ISLAMABAD: Altaf Hussain Wani, Chairman of the Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR), has drawn the attention of Japanese President Fumio Kishida to the Indian government’s controversial plan to hold the upcoming G20 Summit in the Indian Illegally-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a letter addressed to the President of Japan, Altaf Hussain Wani said that the aim of the controversial decision to hold the high-profile summit and a sideline meeting in IOJK was to divert attention from the actual problem by posing as a legitimate subject.
The letter claimed that since unilaterally and unjustly repealing Kashmir’s special status in 2019 in flagrant violation of UNSC Resolutions, India’s current government had spread lies and misinformation to advance their purported “normalcy narrative” on Kashmir.
It may be noted that the Indian government described the individual excursions made by members of the European Parliament to Kashmir last year as official EU delegations, it added. Additionally, it stated that plans had been made for international envoys based in New Delhi to travel to the disputed region to maintain the appearance of normalcy and persuade the outside world that everything was well in Kashmir.
In the letter, it was highlighted that over two dozen diplomats, largely from African and European nations, had been invited on a carefully planned trip to the area to help India promote its narrative that “all is well in Kashmir” and quell the mounting requests for an impartial investigation into human rights abuses.
The letter stated that the guided tour was a recreation of the previous visit during which the delegates were given a quick tour of “Naya (new) Kashmir,” which had been expertly temporarily transformed from a war-torn city overnight with decorations and the removal of the barricades and barbed wire that are typically dotted all over the city.
“The people of Kashmir hope that your nation would not permit the Indian State to utilize the leaders of G20 nations as its brand ambassadors to present its flimsy narrative of normalcy without considering the worries, wants, and aspirations of the Kashmiri people. Given the land’s contested status, we hope Your Excellency will thoroughly analyse the matter and persuade the Indian government to reconsider the Summit’s location.
It added that rather than being swayed by Indian propaganda, what the Heads of G20 countries and the world need to know about Kashmir is that it has been classified as the most militarized zone of the world and the largest region illegally occupied by the Indian forces.
“It is the largest open-air prison in the world where Kashmiris feel caged in their own homes and exist without human rights,” the letter stated. It continued, “The world needs to know that India has made Kashmir a living hell for its people where they feel exiled in their homeland robbed of their rights and identity, eat the food of their choice, cannot even grieve the death of their loved ones killed in fake encounters, complain or support the victims of oppression, or raise their voices.” — APP
