Chairman Kashmir Council Europe (KC-EU) Mr Ali Raza Syed has said, Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) is most militarized zone of the world, with a large deployment of the occupation security forces.
He was addressing meet the press program at Karachi Press Club this week where he was received and warmly welcomed by General Secretary Mr Maqsood Ahmad Yousafi and other office bearers of the club.
Referring a recent survey report of Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) headed by the eminent human right lawyer Parvez Imroz on terrible situation in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK), Ali Raza Syed claimed, people of Jammu and Kashmir are living in an extreme fear and terror.
Quoting the report he said, specifically children in Jammu and Kashmir are living in the most militarized atmosphere, with the presence of 7,00,000 troopers, which exposes them to the risk of all grave violations against children as laid out in United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
He further said, in last15 years since 2003, 318 children (in the age group of 1 and 17) have been killed and so far no one among the perpetrators of these heinous crimes has been brought to justice.
It is important to mention that Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) released the report on the impact of violence on the children of Jammu and Kashmir titled Terrorized: Impact of Violence on the Children of Jammu and Kashmir (2018) on March 30, 2018. The report is an assessment of the violence against children in Jammu and Kashmir in the last fifteen years and it gives data on killings, arrests, mass violence, sexual violence perpetrated against children.
The report also gives the figure of civilian casualties in last 15 years as saying, at least 16,436 people including 4571 civilians have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the same period (2003 – 2017). The numbers indicate that in the last fifteen years Jammu and Kashmir in an average year have witnessed at least 1,095 killings. The pattern of killings of children in the fifteen-year period suggests that children were direct targets of state violence, as part of its stated offensive to curb uprising and militancy.
About the Kashmir issue, Chairman Kashmir Council EU said, the ongoing dispute of Jammu and Kashmir is amongst the oldest unresolved issues under United Nations. The widespread and institutionalized human rights violations against people of Jammu and Kashmir by the armed forces is well known and is being documented.
Ali Raza Syed also informed the participants of the meet the press program about activities of Kashmir Council EU in Europe.
He added, we are struggling to make awareness and activism on Kashmir in Europe specially Brussels, the EU headquarters through seminars, exchanges of ideas, conferences, exhibitions, meetings, press briefings, protests, demonstrations, walks, rallies and signature campaigns.
