ISLAMABAD: A delegation of ten prominent Kashmiri representatives, spanning both sides of the Line of Control (LoC), has embarked on a mission to Geneva to participate in the 54th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
This mission, led by Altaf Hussain Wani, the leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) chapter, comprises a diverse group of political figures, scholars, civil society members, and human rights activists. Among the notable delegates are Sardar Amjad Yousaf Khan, Syed Faiz Naqashbandi, Advocate Pervez Shah, Ms Shamim Shawl, Hassan Al-Bana, Prof. Shagufta Ashraf, Dr. Waleed Rasool, Dr. Saira Shah, and Naila Altaf Kiyani.
Their week-long sojourn in Geneva holds a multifaceted agenda. Apart from attending the UNHRC session, the Kashmiri delegation has arranged crucial meetings with key stakeholders, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, special rapporteurs, diplomats, and representatives from international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The primary objective of their visit is to shed light on the persisting human rights violations in the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, with a particular emphasis on the escalating incidents of extrajudicial killings, unlawful detentions, acts of brutality, property confiscations, the suspension of Kashmiri Muslim government employees, stifling of dissent, suppression of political discourse and media, attacks on the right to education, religious freedoms, and the dire situation of Kashmiri prisoners.
The delegation is determined to apprise the global community of the Indian government’s unsettling intentions, aimed at altering the demographics of the region. This strategy, driven by anti-Kashmir policies, seeks to marginalize the majority community by diluting their role in the decision-making process and diminishing their political representation in the legislature through the grant of voting rights to non-Kashmiri residents.
