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The Sitting of the National Assembly has been adjourned to meet again on Monday, the 22nd April, 2024 at 5.00 p.m.
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THE KASHMIR IMBROGLIO

FOREWORD

Jammu and Kashmir has been the focus of attention of the world for over a century. Some people remember Kashmir for its bewitching scenic beauty, and they, like the Moghal Emperor Jehangir, called it a “Paradise on Earth”. However, most people now know Jammu and Kashmir for the atrocities suffered by its residents. The State has been ruled with a heavy hand by its rulers for the last 160 years but, the state terrorism unleashed by India in Indian occupied Kashmir (IOK) has eclipsed the tyranny and barbarism ever committed in the history of mankind. This obviously caused a hue and cry all over the world, calling upon India to stop it. Quite a few leaders of world, including Heads of State/Government, like President Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela, could not but express concern over Kashmir, calling it the ‘most dangerous place on earth’ or a “flash point”.

This booklet contains observations of the world leaders/organizations, which would enable the readers to know the background of the Kashmir issue, the current situation prevailing in IOK and the miseries suffered by the hapless Kashmiris.

It is also worth mentioning that numerous other world luminaries and organizations also expressed concern over the grave situation in IOK. However, we could not include their statements owing to space constraints.

HAMID NASIR CHATTHA
CHAIRMAN
SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE PARLIAMENT ON KASHMIR



HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS COMMITTED BY INDIAN TROOPS IN IOK
FROM JANUARY, 1989 TO DECEMBER, 2006)

Total Killings                                   91,524
Custodial Killings                            6,900
Civilians Arrested                        113,500
Houses/Shops Destroyed         105,353
Women Widowed                          22,495
Children Orphaned                     106,861
Women Molested                             9,688

(Source: All Parties Hurriyat Conference), Courtesy; Kashmir Media Service

CHAPTER-I

World Leaders

i.  Heads of State/Government

    • The most dangerous place in the world today, I think you could argue, is the Indian Sub-Continent and the Line of Control in Kashmir. (US President Bill Clinton – February 3, 2000)
    • “The Indian Sub-Continent is perhaps the most dangerous place in the world today because of the tensions over Kashmir. (President Bill Clinton – March 10, 2000)
    • I think its very important that the issue of Kashmir move forward and be resolved peacefully. (President George W. Bush – September 22, 2006)
    • Mr. President, Pandit Nehru has the ability to talk scholarly about every issue under the sun, but as soon as there is any mention of Kashmir, he instantaneously puts his head down and fixes his eyes on the floor fixed in the button-hole of his sherwani and keeps quiet and sinks deep into a state of meditation like a Yogi. (US President Kennedy while talking to President Ayub Khan, “Friends not Masters”)
    • Kashmir is a nuclear flashpoint. (Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand – October, 2004)
    • India and Pakistan should resolve Kashmir dispute in the interest of peace in South Asia and the rest of the world. (Russian President Vladimir Putin – December 3, 2004)
    • All of us remain concerned that the issue of Jammu and Kashmir should be solved through peaceful negotiations and should be willing to lend all the strength we have to the resolution of this matter. (Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa at the NAM Summit – September 2, 1998)
    • Kashmir is a problem left over by history. China appreciates and agrees with the position taken by Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir. We will try utmost and spare no efforts for the peaceful resolution of this issue. (Rongji, Prime Minister of China – May, 2001).
    • The Kashmir issue should be solved according to the United Nations resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people. (Jens Stoltenburg, Prime Minister of Norway – August, 2001).
    • The question of plebiscite is still valid in Jammu and Kashmir and can be invoked for a permanent solution of the issue, which is bone of contention between Pakistan and India. (Margaret Thatcher, Former British Prime Minister – March, 1996)
    • We will continue supporting Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination (President Khatami of Iran – OIC Summit, December, 1997)
    • Pakistan and India should hold “proper, meaningful” dialogue aimed at resolving their dispute over Kashmir. Tony Blair, British Prime Minister)
    • The world has been reluctant to recognize the insurgency in Jammu & Kashmir as terrorism. (Tony Blair-September 13, 2005)
    • We feel that the Kashmiri people deserve to have their own life within their own political entity. India can save the world from the possible disaster if it has the wisdom to remove the continuing fear of war. (Saudi Crown Prince Abdul Bin Abdul Aziz – November, 1998)
    • I feel concerned for the Kashmir dispute. Azerbaijan will continue to support Pakistan’s position on Kashmir. (Haider Ali Raza Oglu Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan – March, 1996)
    • The Kashmiri people are waging a just struggle for freedom. (Rauf Denktash, President Turkish Cyprus – November, 1998)
    • The UN resolutions asking for referendum in Kashmir was the most democratic and reasonable solution to the Kashmir issue. (Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ex President of Republic of Korea Kim Dae-Jung)
    • Turkey fully supports for early implementation of the United Nations resolutions on Kashmir. (Ismat Inono, Prime Minister of Turkey – April 2, 1964)
    • Turkey unequivocally supports Pakistan’s stand on the Kashmir issue. (Turkish President Cemal Gursel – April 3, 1964)

