Srinagar: Members of Kashmir High Court Bar Association on Saturday staged protest demonstration against spurt in civilian killings in Kashmir Valley and continued war-like situation on ceasefire line.
“The Indian Armed Forces have leashed a reign of terror across the State, especially in South Kashmir. In Shopian the Army without any provocation or reasonable cause fired upon the innocent people,” a spokesman of the lawyers’ body said as members.
The members condemned the killings of five young boys—Musharraf Shahzad a ten-year-old, Rayees Ahmad Ganai, Shakir Ahmad Mir, Firdous Ahmad and Sameer Ahmad and demanded immediate arrest of the “guilty army officials” to be prosecuted and punished under law.
“It is a matter of concern among others, two teen age girls namely Sumaiya and Sabreena are battling for life. Day in and day out, the armed forces enforce CASOs in villages and assault innocent people besides subject the residents to inhuman treatment. The human rights violations are at its worst web at the hands of the forces,” he said.
The institutional justice, he said, is denied to the people as such the people of J&K are forced to come out in peaceful protests against the atrocities, “state repression aimed at genocide of the Kashmiris.”
He said the killings, abuse of basic rights and torture in crackdowns was unacceptable and condemned in strongest terms.
The lawyers’ body demanded justice for the people and appealed the international community to intervene and call upon the Indian government to stop the bloodshed and “genocide” of Kashmiris. “The situation in Kashmir is grave and alarming which is likely to lead a major human tragedy worse than Palestine and Syria.”
The Bar Association reading the pulse of the situation, the spokesman said, was of the firm belief that the current situation demands a collective response from all walks of the people in J&K to force the authorities to respect the basic rights of the people of J&K and seek peaceful resolution of the Kashmir ‘dispute’ in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of J&K.
“The Bar Association calls upon India and Pakistan to resume the composite dialogue to address the Kashmir issue and take people of J&K in confidence.”
The international community, the spokesman said, especially the United Nations Organisation has a moral, political and diplomatic responsibility to intervene to address the human tragedy in J&K. The Bar Association has decided to appeal the United Nations Organisation for immediate intervention. The appeal is enclosed herewith.
