SWABI: Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Shehryar Khan Afridi on Wednesday said that Kashmiris had so far braved Indian forces’ atrocities by taking to the streets despite lockdowns to stifle dissent, and won’t allow New Delhi to mislead the world that the situation in the occupied valley was not grave.

He expressed these views while addressing a seminar to express solidarity with the Kashmiri people at the Women University Swabi here.

Senator Waleed Iqbal, columnist Mazhar Barlas and Vice-Chancellor Shaheena Urooj Kazmi also spoke on the occasion.

Mr Afridi said the Indian government had arranged a stage-managed visit of European diplomats to the occupied territory, but such steps could not mislead the world opinion on the Kashmir dispute.

Shehryar Afridi urged the young Kashmiris and Pakistanis to rise to the occasion and expose the Indian evil designs to cover up its atrocities being committed against unarmed people.

He said prisoners of conscience, mass graves, half-widows and pallet guns were the tools being used by the Modi regime to silence Kashmiri people. He said that Indian occupational regime in Kashmir was involved in demographic terrorism against the people.

The federal state minister said social media platforms were curbing all such posts that exposed Indian atrocities in Kashmir. He said on one hand the international community was talking about equality, freedom of expression and rising beyond race and colour, but on the other, it was silent on the grave human rights violations being committed by the Indian forces.

He said that the Kashmir Committee had been working on forming advisory boards covering all the aspects of the life of the people of Kashmir.

Speaking on the occasion, Senator Waleed Iqbal said Pakistan would use its nuclear weapons against India if needed. He said poet Allama Iqbal wrote poems depicting miseries of people of Kashmir and those miseries were still going on as a result of Indian oppression.

Dr Shahana Urooj Kazmi said the United Nations needed to be questioned on its failure to implement dozens of resolutions passed on the Kashmir issue. She said that India had to be stopped from its plans to make demographic changes in the occupied valley.

PROTEST: People belonging to different areas of Gadoon Amazai on Wednesday staged a protest demonstration against the death of a teenager in a private hospital due to alleged negligence of the staff.

Inamullah Khan, 12, was brought to hospital for a surgery under the Sehat Card scheme. However, he died due to what the attendants said overdose of anesthesia.

The protesters reached the Topi Bazaar and staged a demonstration there, demanding action taken against those responsible. Later, they dispersed peacefully.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2021