marheng Keegam in
Shopian district.
March 21: The police arrested
two youth, Irfan Ahmed
Kuttey and Aadil Bashir Lone,
during house raids in Shopian
and Pulwama areas.
March 23: The police arrested
several youth including Nisar
Ahmed Mir, Kabeer Lone,
Sharafat Ahmed Khan,
Ahtisham Farooq Malik,
Shafqat Ali Tagoo, Musaib
Hassan Butt and Nisar Ahmed
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020
R I G H T S S I T U A T I O N
Ganai during house raids in
Sopore, Handwara, Kupwara
and Islamabad areas.
March 24: Indian police
arrested over seventy people
including shopkeepers from
different areas of Ganderbal
and Kupwara districts on the
charges of violating the
restrictions imposed to
prevent spread of coronavirus.
March 25: The police arrested
over two dozen people from
Srinagar, Ganderbal,
Handwara and Sopore areas
of the Kashmir Valley on the
charges of violating the
restrictions enforced to break
the chain of coronavirus.
20
March 26: Indian police
arrested dozens of people
including shopkeepers from
Srinagar, Ganderbal,
Pulwama, Handwara, Sopore,
Shopian and other areas of the
Kashmir Valley.
March 27: The police arrested
around two hundred people
from Srinagar, Ganderbal,
Pulwama, Handwara, Sopore,
Shopian and other areas of the
Kashmir Valley on the charges
of violating the restrictions.
March 28: Indian police beat-
up a youth, Tawseef Butt, at
Khudwani in Kulgam.
The police arrested over thirty
people during cordon and
search operations in Srinagar,
Ganderbal, Pattan and
Bandipore areas.
March 29: Indian police
arrested six youth from Hajin
area of Bandipora district
while over 150 were detained
when they were trying to enter
Kathua during the lockdown
by crossing River Ravi on foot.
March 30: Indian police
during lockdown arrested over
sixty people including
shopkeepers from Srinagar
and other areas of the
Kashmir Valley.
 R E P O R T

International community urged to play

role in release of Yasin Malik

I
n occupied Kashmir, Hurriyat leaders and organisations to the gallows and urged the
have said that the Indian government will be responsible if international institutions and
anything untoward happened to the illegally detained ailing human rights organisations
Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Muhammad particularly the United
Yasin Malik, and urged the international community to put Nations to take notice of the
pressure on India to release him forthwith. ordeal of Muhammad Yasin
Muhammad Yasin Malik, who is lodged in New Delhi’s infamous Malik and play their role for the
Tihar Jail, is suffering from various ailments and is not keeping restoration of his rights.
well due to the inhuman treatment meted out to him and non- Syed Ali Gilani said that Yasin
provision of basic facilities, including proper medical care by the Malik had been making efforts
Indian authorities. for a peaceful resolution of the
Kashmir dispute for the past
many decades. He said that
the JKLF Chairman was
suffering from several
ailments and Indian
authorities had deprived him
of basic facilities, including
the medical care.
The Hurriyat forum led by
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a
statement issued in Srinagar
also expressed serious
concern over the declining
health of Muhammad Yasin
It merits mentioning here that on 15th March 2020, a TADA Malik in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
Court in Jammu unjustly framed charges against the JKLF The forum said that Yasin
Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik, and other Kashmiri Malik’s well-being was the
freedom leaders in a fake case registered against them around 30 responsibility of the Indian
years ago. Presiding Officer TADA Court, Subash C Gupta, government. It said that all
framed the charges against Muhammad Yasin Malik, Ali Kashmiri political leaders and
Muhammad Mir, Manzoor Ahmed Sofi, Javed Ahmed Mir, activists, traders, civil society
Saleem Nannaji, Javed Ahmed Zarger and Showkat Ahmed members, students and youth
Bakhshi without giving them proper opportunity to defend languishing in various jails of
themselves. India and occupied Kashmir
The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali should be released
Gilani, in a statement issued in Srinagar expressing concern immediately. It said that the
over the continued illegal detention of Muhammad Yasin Malik life of the detainees was at risk,
warned India that if anything happened to the JKLF Chairman, especially after the outbreak of
New Delhi would be responsible for it. coronavirus pandemic.
He said that India was plotting to send Muhammad Yasin Malik Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu

KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 21


and Kashmir, led by
Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, in
a statement issued in
Srinagar, expressed serious
concern about the well-being
of Muhammad Yasin Malik
and other illegally detained
Kashmiris lodged in different
Indian jails amid growing
coronavirus.
It said that thousands of
families in occupied Kashmir
were suffering due to the
continued illegal detention of
their loved ones. It said that
hundreds of Kashmiris had
been languishing in Indian
jails. It demanded that these
Kashmiri detainees should be
brought back to occupied
Kashmir on humanitarian
grounds to save them from
being affected by the
coronavirus.
The Chairman of Jammu and
Kashmir Tehreek-e-
Muzahamat, Bilal Siddiqi, in a
statement issued in Srinagar
denounced the charge-sheet
framed against Muhammad
Yasin Malik and other
Hurriyat leaders. He said that
the Indian government was
using its judiciary as a tool to
silence the Kashmiri
resistance leaders and
activists.
The Chairperson of Jammu
and Kashmir Muslim
Khawateen Markaz, Yasmeen
Raja, in a statement in
Srinagar said that India had
illegally detained Muhammad
Yasin Malik and was
subjecting him to political
vengeance.
The Chairman of Jammu and
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020
R E P O R T
Kashmir Democratic Political Movement, Khawaja Firdous, in his
statement expressed concern about the health of the JKLF chief.
He said that the international institutions must play their role in
the release of all Kashmiri detainees, including Muhammad Yasin
Malik.
The Vice Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Ummat-e-Islami,
Maulana Gulzar Ahmed Madni, in his statement issued in
Srinagar urged the people of Kashmir to stand against the judicial
victimisation of the Kashmiri leaders and register their protest
with the international community.
General Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League, Molvi
Ahmed Rathar, and Vice Chairman, Syed Ejaz Rehmani, in their
joint statement deplored that the Indian agencies were
implicating Yasin Malik in fake and baseless cases.
Tehreek-e-Wahdat-e-Islami in a statement in Srinagar said that a
concocted charge-sheet framed against Muhammad Yasin Malik
in a 30-year-old case once again showed that India was using its
judiciary to victimise the Kashmiris.
Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Youth Social Forum, Umar
Aadil Dar, in a statement in Srinagar said that on one hand, global
leaders were taking all possible steps to combat the deadly
coronavirus challenge, while on the other, Indian rulers were
paying no heed to the calls for the release of innocent Kashmiri
detainees.
The World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF) in a statement
issued in Washington sought the intervention by the United
Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for
immediate release of Muhammad Yasin Malik.
The WKAF demanded that the United Nations must force the
government of India to allow Geneva-based International
Commission of Jurists and a delegation of Kashmiri diaspora to
travel to New Delhi to meet personally with Yasin Malik at an early
22