ii.  Others

    • The inequitous arrangement by which Kashmir and its ill-fated inhabitants were to be transferred without their consent, as through they were logs of wood, to Gulab Singh, a Dogra Rajput, who had nothing in common with them. (Henry Montgomery Lawrence, who signed the infamous “Sale Deed”, admitted in 1846)
    • The great majority of the Muslims of Kashmir are drowning in poverty and their economic conditions are such that they are treated worse than animals. (Sir Albion Bannerji, 1929)
    • I was told stories of the sort that reminded me all too much of conditions in dictatorship states that one had witnessed in the years before, during and after the War. (F M Benet, Speech in Caxton Hall, after a tour of IOK, 1957)
    • The high idealism of the Indian government in international matters breaks down completely when confronted with the question of Kashmir. (Bertrand Russell, 1964)
    • China’s non-involvement in the Kashmir dispute absolutely does not mean that China can approve of depriving the Kashmiri people of their right of self-determination or that she can approve of Indian aggression against Pakistan. (Chinese Foreign Office Spokesman – September 12, 1965)
    • The US supports a solution to the Kashmir problem through the United Nations. (Dean Rusk – US Secretary of State, 1965)
    • In Kashmir, India has refused to allow a plebiscite for many years, despite United Nations resolutions. One hundred thousand Indian troops have suppressed Kashmir’s autonomy. (Bertrand Russell, 1965)
    • The UN resolutions on Kashmir are as relevant today as they were when they were adopted in 1948-49. (Tom Cox, British MP)
    • To accept that the central problem in Kashmir is terrorism is to allow the dominant power in a longstanding conflict to duck the need for a political solution. (Senator Bob Graham, Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee)
    • I challenge the Indian claim of being the “biggest democracy in the world”. If this is, the international human rights organisations should be allowed to go into Kashmir and see what’s happening there. (Fiona MacTaggart, British, MP)
    • The UN should persuade the Indian government to allow human rights monitors into Indian held Kashmir to assess the sharply worsening situation in the state. (Lord Avebury, British MP)
    • Britain had the responsibility to get the Kashmir issue resolved as we are all concerned over the war like situation in South Asia. (Sandra Bose, British MP)
    • My experiences convinced me that there is an attempt by Indian security forces to eradicate virtually all male Kashmiris between the ages of 10 and 35. (Max Madden, British MP – October 1, 1990)
    • Lord Mountabatten invited Ceyril Radcliff to lunch at the viceroy’s lodge two days before the Award was due to be announced and had persuaded him to change the Zera line in India’s favour……. the same night the Zera line on the Boundary Award map had been changed. (Christopher Beaumont, Secretary to the Boundary Commission – Interview with the Daily Telegraph – London, 1992)
    • The UN resolutions on an issue cannot become “old or irrelevant”. Adoption of double standards or choosing selectively in the matter of UN resolutions or those in respect of violation of human rights is highly regrettable and unforgivable. (George Galloway, British MP – January 10, 1995)
    • Kashmir is a thorny issue and unless India takes initiatives to resolve this key problem, peace in South Asia remains threatened. (Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata – July 4, 1995)
    • The situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir is one of the greatest tragedies of modern times. (Lord Avebury, Chairman, British Parliamentary Human Rights, Group – October 13, 1995)
    • Kashmir is a potential flashpoint that can lead to nuclearisation of the conflict. (Rodney Jones – US South Asian expert – December 1, 1995)
    • The best US response to growing tension in South Asia will be the American mediation on Kashmir with the vigour that was dedicated to Middle East peacemaking. (Jesse Helms, Chairman US Senate Foreign Relations Committee – April 9, 1996)
    • The US Administration should forcefully condemn India’s tyrannical behaviour in occupied Kashmir and demand immediate release of political prisoners. (Dan Burton, US Congressman – April 25, 1996)
    • Why is self-determination deemed an inalienable right for so many peoples of the world, yet so taboo when talk turns to Kashmir? ( Dan Burton, US Congressman, in the House – April, 1996)
    • It is really heart breaking to see what is happening in Indian occupied Kashmir. (Hank Brown, US Senator – August 7, 1996)
    • After having a five day visit to the Valley, I am now in a better position to understand the unsatisfactory situation and measures being taken by the Indian forces to suppress the free will of the Kashmir people. (Robin Cook, British MP – November 7, 1996)
