LAHORE: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider said on Saturday that Indian forces are committing crimes against humanity in occupied Kashmir.
PM Haider said so while addressing a special session of Asma Jahangir Conference on human rights in Kashmir. He attended the session as chief guest.
The AJK premier said that according to Article 42 of The Hague Convention, India has illegally occupied the territory. He said, “India, according to Article 103 of the United Nations [charter], couldn’t change the demographic composition of the held valley.”
PM Haider said that Indian forces are involved in the crimes against humanity, which are a sheer violation of the Geneva Convention, UN resolutions and its charter.
“Those (Indian armed forces) committing these crimes being given a legal cover through infamous black laws,” he said.
“They are given special powers to pick any person or damage any property under laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the Public Safety Act.”
The prime minister said Indian troops are brutally torturing defenceless civilians, disgracing women and behind thousands of enforced disappearances.
He noted that Indian troops are targeting women and children in ceasefire violations, besides using cluster ammunition in AJK.
Due to the massive deployment of Indian military and paramilitary personnel, PM Haider told participants, occupied Kashmir has become the world’s biggest militarised zone.
“Over 9 million Indian troops are using brute force to suppress the indigenous liberation movement,” he said.
The AJK premier cleared that India could no longer hide itself behind the narrative that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between Pakistan and India.
He urged the Pakistani leadership and civil society to take practical steps to help Kashmiris, who are besieged in their homes for the last 76 days.