date.
The Organisation of Kashmir
Coalition in a statement issued
in London expressed deep
concern over false charges
framed by special TADA Court
against Muhammad Yasin
Malik. The statement said that
the Executive Member of the
organisation, Barrister Abdul
Majeed Tramboo, would raise
at the United
Nations Human
R i g h t s
Mechanism the
politically-
m o t i v a t e d
charges against
Yasin Malik and
other Kashmiris.
The Chairman of
Kashmir Council
Europe, Ali Raza
Syed, in a
statement issued
in Brussels
called upon the world
community to put pressure on
India to immediately release
illegally detained Muhammad
Yasin Malik. He said that the
Indian government would be
responsible if any harm was
done to the incarcerated JKLF
chief.
Former Convener of APHC-
AJK and senior Hurriyat
leader, Syed Yousuf Naseem,
in a statement in Islamabad
said that the Modi government
wanted to send Muhammad
Yasin Malik to the gallows like
Muhammad Maqbool Butt.
APHC-AJK chapter leader and
Vice-Chairman of Jammu and
Kashmir Peoples Movement,
Abdul Majeed Malik, in a
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020
R E P O R T
statement issued in Islamabad
said that India had planned to
kill Muhammad Yasin Malik in
custody.
Vice Chairman of Jammu and
Kashmir Young Men’s League,
Zahid Ashraf, in his statement
in Islamabad condemned the
continued unlawful detention
of JKLF Chairman,
Muhammad Yasin Malik, and
thousands of other Kashmiris
languishing in different jails in
India and occupied Kashmir
and demanded their
unconditional release.
It is worth mentioning here
that the JKLF Chairman,
Muhammad Yasin Malik, in a
personal statement from New
Delhi’s Tihar Jail released to
the public and press by his
family on March 19, 2020,
reminded the Indian
government to honour the
pledges made by the Indian
leaders to resolve the Kashmir
dispute by giving the people of
Jammu and Kashmir their
right to self-determination.
The statement mentioned that
Yasin Malik had relentlessly
23
worked for the freedom of the
Kashmiri people, for a peaceful
negotiated settlement of the
Kashmir dispute and for the
promotion of non-violence. “I
will prefer an honourable
death instead of disgraceful
life. Long live resistance, long
live freedom movement,” Yasin
Malik said in the statement.
Questioning the bonafide of
the trumped-up
charges against
h i m , t h e
incarcerated
l e a d e r
expressed his
dissatisfaction
with the format
of the court
proceedings
t h a t h a v e
denied him due
legal process
a n d
representation.
The JKLF Chief
Spokesman, Muhammad
Rafiq Dar, flanked by party
leaders including Saleem
Haroon, Sajid Siddiqi and
Khawaja Manzoor Ahmed
Chishti while addressing a
press conference in
Islamabad, expressed concern
over the deteriorating health of
party Chairman, Muhammad
Yasin Malik. He said that
Modi-led Indian government
was victimising the JKLF chief
for his political beliefs and was
deliberately endangering his
life. He demanded immediate
and unconditional release of
all illegally detained Kashmiri
Hurriyat leaders, including
Yasin Malik. (KI Report)
 R E P O R T

Thousands of women killed, molested

in IOK since January 1989

I
n occupied Kashmir, Hurriyat leaders said that the women worst victims of Indian state
across the world observed the International Women’s Day oppression. He said over
on March 08, 2020 but the oppressed women of Kashmir twenty-two thousand women
had nothing to commemorate as they continued to face in Kashmir have become
humiliation at the hands of Indian troops every day. widows during the last thirty
The Chairperson of Kashmir Tehreek-e-Khawateen, Zamruda years. He said women in
Habib, in a statement issued in Srinagar said, the world is Kashmir have lost their
talking about the empowerment of women but the women in husbands, sons and brothers
due to the Indian state
terrorism.
The Chairman of Jammu and
Kashmir Youth Social Forum,
Umar Aadil Dar, in a
statement in Srinagar said
that on the occasion of
International Women’s Day it
was sheer injustice to ignore
the women of occupied
Kashmir suffering at the
hands of Indian forces. He
said the women of
Kunanposhpora and several
other places who were raped
by Indian troops have been
denied justice till date and the
men in uniform are still
roaming free and even
judiciary has failed to punish
the culprits because men at
the helm of affairs provided
them shelter under draconian
the occupied territory were facing the humiliation every day. law, Armed Forces Special
“Our dear ones are killed every now and then. Innocent young Powers Act (AFSPA).
boys have been lodged in different jails without committing any The Acting Chairman of
crime, and their mothers are waiting for their early release,” Jammu and Kashmir Muslim
she added. League, Farooq Ahmed
The Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement, Mir Tawheedi, in a statement in
Shahid Saleem, addressing a function organised by a social Srinagar said that the United
organisation in Jammu to mark the World Women’s Day, said Nations claimed to protect
that the seven decades long Kashmir dispute had taken a women across the globe and
heavy toll on the women in occupied territory and they were the major countries of the world

KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 24

 R E P O R T

promised to provide justice to

the women but they did
nothing for the protection,
security and dignity of
oppressed women in occupied
Kashmir.
Vice Chairman of Jammu and
Kashmir Peoples Movement,
Abdul Majeed Malik,
addressing Kashmiri refugees
in Gujranwala said that the
International Women’s Day
was observed all over the
world but in occupied
Kashmir women were facing
Kashmir Mass Movement, Abdul Majeed Mir, in a statement
many hardships, adding that
issued in Islamabad deplored that the Indian occupation forces
several women had become
were using the rape of Kashmiri women as a weapon to suppress
psychological patients. He
the Kashmiris’ just struggle for securing their right to self-
deplored that the Kashmiri
determination. He added that the Indian forces had killed
women have also been
thousands of people or subjected them to custodial
blinded by the Indian troops
disappearance, affecting thousands of women who were being
by using pellet guns.
He deplored that hundreds of identified today as “half widows”.
Vice Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Employees Movement,
women had been gang-raped
Imtiaz Wani, in his statement in Islamabad said that the
Kashmiri women were being
victimised by the Indian forces
for playing an active role in the
ongoing freedom movement.
Vice Chairman of Jammu and
Kashmir Pir Panjal Freedom
Movement, Qazi Imran, in a
statement issued in Islamabad
said that the UN should take
notice of the Indian atrocities
on the Kashmiri women.
Meanwhile, speakers at a
seminar in Islamabad paid
glowing tributes to the
Kashmiri women who were
braving Indian brutalities for
by Indian troops and many
the past over seven decades.
others abducted. He said that
The seminar was organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Islamic
several Kashmiri women
Political Party and the Right to Self-Determination Movement
Hurriyat leaders had been
International on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
illegally detained in various
The speakers said that the Indian forces were using the
Indian prisons.
molestation and rape of women as a weapon of war in occupied
Vice Chairman of Jammu and
Kashmir.

KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 25


They paid special tributes to
the Chairperson of
Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Aasiya
Andrabi, who along with her
associates, Fehmeeda Sofi
and Naheeda Nasreen, is
languishing in New Delhi’s
Tihar Jail. They also
eulogised the sacrifices of
Hurriyat leaders and activists
including Zamruda Habib,
Yasmeen Raja, Farida
Behanji, Hameeda Nayeem
and other Kashmiri women
for the Kashmir cause.
The speakers made a special
reference to Konanposhpura
mass rape, rape and murder
of two Shopian women and a
minor, Aasifa Bano, in
Kathua area of Jammu and
urged the global institutions
of justice and human rights to
come to the rescue of the
women in occupied Kashmir.
Among those who spoke on
the occasion included
Senator Seemi Ezdi, Senator
Sahar Kamran, Shaheen
Kausar Dar, Raja Najbat
Hussain, Abdul Hameed
Lone, Muhammad Shafi Dar,
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020
R E P O R T
Syed Manzoor Ahmed Shah,
Uzma Hameed Gul, Taqdees
Gilani, Amna Ansari, Anbirin
Turk, Naila Altaf, Nabila
Irshad, Nadia Niaz, Afshan
Saeed, Sama Uroj, Aasiya
Khattak and Dr Rihana
Kausar.
The seminar was chaired by
Raja Najabat Hussain while
Seemi Ezdi was a special
guest on the occasion.
On the other hand, according
to a report released by the
Research Section of Kashmir
Media Service, thousands of
women were among 95,507
Kashmiris, who were
26
martyred by Indian forces
since January 1989 till 8th
March 2020, while 671
women were killed since
January 2001 alone. The
report pointed out that
22,912 women had been
rendered widowed while
11,179 molested during this
period. It also mentioned
Kunanposhpora mass rape,
rape and murder of two
Shopian women and gang-
rape and murder of an eight-
year-old girl, Aasifa Bano, in
Kathua, as glimpses of some
heinous crimes of India
against the women in
occupied Kashmir.
The report said that over a
hundred women, including
19-month-old Hiba Jan and
32-year-old Nusrat Jan, were
blinded in the firing of pellets
by Indian troops.
It said that around a dozen
women including Hurriyat
leaders, Aasiya Andrabi,
Fehmeeda Sofi and Naheeda
Nasreen, were facing illegal
detention in New Delhi’s
infamous Tihar Jail and other
jails. (KI Report)
 C H R O N O L O G Y

People stage forceful

demonstrations in Islamabad
and Pulwama towns against
arrest of youth by Indian police.

