Kashmir Cricketer Naeem Bhat Remembered At UN

By News Desk

UNITED NATIONS, Geneva—The rising star of Kashmir cricket, Naeem Bhat, killed by Indian army two months ago, was remembered at the United Nations in a special event dedicated to him during UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) 32nd session.

The World Muslim Congress and the International Kashmir Lobby Group YFK jointly organized the event at the Palais des Nations. This was the first time that an entire side event was dedicated to one man from Kashmir.

Titled, “The Story of A Promising Sportsman Killed By Indian Army In Kashmir”, the event started with a 20-minute presentation by Kashmir lobbyist Ahmed Quraishi. The presentation included a 3-minute heart-rendering short video report on the last day in the life of Naeem Bhat, who was killed while shopping for grocery on April 12, 2016.

International human rights activists and defenders listened intently in the hall as the film, titled Indian Bullet For a Kashmiri Cricketer, written by Quraishi and produced by Waqar Malik, garnered sympathy for Bhat, who was 19 when killed by India.

“The reason we are dedicating this event to Naeem Bhat is because his case has implications for education in conflict zones and disputed territories worldwide,” said Quraishi. “India is the only occupation force in the world today that targets students in a disputed territory.”

Daniela Donges, president of Scales for Justice, a Geneva-based NGO, presented three cases from Palestinian territories where young Palestinian men and women were killed by Israeli army. Like Quraishi’s presentation on Naeem Bhat, Donges showed three short films that evoked similarities to how Indian army killed Naeem Bhat in Kashmir.

The landmark event was chaired by Syed Faiz Naqshbandi, from Srinagar, and Ishtiyaq Hameed, from Anantnag, both Kashmiri freedom leaders exiled from Indian-occupied Kashmir.

The eight-member Kashmir Delegation for UNHRC’s 32nd session consists of Altaf Hussain Wani-Delegation leader and senior Kashmir freedom leader, senior APHC leader-Syed Faiz Naqshbandi and Ishtiyaq Hameed, senior Kashmir freedom leader Mir Tahir Masood, senior woman Kashmiri leader Mrs. Shamim Shawl, Ahmed Quraishi-Executive Director Youth Forum For Kashmir (YFK); an international Kashmir Lobbying Group, Prof. Shagufta Ashraf-human rights defender working with women & children and Zartasha Niazi-human rights defender.

#Geneva #Geopolitics #India #IndianOccupiedKashmir #Muslims #UN #YFK #YouthForumForKashmir

India faces worst international isolation on Kashmir

Kashmiris Warn Indian Government Against Indian Settlements

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD—India faces the worst international isolation on Kashmir in seven decades. The United States, China, the United Nations, and the OIC have put India in the spotlight, and the international media refuses to implement Government of India’s decisions on Kashmir, insisting on referring to the region as disputed territory, said a group of Kashmiri lobbyists, activists and lawyers during a briefing at National Press Club, Islamabad on Wednesday.

Kashmiris warn India against creating Indian settlements in Kashmir, which could lead to frictions and violence, said the speakers at a special briefing for Pakistani and international media organized by YFK–International Kashmir Lobby Group, a rights organization active in Islamabad and Geneva.

“Kashmiri nation will resist through all legal means under international law any attempts to create foreign Indian settlements on the territories of the State of Jammu & Kashmir,” said Altaf Hussain Wani, a political activist and rights defender from Indian-occupied Kashmir. He added: “Kashmiri people are confident that Pakistan, peace-loving nations of the world, international media, and rights defenders will stand by the people of Kashmir.”

Barrister Shoaib Razzaq explained the options to challenge India on Kashmir at International Court of Justice and laid out options before Indian civil society to challenge the illegal actions by the Government of India in the Supreme Court of India.

Ahmed Quraishi, Executive Director of YFK, gave a briefing on the growing international diplomacy on Kashmir. He said India’s mishandling of Kashmir has ensured the biggest internationalization of Kashmir Conflict since the UN passed its resolutions.

