Geneva, June 27 : A Kashmiri delegation staged a strong protest in front of the United Nations office in Geneva, denouncing India’s illegal occupation and systematic human rights violations in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The protest was held on the sidelines of the 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council and was attended by hundreds of demonstrators, including human rights activists, academics, Hurriyat leaders, and members of the Kashmiri diaspora. Holding banners and placards inscribed with slogans such as “Free Kashmir” and “Stop the systematic violence and bloodbath of innocent civilians in Kashmir”, the protestors called for urgent UN intervention to halt the atrocities and hold the Indian government accountable for war crimes and human rights abuses in Indian occupied Kashmir.
Addressing the protesters, speakers appealed to the international community to take concrete measures to compel New Delhi to end its brutal repression in disputed territory Indian occupied Kashmir. They pointed out that for decades, the Kashmiri people have suffered under relentless state violence as Indian occupation forces attempted to crush their legitimate struggle for the right to self‑determination. “Tens of thousands of innocent and unarmed Kashmiris including men, women and children have been brutally killed, while countless others arbitrarily detained, and many imprisoned in jails far from their homeland under draconian laws.
Highlighting the plight of Kashmiris, the speakers said that the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35‑A had further deepened the crisis in the restive region, leading to widespread arrest of political leaders, human rights defenders, and civil society activists.
“They have been booked under harsh laws like the Public Safety Act (PSA), Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA)”, they said, adding that these “black laws” have been weaponized to silence dissent and suppress the Kashmiri people’s legitimate aspirations for self‑determination.
The speakers emphasized that Kashmir has been turned into a virtual prison, where its people have been stripped of their basic political, religious, and civil rights. “Despite New Delhi’s claims of restoring “normalcy,” a climate of fear, uncertainty, and systemic discrimination pervades the region, reducing its people to second‑class citizens within their own homeland”, they remarked. This grave reality, they stated, has too often escaped the attention of international observers.
Pointing to the recent false‑flag operation in Pahalgam — an incident that the Indian government used to justify intensifying the crackdown against Kashmiris— speakers called upon the United Nations to send a fact‑finding mission to investigate the ongoing atrocities in Indian‑occupied Jammu and Kashmir. They urged the UN Human Rights Council to demand the immediate release of all illegally detained Kashmiri leaders and activists, especially those like Shabir Ahmad Shah, Yasin Malik and others who continue to languish in prisons despite serious illnesses.
Reiterating that Jammu and Kashmir is a UN‑recognized disputed territory, the speakers called on the United Nations to pressure India to honour its commitments, improve the human rights situation, and repeal the draconian laws that have been used as tools of state repression.
They stressed that the time has come for the international community to take firm and tangible steps to hold the Indian government accountable for its crimes and to secure the legitimate rights of the Kashmiri people.
off those who spoke on the occasion, included the head of Kashmiri delegation Former acting prime ministers of AJK Ch Parveez Ashraf Mr. APHC convener Ghulam Muhammad Safi, Altaf Hussain Wani, Mrs. Shamim Shawl, Dr Saira Farooq Shah, Naila Altaf Kayani, Sardar Amajad Yousuf, Ms. Mehr ur Nisa Rehman and others.