A chronological May 24: The veteran Hurriyet

leader, Syed Ali Gilani, in a
statement issued in Srinagar

account of developments demands immediate

unconditional release of all
and

on Kashmir illegally detained Kashmiris

including Hurriyet leaders and
(164) activists. He says that scores of
youth have been arrested by
Indian police after boycott of the

(Year 2014) recently held sham polls by the

people in the territory. He points
out that boycotting elections is
the democratic right of every
citizen but occupied Kashmir is
the only region in the world
where the authorities deem it to
be a crime to be punished with
arrests, torture and
harassment.
An Indian Army vehicle flees
away after hitting a private
vehicle at Sonamarg. The army
personnel beat up and injure at
least six policemen when they
try to take possession of the
army vehicle and the troops

KMS Research Desk involved in the hit-and-run

incident.
May 23: The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz May 25: The occupation
Umar Farooq, while addressing a gathering at Jamia Masjid in authorities impose curfew in
Srinagar appeals to the international community to make serious Kalaroos area of Kupwara
efforts for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute to ensure district to prevent people from
permanent peace and stability in South Asia. He strongly condemns holding demonstrations against
the curbs imposed on the political activities of resistance leaders the death of a Kashmiri youth.
and arrest of youth by the puppet authorities. The youth, who was injured a
The occupation authorities continue to place Hurriyet leaders, Syed few days ago during the so-
Ali Gilani, Shabbir Ahmed Shah and Nayeem Ahmed Khan, under called Indian parliamentary
house arrest. They are not even allowed to offer Juma prayers. elections in the territory,
Indian police re-arrest senior liberation leader, Mushtaq-ul-Islam, succumbs to his injuries at a
immediately after his release from Baramulla jail on court orders. hospital in Srinagar.
Complete shutdown is observed in Palhalan area of Pattan on the Indian Army and police jointly
first martyrdom anniversary of a youth, who was killed by Indian launch a violent operation at
troops last year. Arwaini in Bijbehara. The troops

KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 27

 C H
conduct house-to-house
searches and subject the locals
to physical and mental torture.
Indian troops in their fresh act of
state terrorism martyr two
Kashmiri youth, Zubair Ahmed
Butt and Ishfaq Ahmed Butt,
during a siege and search
operation at Nowpora Frisal in
Kulgam district. One residential
house is also razed to the ground
by the troops.
May 26: Forceful anti-India
demonstrations are held in
Kulgam district against the
killing of two youth, Zubair
Ahmed Butt and Ishfaq Ahmed
Butt. Indian paramilitary
personnel fire teargas shells on
the protesters to prevent them
from marching towards the
incident site.
Thousands of men, women and
children raising pro-freedom
and anti-India slogans
participate in the funeral of the
martyred youth in Chakola area
of Shopian.
Addressing the mourners over
telephone from Srinagar, the
veteran Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali
Gilani, appeals to the
international community to take
a strong note of the killing and
arrest spree unleashed by the
Indian Army and police in the
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020
R O N O L O G Y
territory. Senior APHC leader, Maulana Abbas Ansari, addressing a
function organised by his party, Jammu and Kashmir Ittehad-ul-
Muslimeen, at Deewar in Pattan, deplores that India is using all
military means to suppress the Kashmiris’ just struggle for securing
their right to self-determination.
Indian police use brute force and arrest dozens of employees of Public
Health Engineering Department during a protest rally in Srinagar.
Around 60 employees are injured after police use water cannons and
resort to brute force against the protesters.
May 27: The veteran Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani, in a statement
issued in Srinagar demands removal of
Indian Army camps and firing ranges,
including Tosa Maidan, located in or near
civilian areas in the territory.
He says Hurriyet leadership is demanding
demilitarisation of whole Jammu and
Kashmir but the presence of army camps and
firing ranges in civilian areas is a serious
issue, which needs to be addressed
immediately. The veteran leader appeals to
the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to
impress upon New Delhi to fulfill its
responsibilities about properly disposing of
the unexploded shells.
A peaceful protest demonstration in connection with the
International Week of the Disappeared is held at Press Enclave in
Srinagar to demand the whereabouts of thousands of Kashmiri
youth, who have been subjected to custodial disappearance by Indian
troops and police in the territory. APHC leaders including Javed
Ahmed Mir, Syed Bashir Andrabi, Hakeem Abdul Rasheed, Imtiyaz
Ahmed Reshi, Sufi Mushtaq, Jaffer Kashmiri and Advocate Abdul
Ahad Qadri lead the march.
Compiled by: Showkat Ali
To be continued...
28
 B E A U T Y

Drang-Drung Glacier
The Drang-Drung Glacier is
accessible from Srinagar or
Srinagar Airport in two days of
drive by car or bus through
Srinagar-Leh Highway that
passes through the towns of
Ganderbal, Kangan,
Sonamarg and Dras. The
three-day journey from Leh-
Zanskar Valley is crammed
with natural marvels like
stunning glaciers, spectacular
mountain ranges and fruit
orchards. Kargil town is at the
half way distance and a
feasible place for a night halt.

