Dr Fai urges international community to intervene

New York. Sept 25: The Executive Director, Kashmiri American Council/Kashmir Center, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai has accused India of unleashing  atrocities in Kashmir.
"The irony is that the impunity that is thus being granted to the violators is not in the context of a new dispute. It is being allowed to arise and to persist in a territory which, under international law, is not part of any member state of the United Nations and whose status is yet to be determined through a free and impartial plebiscite under supervision and control of the United Nations,” Dr Fai said while speaking during the “Annual Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM)” of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) at the United Nations headquarters.
 “India  has given its forces powers to shoot to kill and the license to abuse Kashmiris in order to suppress the popular movement for self-determination. These tactics have no military purpose whatsoever. Their only imaginable purpose is to frighten a people into submission,” he said.
Fai stressed on the international community to intervene. “As long as India is successful in isolating Kashmir from the rest of the world, they will not only continue to trample the Kashmiris’ basic rights and freedoms but will also block all peaceful processes for the restitution and restoration of these rights and freedoms,” he added.
Fai told the Council of Foreign Ministers that the solution of Kashmir is both urgent and vital. It has a far more populous and strategic area than other trouble spots in the world. The pain felt by the people of Kashmir is no less devastating than that felt by the people of Haiti. The nuclear tinderbox in South Asia is no less threatening than in Korea.
Fai urged the OIC to persuade Government of India to initiate the Kashmir centric CBM’s, including: (i). Demilitarizing of Kashmir; (ii). Allowing the people of Kashmir to freely express their political views; (iii). Releasing all political prisoners, including Shabir Ahmed Shah and  Mian Abdul Qayyum; (iv). Repealing draconian laws; and (iv.) Allowing Kashmiri political leaders to travel abroad.