Kashmir Solidarity Seminar at Ankara held on 5 February 2014 - Speech by Mr. Ishfaq Bashir, a Kashmir student

In the name of Allah the most beneficent the most merciful.

Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen. I am Ishfaq Bashir and currently studying in Middle East technical University as Post Graduate student of Structural Engineering. I was born and raised in the district Neelum of Azad Jammu and Kashmir I got my basic education from Muzaffarabad which is the Capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and every year on 5th of February we celebrate the Kashmir Solidarity day to show that our hearts beat for every Kashmiri citizen. Today I am here in front of all of you to narrate the life in Kashmir being a Kashmiri. Kashmir my home land which at present is divided into two parts, Azad Jammu Kashmir where my family is currently living and Indian occupied Jammu Kashmir where I had many relatives long time back some of whom I have never seen in my whole life because of the unjustified division of Kashmir.

Ladies and Gentlemen as I belong to the Neelum Valley of Azad jammu and Kashmir. Neelum Valley is stretched along the line of control me and my family and the surrounding areas have been direct victims of Shelling on the Line of Control. It was an afternoon in 1999 when five high school boys lost their lives while going back to their homes from their school because of the heavy shelling of Indian troops in my own village. And in October 2000 one of my cousin got martyred because of the bombardment of Indian Army across LOC and on the same day   I have seen people suffering because of warlike situation over LOC. Most of the time life is ceased and no one can dare to go out of their homes and near to the line of control even our homes are destroyed occasionally intentionally and much worse is going on in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir as the clock is ticking. The Crops are ruined and Animals are killed by the direct shelling of Indian troops on the civilian population.

God has bestowed this world by beauty. Every place in the world has some charm even though different in Nature but backed by plenty of beauty. Kashmir Once called the paradise on earth is largely known to world since last 65years as conflict zone and the part occupied by India now stands in ruins since six decades after it was forcibly occupied by India against the wishes of its people. The peaceful demand for self-determination by the Kashmiris in accordance with the Security Council resolutions, the commitment given by India’s founding fathers and the charter of human rights, has met with state violence and repression of unimaginable proportions.

Kashmir is not just a problem of land or area, it’s a problem of humanity. It’s not Kashmir which is divided, actually it is the people who got divided, it’s the culture that got divided which we Kashmiris share since hundreds of years. It’s the brothers and sister on both parts of the Kashmir who got divided. It’s the emotions which we do share that have been divided and Kashmiris continue to suffer the worst atrocities committed by Indian occupying forces. The irony is that India claims to be the world’s largest democracy but in real India got double face one towards Kashmiris and the other towards the rest of the world. Kashmir has seen dramatic abuses of human rights, with the people in chains and their political leaders imprisoned without trial. We are being treated as if we are not human beings, as if we have no rights. Kashmir Valley is one of the most heavily militarized regions in the world, with over 700,000 armed security forces, who indulge in indiscriminate killing, injuring and maiming of innocent men and women and even small children. Arbitrary detention, extrajudicial Killings, enforced disappearances, rape, abduction, harassment and declared and undeclared curfew and crackdowns constitute the part of daily life in Indian occupied Jammu Kashmir. Indian armed forces and other paramilitary forces and police enjoy total impunity. According to current statistic complied by the Kashmir media services from March 1990 to December 2013 over 94 thousand people have been killed , over 10,000 innocent people have been subjected to enforced disappearances ,22,776 women widowed and 107466 children orphaned .

The Indian denial of the right to self-determination to the people of Jammu Kashmir has on one hand forced the people of Indian occupied Jammu Kashmir to launch a peaceful struggle for the realization of their rights and on the other hand Kashmir dispute remains a critical factor in the way of achieving sustainable peace and harmony in the south Asia.

We Kashmiris belonging to the part Azad Jammu and Kashmir have no such problems and we do enjoy our brotherly bond with Pakistan and we withhold the equal rights in true sense and want to be the full fledge part of the democratic system of Pakistan and it’s not possible until the Kashmir issue will be resolved according to the wishes of the people of Kashmir. Here I would like also to thank the people and government of Turkey for their support to Kashmir and the reconstruction of Azad Jammu and Kashmir after the deadly earthquake of 2005. It is, however, very saddening to note that the world conscience has most of the time remained apathetic towards the sad plight and predicament of Kashmiris and because of this apathy and acquiescence, India has continued to pursue its policy of blatant subjugation and oppression in Kashmir to date with no signs of repentance, let alone reformation. Its high time for the international community to play its role to put an end to human rights violations in Indian occupied Jammu Kashmir and call upon India to meet its international commitments towards Kashmir as if we will not raise our voice for the Kashmiris than who else would.
Thank you very much for listening to me.