T
he Drang-Drung Glacier also called Durung Drung From Kargil the glacier lies on
Glacier is a mountain glacier situated near the Pensi La the right side of Kargil-
Mountain Pass at the Kargil - Zanaskar Road in Kargil Zanaskar Road, which passes
district of Indian occupied Kashmir. through a gorge valley of Suru
A glacier is a big, sluggish stream of ice, bent from trampled River and under the shades of
sheets of snow, that gradually distorts and surges in accordance two mountain peaks of Nun
with gravity. and Kun. After crossing the
Drang-Drung glacier, a lengthy and meandering river of snow Pensi La Mountain Pass a
and ice, in Ladakh, is a popular tourist destination. It offers the trekking of one day from the
picturesque scenery of the snow-capped mountain peaks of the road leads to the head of
Himalayas that attracts many tourists and travelers. Drang-Drung Glacier. The
The Drang-Drung Glacier is likely to be
the largest glacier in Ladakh other than
Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram
Range, with a maximum length of 23
kilometers (14 miles) and at an average
elevation of 15,680 feet (4,780 meters).
It lies in the northeastern Himalayan
Range known as Zanskar Range,
situated 142 kilometers (88 miles) south
from Kargil and 331 kilometers (206
miles) east from Srinagar the capital of
occupied Kashmir.
The Drang-Drung Glacier is a source of
Stod River, which is a tributary of Zanskar River and Zanskar road is only open for traffic
River is a tributary of Indus River. The Doda Peak with an from the month of May to
elevation of 21,490 feet (6,550 meters) rises from the glacier. The September and remains closed
glacier in fact looks like a winding river from Pensi La, the rest of the year due to heavy
difference being that instead of water it is a river of ice. It is one of snowfall at Zojila and Pensi La
the major attractions of Zanskar region and augments the charm passes. The best time to visit is
of this adventure junky paradise. July to August.

KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 29

 L I T E R A T U R E

Good king Hatam

happened to be passing at the
time came in and inquired
what was the matter. This bird
carried a piece of grass in its
beak, with which it could raise

T
here was once a poor man, who used to earn a few paisas
the dead. "Why do you weep?"
by cutting and selling wood. It was a hard struggle to
it said to the sorrowful
support his family comprising his wife and seven
company.
daughters. Never a bit of meat touched his lips, never a shoe
"Because our relative is dead;
covered his feet, and only a rag covered his back. One day, when
we shall never speak to it
not feeling very well, he lied down under a tree to rest. The lucky-
again," they replied.
bird ‘Huma’ happened to be flying about the place at the time,
"Weep not," said the strange
and, noticing the man's poverty and sickness, pitied him. So it
bird, “Your relative shall live
flew down beside him and deposited a golden egg by his bundle
again." Whereupon it placed
of wood. In a little while the woodcutter awoke, and seeing the
the piece of grass in the mouth
egg, picked it up and wrapped it in his handkerchief. He then
of the corpse, and it revived.
took up his load and went to the worn, who generally bought it.
When the bird ‘Huma’ revived
He also sold him the egg for a trifle. He did not know what a
and saw the woodcutter, it
wonderful egg it was; but the Woni knew, and asked him to go
severely upbraided him for his
and get the bird that laid it, and he would give him a rupee as a
faithlessness and
gift. The man promised, and on the following day went to the
carelessness. "I could have
jungle as usual to prepare his load of wood. On the way back he
made you great and happy," it
sat down to rest under the tree where he had found the egg, and
said, "but now get you back to
pretended to sleep. The bird came again, and noticing that he
your burden of wood and
was still as poor and as ill-looking as before, thought that he had
humble home."
not seen the egg, and therefore went and laid another close by
On this, the poor man found
him, in such peculiar a spot that he could not possibly miss
himself back again in the
seeing it, but the woodcutter caught the bird, and rose up to
jungle, and standing by the
carry it to the Woni. "Oh! What are you going to do with me? Do
load of wood that he had
not kill me. Do not imprison me; but set me free," cried the bird.
prepared before he was
"You shall not fail of a reward. Pluck one of my feathers, show it
transported to the bird’s
to the fire, and you shall at once arrive at my country, Koh-i-Qaf,
country. He sold his wood, and
where my parents will reward you. They will give you a necklace
then went home in a very sad
of pearls, the price of which no king on earth could give." But the
frame of mind to his wife and
poor ignorant woodcutter would not listen to the bird's
daughters. He never saw the
pleadings. His mind was too much occupied with the thought of
bird, Huma, again. It has been
the rupee that he felt certain of getting, and therefore he
mentioned that this
fastened the bird in his wrap, and ran off to the Woni as fast as
woodcutter had seven
his load would permit. Alas! However, the bird died on the way
daughters. These girls grew
from suffocation. "What shall I do now? " thought the
up, and had to be married. But
woodcutter. "The Woni will not give me a rupee for a dead bird.
how was the woodcutter to
Ha! Ha! I will show one of its feathers to the fire. Perhaps the bird
arrange for their marriages?
being dead will not make any difference."
He barely earned money
Accordingly he did so, and immediately found himself in the
sufficient for their food and
mysterious country of the bird, where he sought out the parents
nobody would be allied to such
of the bird and told them all that had happened. The parents and
a poverty-stricken house as
other birds wept bitterly when they saw the dead body of their
his. In the hour of his difficulty
beloved relative. Attracted by the noise, a strange bird that

KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 30

 L I T E R A T U R E

he sought the advice of a you sufficiently

friend, who told him to go to f o r y o u r
Hatam, the noble-minded kindness to me.
generous king, and ask for May God reward
help. Now in those days Hatam you. Farewell!”
had become very poor, and The woodcutter
was obliged to pound rice for a and the princess
living. But although he was so then left. On the
reduced in circumstances, way they had to
that there was scarcely a pass through a
poorer man than he in the very wild place,
whole country, yet he had the where they met
same generous heart and was a prince, who
as desirous as ever of bettering was hunting.
others. When the woodcutter The prince
reached his country and chanced to
happened to meet with him, he catch sight of
had a beautiful instance of his the girl, at once
generous spirit. The fell in love with
woodcutter, not knowing who her and begged
he was, related to him all his the woodcutter
sad tale and begged to be to accept him as
directed to King Hatam, the a son-in-law. Of
Noble. The poor king advised course the man
him to stay there for the night agreed, and the
and continue his journey on marriage was
the morrow; to which the celebrated. Henceforth money without stint flowed into the
woodcutter consented, and woodcutter's hands so that he was able to resign his calling, to
walked with him to his house. build for himself a beautiful house and to marry his seven
That night Hatam fasted, in daughters into good and respectable families.
order to give something to his Meanwhile, the prince was living very happily with his beautiful
guest, and in the morning he wife, under the idea that she was the woodcutter's daughter. One
informed him of the truth. day, however, he discovered the truth of the matter. He had given
“Friend,” said he, “I am he alms to a poor man in the presence of his wife, when she casually
whom you seek; but behold! I remarked that he had done a hatami, meaning a generous act, a
am as poor as you. Alas! I Hatam-like act. The prince asked her how she knew anything
cannot help you. I cannot even about Hatam, and she told him everything -- how the woodcutter
give you another meal. But if had applied to her father for help, and how her father, not having
you will accept my only anything else, gave her to him as a slave. The prince then sent for
daughter, you are welcome. the woodcutter, and heard from him the same words, and all
You may be able to sell her, about the Huma’s egg and the man's visit to Koh-i-Qaf. He was
and thus get some money to intensely surprised when he heard all these things. He
marry your own daughters. immediately sent for King Hatam, begging him to come and rule
Go, and God be with you.” the country in his stead, because he was too young and
“King,” replied the inexperienced to manage it properly. The retired woodcutter
woodcutter, “Your generosity received a large pension in land; but the cunning Woni was
melts my heart. I cannot thank ordered to hand over the golden egg to the king.

KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 31

 F E E D
Coronavirus and Kashmir
With four coronavirus related deaths reportedly
occurring in occupied Kashmir - although it’s
very hard to get facts out of the Kashmir Valley
these days due to internet gag - it is high time for
the international community to finally take a long
hard look at what has been happening there since
August 05 last year when New Delhi revoked
special status of the territory and placed it under
lockdown. As a brutal curfew was in place, there
was no way for people to prepare in advance and
stock up with essential items; particularly when
thousands of Hurriyat leaders, activists, political
Letters to
Editor
workers and youth were put under illegal
detention. People have not been allowed to come
out of their homes for the last over eight months.
And now they have to face the isolation of the
virus without being prepared for it.
For months now, there have been reports from
occupied Kashmir that people have been unable
to get medical treatment, even bury their dead
just because of the brutal nature of the curfew.
Pakistan highlighted the hardships faced by the
besieged millions of residents of the occupied
territory as much as possible, even shouting out
at the UN for everybody to hear. However, it soon
became clear that India’s large market was a
bigger concern for the international community
than the miseries of the Kashmiris. But now, as
the whole world has been brought to its knees by
the coronavirus pandemic and entire
communities have been forced to live in never-
ending shutdown, perhaps countries will view
the situation in occupied Kashmir with a little
more sympathy and empathy.
Asif Khan
Karachi
Remember Kashmir
Traditionally even the worst disasters have had
little impact on the world’s propensity for war and
occupation. And the peoples like Palestinians
and Kashmiris have continued to suffer
regardless of what the rest of the world is doing.
KASHMIR INSIGHT APRIL 2020 32
B A C K
But this time around, it could be different. The
coronavirus pandemic is a killer the likes of which
the world has not seen in a long, long time. And
that is primarily because, for all its advances in
all sorts of sciences including medicine, the
whole world is still helpless against this
particular virus. If the world sits idly by as the
Indians let it spread in occupied Kashmir, slowly
but surely it will spread among the Indian
occupational forces’ personnel and then, most
likely, within the entire Indian Army as well.
This tragedy provides as good a time as any for the
world to finally knock some sense into New Delhi.
Already India is preparing for a massive
outbreak. The government will be stretched thin,
and will most likely end up requiring the services
of the military as well. It would be a sad day for
ordinary Indians when soldiers that could have
protected them would be busy in oppressing
other people elsewhere. But the world will only do
something if it even still remembers Kashmir.
Abid Ali
Lahore
Modi’s tactics
In another move to affect the demography of the
Muslim-Majority occupied Kashmir, the Modi
government has approved the extension of 37
central laws in the territory.
On August 05, 2019, the Indian government
announced abrogation of the special status of
occupied Kashmir and imposed a strict military
lockdown in the territory. The Modi government’s
latest move to extend central laws in Kashmir is
part of its illegal and controversial Jammu and
Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, that came
into effect on October 31, 2019. The Act, under
which the Indian government can exercise its
powers to modify the existing laws in the territory,
is yet another tactic by the Modi-led Indian
government to oppress the Kashmiri people.
The post 5th August events in occupied Kashmir,
the recent massacre of Muslims in New Delhi and
the state-sponsored terrorism through police and
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) gangs will
lead to radicalisation of 200 million Indian
Muslims. Unless the international community
intervenes, these developments would have
disastrous consequences not only for the region
but also eventually for the entire world.
Ali Khan
Peshawar
 Atrocities by Indian troops
(January 1989 to March 31, 2020)

Total killings 95,515

Custodial killings 7,139

Civilian arrested 159,450

Structures destroyed/damaged 109,462

Women widowed 22,912

Children orphaned 107,784

Women gangraped/molested 11,179

Including custodial killings

Source: Kashmir Media Service (www.kmsnews.org)

 Reminders to world community!

“The Government of India and the Government of Pakistan

reaffirm their wish that the future status of the State of Jammu
and Kashmir shall be determined in accordance with the will of
the people and to that end, upon acceptance of the Truce
Agreement both Governments agree to enter into
consultations with the Commission to determine fair and
equitable conditions whereby such free expression will be
assured.”

(Resolution of the United Nations Commission

for India and Pakistan; 13 August 1948)

“The question of the accession of the State of Jammu and

Kashmir to India or Pakistan will be decided through the
democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite.”

(Resolution of the United Nations Commission

for India and Pakistan; 5 January 1949)

“The final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will

be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed
through the democratic method of a free and impartial
plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United
Nations.”

(Letter of Indian government to the

UN Representative for India and Pakistan
on September 11, 1951)