Kashmir

Symbol of uproar

Valley of Kashmir is located in South Asia.  Bordered in North by China, East by Tibet, South Himachal Pradesh and Punjab (India), and west by Pakistan. 63 per cent of the territory is under Indian occupation; while the rest, 37 per cent, is with Pakistan, called Azad (independent) Jammu and Kashmir.  The two parts are separated by the line of control (LOC) and does not have an international border between them.

The 151,360 square kilometers valley, 95,356 sq.kms occupied by India and 56,003 sq.kms Azad Jammu and Kashmir is home to approximately 13 million people. 

Kashmir is the world’s oldest dispute in the UN records today.  While the Indian forces are involved in terrorist activities daily, the Indian government is not willing to solve the issue by bilateral negotiations or mediation by the third party.  Pakistan and India have already fought two wars over this disputed territory, and now when the two rivals have acquired the nuclear capabilities, the chances of Kashmir being the cause of a nuclear war in South Asia cannot be ruled out. 

Soon after the independence Pakistan and India went to war over this territory and on 1^st January 1948 India took this matter to UN who helped enforce ceasefire on 1^st January 1949.  Pakistan and the international community consider Kashmir to be the core issue between India and Pakistan while India claims Kashmir to be its ‘ integral’ part.  Pakistan wants to solve the matter according to UN resolutions, which call for the holding of a plebiscite to determine the wishes of the Kashmiri people.  The fact is that all the principles on the basis of which the Indian subcontinent was partitioned by the British in 1947 justify Kashmir becoming a part of Pakistan: the State had majority Muslim population, and it not only enjoyed geographical proximity with Pakistan but also had essential economic linkages with the territories constituting Pakistan.   

Since the uprising against Indian occupation begun in 1988-1989, 65,000 to 80,000 people have been killed.  Meanwhile, the number of people reported missing or disappeared and those who have gone into hiding out of fear for their lives as well as those who have been forced to leave their homes exceeds 100,000. Since 1989, over 38,450 people have been rendered disabled or crippled for live, 2,100 were tortured resulting in renal failure, 710 children were reported with broken limbs in hospitals while 461 school children were burnt alive. 19,020 youths were tortured whereas nearly 5,000 are still in torture cells, while 70,600 men and women remain in prison without trial and 36,000 refugees have crossed cease-fire line in distress and fear. The so-called worlds second biggest democracy uses strategies like murder, rape kidnap and lies to crush the freedom struggle and distort the truth.  According to some sources there are about 700,000 Indian solders in Kashmir.  According to a group of Human Rights activists Indian Army occupied Kashmir, and ever since "more than 30,000 Kashmiri women have been raped by Indian security personnel, of whom 6,000 got pregnant and delivered illegitimate babies 

Its about time UN stops neglecting Kashmir and implements its resolutions.  Any delay can only result in more atrocities and violation of human rights.  Life of a Kashmiri is equally precious as all other human lives in any part of the globe, and the culprits responsible must be brought to justice.  It is the obligation of not only Human rights organizations but also of every individual to raise their voice and remind UN to implement their resolutions.    

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