ISLAMABAD: The deployment of Indian troops and military activities in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have not only adversely affected the lives of the local people but it has also been the cause and consequence of habitat loss, pollution and deforestation in the restive region, legal experts and right activists said.
While highlighting the nexus between conflict and climate crisis, the speakers expressed these remarks during an interactive dialogue held on the sidelines of the 55th session of the UNHCR in Islamabad. They urged for a holistic approach on the part of the world to tackle both serious issues simultaneously.
The dialogue was organized by International Action for Peace and Sustainable Development in collaboration with Kashmir Institute of International Relations, International Muslim Women Union, World Muslim Congress, and YCP. The event was attended law experts, rights activists and journalists from different parts of the world including Sardar Amjad Yousuf president IASPS, Dr. Waqas Ali Kousar, Robert Fantina from Canada, Catherine Constantinides from South Africa, Sheni Hamid from UK, Ahmed Qureshi, APHC leader Faiz Naqashbandi, and Dr Shugufta.
Conflict, Climate Crisis Present Fundamental Threat to People Living in Conflict Hit Regions Like Kashmir
On the occasion, the speakers said that the dangerous nexus between climate crisis and conflicts has become an increasingly pressing concern for the international community. They said that the effects of climate change were more and more visible in regions with heavy troops’ concentration.
Referring to the presence of more than 900, 000 forces in the Indian occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir, they said that the huge presence of army and their activities in the region not only exacerbate the environmental degradation but also obstruct efforts aimed at addressing the pressing environmental problems.
The extension of military facilities, they added, has played a key role in contributing to ecological issues. “Use of heavy arms, mines and explosive materials in ecologically sensitive region by the Indian troops has been the main cause of environmental issues,” they maintained, saying all these factors disrupt the balance of ecosystems and affecting local environment patterns.
Terming the continued conflict as the major threat to the biological diversity in the area, the speakers added that it was high time that the world should realize the dangers of the conflict and its devastating impacts on the region’s climate as well as on its people and play its much-needed role to address these problems simultaneously.
The speakers while calling for an effective strategy to address these problems said that climate crisis and conflict present a factual threat to the people living in conflict hit regions like Occupied Kashmir.
