Powerful Speech by Shri Lakshmi Kaul on Kashmiri Pundit’s Human Rights at United Nations Council of Human Rights

The Sindhis, Balochis, people residing in abysmal conditions in Pakistan Occupied Jammu Kashmir region have tasted Azadi ? the same call for Azadi that a few Kashmiris in the valley are shouting for!

Gilgit Baltistan is the latest to be arbitrarily swallowed as the 5th frontier by Pakistan ? the world community continues to be silent?

The human rights violations of those young children, who are focibly made human shields in front of police during strikes and protests are ignored by their handlers and the rights watch groups.

The human rights violations of a lone soldier in a police picket, who is only fulfilling his duty to keep the vigil and is mobbed by stone pelters and subjected to arson are never accounted for.

The human rights violations of the poor residents of the border villages especially in the Jammu and Ladakh region, who face exodus every month due to cross border firing and shelling is never considered.

Jammu has become a refugee capital of India ? Rohingyas from Myanmar and Bangladeshi refugees reside in large numbers in the city adding to the already burdened part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Despite India and Pakistan fighting 3 wars over Kashmir, the majority community in Kashmir never supported the nefarious designs of Pakistan to annex Kashmir. The locals of Kashmir strongly resisted the Kabali raids in 1947.It was only after 1989 that the gun-culture infested the Kashmir valley, due to mass infiltration of foreign trained gurreila terrorists from pakistan into Kashmir. Some locals were also radicalised in the name of Jihad and inducted into the killing factory named ‘Azadi’.

India has had no choice but to increase presence of military and para military forces to maintain law and order and more so in border areas to quell any cross border terrorism and infiltration from Pakistan.

Collateral damage in cross firings and terrorist incidents is unfortunate and over the years of militancy in the valley a no of innocent people have lost their lives to the gun.

During the last 12 months, there have been 50 plus incidents of schools being burnt in the valley by miscreants. Who in their right minds destroy the very fundamentals of a society.

Mr Chairman, the schools are the pillars of our future generations and only the twisted minds and ideologies will target education and well being of children in the name of Jihad. What makes matters worse is the so called leaders of some of these Jihadi outfits send all their sons and daughters to leading institutions in the West for higher studies to secure a better future far away from the war cries of Jihad. None of these so called ‘Azadi’ proponents have their kith and kin involved in any shape or form in leading the blood shed.

The West is slowly waking up to the propaganda and dangers of supporting this movement of bloodshed. I bring to your attention the recent bill proposed by a US Congressman, Ted Poe, the Chair of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism saying:

“Not only is Pakistan an untrustworthy ally, Islamabad has also aided and abetted enemies of the United States for years.”

“From harboring Osama bin Laden to its cozy relationship with the Haqqani network, there is more than enough evidence to determine whose side Pakistan is on in the War on Terror. And it’s not America’s. It is time we stop paying Pakistan for its betrayal and designate it for what it is: a State Sponsor of Terrorism,” Poe said while introducing the bill, the Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Act of 2015, in Congress 5 days back.

I as a parent, as a human being and as a responsible citizen of the world support Senator Poe in his call for declaring Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism and urge the UN and the entire International fraternity to support this call and put an end to the decades of bloodshed, killings and radicalisation.

In my small way I made a contribution to bringing the many communities of the Jammu and Kashmir region together via the recently concluded Jammu Kashmir Festival. It was an opportunity for us all to reconnect with our roots, our shared heritage and I am pleased to share that we not only found many reasons to unite us but also found a ray of hope in progress, development and prosperity via business, craftsmanship, skill upgradation and preservation ? let this be the overriding feeling and aspiration in all our hearts.

Let hatred not ever find any space in our hearts, minds or anywhere in our childrens upbringing.

Thank you!

The video link to the session is pasted below:

https://www.facebook.com/kaul.lakshmi/videos/10155144373564083/