MUZAFFARABAD, Oct 27: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a conglomerate of Kashmiri political parties and groups seeking independence from Indian occupation, has demanded of the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, to grant it observer status at the General Assembly besides appointing a special representative of international standing on Kashmir.
The demand came through a memorandum delivered to the UN military observers here on Sunday by the APHC AJK chapter leader Ghulam Mohammad Safi, at the conclusion of a rally held to mark the 55th anniversary of Indian invasion of Kashmir as a Black Day.
The memorandum asked the UN to persuade the concerned parties to hold meaningful and substantive dialogue on the core issue of Kashmir in order to ensure peace and prosperity in the South Asian region. It further urged the world body to ensure that the APHC, which represented the aspirations of the oppressed Kashmiris, was included in all negotiations over Kashmir.
The UN should stress upon the Indian government to put an end to state terrorism, desist from genocidal repression that was tantamount to ethnic cleansing in occupied Kashmir, halt the practice of ‘crackdowns,’ remove military pickets and troops from Kashmir towns and villages and fully respect the religious sentiments of the Kashmiris, the memorandum further demanded.
PUBLIC MEETING: Earlier, in the same connection a public meeting was held on the premises of Old Civil Secretariat, which was presided over by Mr Safi. AJK prime minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan, Muslim Conference president Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan and Jamaat-i-Islami AJK leader Shaikh Aqeelur Rehman were prominent among those who attended the meeting.
A number of black flags were fitted on both sides of the venue while participants, including the leaders, were also wearing black armbands. Besides, banners inscribed with slogans depicting the plight of Kashmiris and condemning Indian aggression were also put on display.
In his speech, the prime minister said the people of Kashmir, living on either side of the ceasefire line, had never accepted illegal Indian rule and had been struggling and offering unmatched sacrifices for freedom from day one of the Indian invasion.
He said India had no moral or legal justification to land its troops in Kashmir at a time when the Kashmiris had rejected the Dogra regime and set up their own free government (in Azad Kashmir).
He asked the world community to take note of atrocities by the Indian troops in held Kashmir which were being committed to prolong the illegal occupation.
He said the APHC was the representative forum of the Kashmiris and they had proved it by rejecting the recent sham polls.
He declared that his party and government would completely follow the policies of the APHC for freedom of the motherland.
Asking people to unite on “one point agenda of freedom of Kashmir,” the AJK premier announced that he would continue his efforts to bring the political and religious parties of Azad Kashmir at one platform. He also announced that the Kashmir Liberation Cell would be reorganised to play an effective role for the projection of the Kashmir cause.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Safi said India was interfering in the internal affairs of its neighbouring states to destabilise their governments, but the Kashmiri Mujahideen had applied brakes to it by foiling its nefarious designs.
The Kashmiri leader made it clear that there would not be end to the armed struggle in held Kashmir until India agreed to fulfil its pledges made to Kashmiris.
He recalled that then Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had promised on a number of times that the people of Kashmir could choose their fate, a right also enshrined in the UN Security Council resolutions, but later he and his successors backed out shamelessly.
“Let it be very clear that we will not let India feel at ease in Kashmir. If our one generation parishes, the next will take on the mission until India quit Kashmir,” he vowed.
Muslim Conference chief Sardar Attique Ahmed highlighted the role of Azad Kashmir in the freedom struggle and called for reducing religious and political tensions.
Without naming any particular person, he said a negative campaign was being launched against the freedom movement, APHC and the armed forces of Pakistan under the patronage of government employees.