“Let’s make it very clear: The Government of India, and the Indian media, are internationally isolated in their position on Kashmir. This level of Indian isolation on Kashmir is unprecedented in the seven decades of this conflict,” he said.

Altaf Wani welcomed the positions of the Governments of the United States and China on India’s illegal actions in Kashmir. We welcome OIC’s appointment of a Special Envoy on Jammu & Kashmir. We are looking forward to UN Security Council and UN Secretary General mandating the creation of a Special Envoy on Jammu & Kashmir.

“We welcome Preside Trump’s offer of mediation in the conflict. This is the time for the United States to play a historic role in resolving this conflict and bringing peace to Pakistan, India, and Kashmiris,” Altaf Wani said.

“The Government of India is pushing the situation inside Kashmir toward a civil war. We warn Government of India against embarking on creating Indian settlements in Kashmir and transferring Indian citizens to change Kashmir demographics,” Quraishi said.

“The Government of India has been unable to secure Indian soldiers and camps inside Kashmir. It cannot Indian settlers in Kashmir. Indian citizens are welcomed by Kashmiris as neighbors, but Indian settlers are and will always be foreigners in Kashmir. Forcible creation of Indian settlements could lead to friction and violence. India should desist from creating these conditions,” Quraishi added.

#Geopolitics #India #IndianOccupiedKashmir #Kashmir #Pakistan #UN #YFK #YouthForumForKashmir

Kashmiri And International Journalists Discuss Lock-down Restrictions In Kashmir

Kashmiri And International Journalists Discuss Lock-down Restrictions In Kashmir

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD– Journalists from several countries came together in a webinar that discussed lockdown restrictions and the future of journalism in varied countries and conflict zones, including Iraq, Israel and Palestinian territories, Azerbaijan, and Kashmir.

An international nongovernmental organization, YFK-International Kashmir Lobby Group, which works with the United Nations mechanisms and human rights organizations, brought together international journalists to talk about the future of journalism and human rights. YFK is based in Islamabad, Pakistan.

The webinar was also a rare occasion to have journalists working in different conflict zones to sit on one table and learn from each other’s perspectives and experiences. Award-winning Iraqi photojournalist Ali Arkady, the whistleblower who uncovered torture cells run by security forces in Iraq, joined Nelofar Abdullah, a journalist who lives and works under the world’s longest lockdown in Indian-occupied Kashmir, and Daniela Donges, who works with journalists and activists as Country Director Israel and Palestinian territories for German Voices for Peace.

Journalist Efsane Elesgerli, a correspondent for the Voice of Karabakh newspaper, described to the participants the circumstances under which journalists and civilians are coping with renewed clashes with Armenia over the Karabakh region, where residents are opposed Armenian presence.

Nelofar Abdullah described incidents where Indian occupation soldiers harassed her at checkpoints during her normal media coverage work. She explained in detail how Kashmiris are coping with the ban on fast-speed internet and are adjusting their lives around 2G speed. Kashmir has around eight million people who have to live with 2G. This has affected I.T. industry, online education, and some medical services.

Daniela Donges, Country Director Israel and Palestinian territories for German Voices for Peace, just completed her two-year stay at the city of Bethlehem, which is part of occupied Palestinian lands in dispute between Israel and the Palestinians.

She described how the health emergency, the lockdowns, and the occupation have combined to create an economic crisis that could explode in the face of both Palestinian and Israeli authorities.

To one question, Ali Arkady declined to reveal where he is living in asylum in Europe due to security and safety reasons. Arkady said that some security officials in Iraq have affiliations to extremist militias and are covertly working for other countries. He said he is optimistic that the coverage his work has received in international media will act as an instrument of accountability for everyone involved in human rights violations in Iraq.

Sumaira Khan, a correspondent for Indus World television was full of praise for the Pakistani government for its handling of the pandemic. She called for regulation to stem disinformation in a health crisis.

The situation for the media in the Gulf region is different in that there is a mushrooming of modern digital and broadcast media but not as much difficulties for journalists under lockdown thanks to the availability of high-speed internet, said Shahad Al-Matrouk, the Kuwait correspondent for the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya. She explained in detail her experience working under lockdown.

