The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik on Monday released copies of a letter they have addressed to UN chief Antonio Guterres ahead of his three-day visit to India. The separatists have urged upon the UN Secretary General to resolve the “dispute” over Kashmir that "remains on the agenda of the United Nations".
“India’s refusal to talk was doing unimaginable harm not only to Kashmir but to the entire South Asian region at a time during which interconnectedness culturally, economically and politically (often termed globalization) is the driving force in international relations,” the letter reads.
The leaders impressed upon New Delhi to engage with the separatist leadership in Kashmir and with Pakistan with whom India’s relations are also deteriorating by the day. “We have a right to self-determination. Delhi would like us to abdicate that responsibility before they talk. To cede to that demand would be to concede before talks, rendering talks unnecessary,” the leaders said.
The JRL has also raised the issue of “human rights violations” in Jammu & Kashmir documented recently by the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights.
They said, “Lack of sustained attention by the international community to this aspect of the disputed conflict and not calling India to account on this score, has only succeeded in emboldening its armed forces, enjoying immunity from law causing untold misery for civilian Kashmiris who are forced to live with arbitrary arrest, imprisonment, torture and killings in their everyday lives.”
“Indian forces continue to shower pellets and bullets indiscriminately on the unarmed civilian population. According to estimates, more than 16,000 people in Kashmir have been seriously injured by pellets while hundreds have been permanently blinded. 14 percent of these victims are below the age of 15," the letter reads.
“The campaign of suppression through daily cordon and search operations (CASOs) has become a permanent feature. During these operations, the forces assault residents and damage their properties. A warlike situation exists in Anantnag, Bandipora, Baramulla, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian districts," it said.
The JRL said, “Jammu & Kashmir is not a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan. We would like to assert that it is primarily a question of the rights of the peoples of the State of J&K and that resolution must be sought within the parameters of that definition as well. We urge you to take these points into consideration as you engage with the Government of India.”
On Sunday, Kashmir Centre for Social and Development Studies (KCSDS), a civil society group headed by Prof Hameedah Nayeem invited UN Secretary-General to Kashmir and requested him to take up “Kashmir Issue with Indian authorities”.
KCSDS in a statement issued to media claimed that the group’s invite was responded by UN Secretary General’s Office with a note of regret that Antonio Gueterres won’t be able to accept the invitation owing to prior commitments and pressing demands already scheduled during his visit.