Political and human rights activists from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) have demanded terror camps to be dismantled just as Islamabad readies its propaganda at the upcoming OIC session to be held on March 22-23.
Wednesday's protest by the activists was in front of the United Nations office in Geneva and comes ahead of the 48th session of the Organization of the Islamic Council to be held in Islambad, in which Pakistan hopes to isolate India from its Arab partners.
The protest in Geneva was organised during the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council by the United Kashmir Peoples’ National Party (UKPNP).
“We organised a protest in front of the United Nations to draw the attention of the international community towards the serious human rights violations in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit Baltistan,” Nasir Aziz Khan, spokesperson of UKPNP said.
He added: “We are the oppressed people. Pakistan made pledges to the international community that she will withdraw from PoK, which was illegally occupied by Pakistan, but she did not comply with the UN Resolution on Kashmir and we have been forcibly divided since 1947. We are here to raise our voice to draw the attention of the UN and the international community towards the abductions, extra-judicial killings and exploitation of natural resources in our area”.
Junaid Qureshi, a Kashmiri activist and director of European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) said, “We are here to protest against the atrocities and human rights violations being committed in the region of South Asia, particularly in Pakistan, especially against the administrative areas of Kashmir which are under the occupation of Pakistan”.
“We are here to protest against those human rights violations and call the attention of world bodies like the UN to the rights of the Kashmiri people live with dignity, peace and honour, especially to free ourselves from the imposed terrorism exported on us by Rawalpindi.
"We believe that terrorism is basically the biggest violation of all human rights. We disassociate ourselves from all those imposed groups by Pakistan, like the jihadis”.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has prepared a draft resolution for the OIC to adopt relating to its anti-India propaganda on Kashmir.
However, the adoption of the resolution is questionable as member of the bloc's members, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are developing close ties with India and will likely have a policy of non-interference.
The recent UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is evidence of New Delhi's growing ties with the Muslim World.
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