YFK–International Kashmir Lobby Group (Youth Forum For Kashmir) is a non-partisan INGO, working for the peaceful resolution of Kashmir Conflict in accordance with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

 

#Geopolitics #India #IndianOccupiedKashmir #Kashmir #Muslims #UN #YFK #YouthForumForKashmir

Massacres Like Lal Chowk Are Consistent With The Repression Policy Of India: YFK

Massacres Like Lal Chowk Are Consistent With The Repression Policy Of India: YFK

ISLAMABAD, 10 April—Youth Forum For Kashmir (YFK) marked the 22nd anniversary of the Lal Chowk Srinagar massacre where India’s occupation army killed up to 47 people and burned homes and shops in an entire suburb of Srinagar.

One of the most devastating incidents of its kind, on April 10, 1993, a large section of downtown Srinagar known as Lal Chowk was burned to the ground by Indian paramilitary troops. 47 innocent Kashmiri were burned alive.

In all, 59 houses, 190 shops, 53 stores where inventory was kept, two office buildings, five commercial buildings, two schools and a shrine inside the building were gutted by the fire.

“This is not the only incident,” Incharge YFK Publications Unit Shaista Safi said, “the Indian military and paramilitary forces have been systematically destroying houses, burning down shops, attacking shrines and even desecrating the Holy Quran.”

Incharge YFK Policy Writers Pool Syedda Mariah Atiq said, “Massacres like Lal Chowk are consistent with the policy of repression and subjugation by the government of India and its collaborators to silence the people’s resistance against the illegal occupation,” Mariah said.

YFK Director Ahmed Quraishi said Pakistanis should join Kashmiris in highlighting all the important days in the Kashmir freedom struggle against Indian occupation.

“Pakistan is one of those few countries in the world that continue to engage the world community on behalf of Kashmir freedom struggle. Together, the Kashmiri and Pakistani youth can take the story of Kashmiri freedom from Indian occupation to the next level,” he said.

The YFK is a grassroots lobbying group led by young Kashmiris and Pakistanis working to ensure justice to Kashmiris living under Indian-military occupation.

#Geopolitics #IndianOccupiedKashmir #Kashmir #YFK #YouthForumForKashmir

International Kashmir Researcher Ms. Laura Schuurmans Visits YFK

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Internationally renowned Dutch Researcher on Kashmir Ms. Laura Schuurmans visited Youth Forum For Kashmir (YFK) to have an interaction with the YFK Kashmir Activists here in Islamabad. She is currently based in Jakarta and her writings on the issue of Kashmir are frequently published in the Jakarta Post. It was a specialized discussion between Ms. Laura and the participants as they were keenly interested in the activities undertaken by Ms. Laura. She has been in touch with the dispute of Kashmir for almost a decade and has penned several articles and a book on the issue.

She emphasized the fact that the issue of Kashmir was not presented to the international community the way it should have been. The need was to continually tell the world about the grave human rights violations in Kashmir by the Indian-occupational forces. She opined that the immense Indian clout due to its large economy is a huge obstacle in the way of anyone who wants to talk about Kashmir. However, this doesn’t mean that the Kashmiris or Pakistanis should lose hope and continue to raise their voice for the issue of Kashmir as one day someone will listen to them.

She stressed the need that the Kashmiris also needed to be united in their struggle for freedom. Any goal cannot be achieved until people struggle for it together. Hence the Kashmiris first need to get united and tell the world loudly and frequently about their woes under occupation. Ms. Laura expressed keen interest and appreciated the activities undertaken by Youth Forum For Kashmir.

YFK activists included Ahmed Quraishi, Shaista Safi, Muhammad Hassaan, Mariah Atiq, Qudsiya Mashhadi, Ghulam Shabbir, Naeem Qurban, Hamna Mahrukh, Zarmina Batool and Maryam Khan.

The YFK is a grassroots lobbying group led by young Kashmiris and Pakistanis working to ensure justice to Kashmiris living under Indian military occupation.

