ISLAMABAD: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders have rejected India’s self-styled census of 2024, characterizing it as an unwarranted intrusion into the personal affairs of Kashmiri inhabitants in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
According to Kashmir Media Service, APHC leaders Syed Bashir Andrabi, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Yasmeen Raja, Yasin Attai, Khawaja Firdous, Hafza Bano, Mohammad Yousuf Naqash, Advocate Arshad Iqbal, Imtiyaz Reshi, and Maulana Musaib Nadvi, in individual statements issued in Srinagar, firmly stated that the census represents a flagrant breach of international laws, underscoring the inherent right of Kashmiris to oppose India’s unjust occupation of their land.
Emphasizing the historical backdrop, the leaders argued that India’s actions in Kashmir since 1947, particularly its coercive and illegal occupation, are intolerable. Despite enduring decades of repression, including arrests, staged encounters, and property seizures, the APHC leaders underscored the unyielding determination of Kashmiris towards their ultimate goal of complete liberation from India.
Moreover, the statements illuminated the perceived manipulation of population data in the census, with APHC leaders interpreting it as a deliberate manoeuvre to change the demographic makeup of the region, potentially diluting the Kashmiri majority and impacting their political representation.
Expressing concern for incarcerated leaders, youth, and activists enduring physical and psychological anguish in Indian prisons, the leaders appealed to international organizations, including the United Nations, to intervene promptly. They also highlighted the perceived manipulation of population figures in the census, which APHC leaders perceive as an effort to reduce the Kashmiri majority to a minority. —APP
