---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Habib Yousafzai <habibyousafzai@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 12:51 AM
Subject: [bangla-vision] Kashmir Event Held at George Mason University
From: Habib Yousafzai <habibyousafzai@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 12:51 AM
Subject: [bangla-vision] Kashmir Event Held at George Mason University
On Fri, Nov 5, 2010 at 1:12 PM, Muzzammil Sayyid <msayyid@yahoo.com> wrote:
Washington, D.C. November 5, 2010. Former Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir & the President of Jammu Kashmir Peoples Muslim League, Barrister Sultan Mehmood urged the Obama Administration to play the role for resolving the Kashmir conflict. President Obama should take notice of human rights abuses in occupied Kashmir as more than 700,000 troops have been deployed in a small territory.
Kashmir issue is not a land or religious dispute between two countries however is a matter of destiny of 15 million people f Jammu & Kashmir, Barrister said. He said that he never termed UN resolutions regarding Kashmir as outdated but the UN role has turned negative in resolving the international dispute. Barrister Chaudhry said that Kashmiris living on both sides of Cease-fire Line will not accept division of Kashmir. He was addressing a seminar at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, entitled, "Kashmir Issue: Ground Reality & International Response."
He strongly condemned the atrocities committed by the Indian forces on the innocent people of Indian Occupied Kashmir. He said that peace in the South Asian region is linked to the solution of Kashmir issue and the world community should play its role to bring all the stake holders around one table to find out a solution that manifest the aspiration of the people of Jammu & Kashmir.
He continued that the recent phase of resentment, anger, and struggle in the Indian Occupied Kashmir was totally indigenous. It speaks volumes about the frustration and the conditions under which the people of Kashmir are living under the alien occupation. He urged the Indian government to immediately withdraw troops from the cities of Kashmir, withdraw all the draconian and black laws, release all the political prisoners and allow the Kashmiri leaders to travel abroad. He said that intra-Kashmir dialogue should be initiated to find an amicable solution of the long outstanding issue.
Barrister said that the economic glittering in India should not blind anyone from the sacrifices of Kashmiri people. He urged the Obama Administration to take notice of the human rights violations in the Indian held Kashmir and put pressure on India for early solution of this issue.
Ms. Iffat Imran Gardezi, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Pakistan said that the Kashmir dispute was the oldest unresolved international conflict in the world today. Pakistan considers Kashmir as its core political dispute with India. So does the international community.
Ms. Gardezi continued that Pakistan upholds the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to self-determination in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. These resolutions of 1948 and 1949 provide for the holding of a free and impartial plebiscite for the determination of the future of the State by the people of Jammu and Kashmir. These resolutions established self-determination as the governing principle for the settlement of the Kashmir dispute. This is the world body's commitment to the people of Kashmir.
Ms. Gardezi reiterated that Pakistan has always urged that the human rights of the Kashmiri people must be respected, and their voices heard to create an enabling environment for a peaceful solution for the longstanding Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
Ms. Gardezi further said that despite the use of brute force by Indian security forces, the recent widespread, indigenous, peaceful and unarmed movement by the people in Indian occupied Kashmir has once again proved the fact that Kashmiris despise Indian occupation of their land and persist in their demand for their right to self-determination, in accordance with the United nations Security Council resolutions.
The DCM concluded that President Obama should raise the blatant human rights abuses in Jammu & Kashmir being carried out on a systematic basis by the brute forces of Indian army saying that the forthcoming visit of president Obama to India would provide a useful opportunity to impress upon the Indian leadership to resolve the outstanding issue of Kashmir. This is no fiction but bare reality and today the world community should step forward and accord due attention to this "festering would" of South Asia.
Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director, Kashmiri-American Council/Kashmir Center, speaking at the discussion, said the ground reality in the Occupied Kashmir proves that one million people protesting on the streets cannot be remote-controlled from Islamabad. "The present movement is indigenous, spontaneous, popular, non-violent and peaceful," he said.
He brushed aside New Delhi's ploy to equate the Kashmiris' struggle for freedom from Indian occupation with terrorism, saying "no terrorist believes in UN resolutions and its mechanisms and no terrorist stages protests in front of the world body and no people appear on the streets unarmed to voice their aspirations unless they have a just cause and believe in the peaceful struggle to achieve their goal."
Citing a series of international surveys, Fai said the percentage of Kashmiris wanting freedom from Indian rule has been on the rise and now as much as 90 per cent of the people want freedom from Indian occupation.
"The continued deployment of 700,000 Indian military and paramilitary forces have made the occupied Kashmir the largest military concentration in the world and now Arundhatti Roy, the acclaimed Indian scholar said this week that Kashmir has never been part of India."
Referring to statements of presidents Harry Truman, George Bush and Barack Obama on the importance of resolving the Kashmir conflict, Fai underlined the United States' special responsibility toward resolution of the decades-old dispute over Kashmir, which is now surrounded by three nuclear powers, Pakistan, India and China. He reiterated that appointment of a special envoy on Kashmir will go a long way to hasten the process of peace and stability in the region of South Asia.
Professor Dr Imtiaz Khan of Georgetown University, who recently returned from the occupied valley, reported that the people are protesting peacefully but are being denied their right to do through ruthless tactics. He dismissed Indian blame game that Pakistani militants have been behind the Kashmir uprisings.
"The people just want to demonstrate peacefully but they are being denied to do that---and trigger happy Indian security personnel start shooting," he said, terming the frequent human rights abuses and killings as outrageous.
"India can no longer hoodwink the people (of the world) --- Kashmiris are suffering --- we are back to square one - the youth are frustrated - they are being forced and pushed to react and situation will have serious implications."
Mr. Israr Mirza, President of PSA at GMU said that the event is not to blame any party to the dispute. The main purpose to organize the event is to educate the audience about the real situation on the ground in Kashmir. He said that PSA has invited both Ambassadors of India & Pakistan.
Mr. Mirza said that the American student population can become instrumental in helping educate the American policy making agencies to help to set a stage for the final settlement of the Kashmir dispute with all the three parties on the table – Government of India, Government of Pakistan and the Kashmiri leadership.
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Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/
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