#Geopolitics #IndianOccupiedKashmir #YFK #YouthForumForKashmir

Historic Kashmir Floods: India Won’t Save Us. Will You?

 

INTERNATIONAL APPEAL

Historic Kashmir Floods: India Won’t Save Us. Will You?

An aerial view of Srinagar, Kashmir, on Sept11, 2014

Have you seen a city on a mountain drowning in rainwater?

Now you can.

The videos and pictures from the scene of the floods are amazing. Srinagar is a city above a mountain, in the great Himalayas, on top of the world.

Nearly two million people are drowning in rainwater, surrounded by mountains and rivers, with nowhere to go.

Imagine flood water rising up to reach your bedroom window on the second floor of your house and stay there for days.

Imagine there is no drainage system.

Now, imagine a government of a country with one of the world’s largest militaries, India, unable to save anyone except a few favored ones due to political reasons?

This is what is happening in Srinagar, the capital of the State of Jammu & Kashmir, a region under Indian military control for 67 years. India controls this region through military force. The dispute is currently on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council.

Without international support, and without the people of the world raising their voice, no one in Kashmir will be able to get relief and aid.

The natural disaster has disrupted Internet and cellphone access in whole of Kashmir. New Delhi will not allow international humanitarian organizations to reach the area. India did the same thing after the 2005 earthquake. The Kashmiris have no trust in the pledges of the Indian leadership.

It is India’s responsibility to save lives and allow relief groups to reach the area and help the people.

Please help us raise international pressure so that humanitarian aid reaches the people in Kashmir. India is evidently unable to provide relief. It should not stop others who can.

BACKGROUND | The Scale of Flood Damage

Jammu and Kashmir, and in particular the Kashmir Valley, witnessed the worst flooding in about 400 years. Five days of nonstop heavy rain. Over 200 people are dead. The toll is rising. Thousands still caught in affected areas are battling for survival and waiting to be rescued.

Six million people affected, and three million submerged in waters.

An unknown number of people are missing. More than 2000 villages and almost all towns and cities of Kashmir valley are under water.  Rescue efforts in Kashmir Valley are hampered by the shortage of rescue boats and fast-moving floodwaters that submerged large parts of the city. Disruptions of telecommunications in Kashmir, with mobile and Internet services mostly down have set off panic among Kashmiris in the diaspora as the Valley descended into a communication vacuum.

With the airport out of service and the main highway leading out of the Valley closed, the area was only accessible by helicopter. No alternate shelters were identified for people being asked to vacate their homes at a time when things could have been better managed when communication system in the Valley had not taken such a beating.

The local administration’s own poor response was either due to poor assessment of the magnitude of the crisis or marked by complacency and incompetence.  Even the rooftops of many houses have not proved to be safe as the furious floods have shaken their foundations. The local administration’s distress calls to the Indian government in New Delhi came too late in the day and the Indian government, which was busy politicking over the debate on Article 370 and the return of Kashmiri migrants, itself showed a belated inclination to help. No amount of hastened speed after this initial paralysis can undo the damage. Many of those who are a vital part of the administration were themselves victims of the flood, further throwing the administrative apparatus into disrepair and adding to the paucity of resources and flood threat to vital infrastructure like healthcare.

It may have been impossible to effectively respond to such a scale of the disaster. However, prompt action would certainly have minimized the agony.

The scale of disaster is so huge that the Indian government failed in its rescue operations and scale of disaster is increasing day by day.

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION

We, the people of Jammu Kashmir, call for international aid not only in rescue operations but in rehabilitation of the flood victims.

Lend your voice to this great cause.

Sign the petition online at this link http://j.mp/1oyslat

Watch a video of the a city submerged in water, click http://j.mp/1owBnok

Read a report on how India is running a cosmetic relief show in Kashmir. See http://j.mp/WOMBgA

This petition will be delivered to international organizations in person by two delegations of Kashmiris in New York and Geneva.

#Geneva #IndianOccupiedKashmir #Pakistan #YFK #YouthForumForKashmir