    • There is no change in the United States’ policy on Kashmir, as it treats the held Valley as a disputed territory. (Thomas W. Simons, US Ambassador to Pakistan – January, 1997)
    • The Kashmir issue is the main stumbling block in the Pak-India relations and its resolution is in the interest of regional and global peace and security. (Robin Cook – October 9, 1997)
    • The Kashmir problem is more dangerous than one hundred bombs. The core issue is that of Kashmir, if it is resolved, the problem will be settled. (Robin Cook, British Foreign Secretary, 1997)
    • We view Kashmir as a disputed territory and that means that we do not recognize that Instrument of Succession as meaning that Kashmiris forever are an integral part of India. (Robin Rafael, US Assistant Secretary of State)
    • Canada is much concerned about regional security in South Asia, including Kashmir. (Lloyd Axworthy, Foreign Minister of Canada – April 7, 1998)
    • Kashmir is as an international issue, whose resolution must be accomplished as soon as possible. (26 US Congressman, including Tim Johnson, J. W. Warner and others – June, 1998)
    • Japan is ready to host an international conference involving India and Pakistan in an attempt to resolve their dispute over Kashmir. (Foreign Minister of Japan - June 2, 1998)
    • Britain has a responsibility to resolve the Kashmir issue because it was the United Kingdom that had let the issue dangling in violation of its own commitment when it split the Sub-Continent into India and Pakistan. (George Galloway, Senior Vice Chairman, Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Commons – June 13, 1998)
    • India should move its 700,000 troops out of occupied Kashmir and let the people of Kashmir decide their destiny through a plebiscite. (George Galloway, British MP – June, 1998)
    • India claims to be the world’s largest democracy but does not allow the Kashmiris to vote to determine their future and let democracy prevail in Kashmir. (Major R Owen, US Congressman – June, 1998)
    • I have spent my entire life looking at the issue (Kashmir) and that is the basic issue between these two countries. (Madeline Albright, US Secretary of State – July, 1998)
    • It is regretted that the world powers are not taking any action to stop Indian aggression in occupied Kashmir. (Tom Cox, British MP – August 17, 1998)
    • India should be persuaded to give the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people. (US Senator Harry Reid – September 16, 1999)
    • The entire World is concerned about the grave situation in Kashmir, which can possibly turn the trouble spot into a flash point. (US delegation to AJK, led by Congressman David Bonior – May, 2000)
    • We hope India will take the steps necessary to address the human rights violations taking place there (in Kashmir). (US Assistant Secretary of State Karl Inderfurth – May 20, 2000)
    • Plebiscite in Kashmir should form the basis of any future talks between India and Pakistan to ensure lasting peace in the region. (US Congressman Joseph Pitts – May 26, 2000)
    • We feel concerned over the use of brutal force and flagrant human rights violations being committed by the Indian occupation troops in Indian held Kashmir. (Sir Roy Whitney, British MP – July, 2000)
    • The core of the conflict in the issue of Kashmir stems from the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to self-determination in accordance with the relevant international resolutions. (Dan Burton, US Congressman – July, 2000)
    • Today, the threat of nuclear conflict in South Asia is greater than ever before. It’s in America’s strategic interest to reduce this threat; unless the Kashmir crisis is resolved, that will prove impossible. If India is truly a democracy, why can’t it allow the people of Kashmir to have the plebiscite for the last fifty-two years? Is that too much to ask of democracy? (David Bonior, US Congressman – August, 2000)
    • The Kashmir dispute is recognized as posing one of the gravest dangers to international peace and security. It cannot be solved through fraudulent elections. (Tim Johnson, US Congressman – September, 2000)
    • With its heavy militarisation, pervasive violence, suppression of legitimate political parties and absence of international human rights monitors, Kashmir is one of the most complex challenges we face today. (David Bonior, US Congressman – September, 2000)
    • The Kashmir dispute was at the center of the nuclearisation of the Sub-Continent and that the people of the State should be given the right to self-determination. (Jeremy Corbyn, British MP – November, 2000)
    • The freedom struggle of Kashmiris should not be termed as ‘terrorism’. (J. A. Guerra, Foreign Minister of Cuba – November 2, 2000)
    • We want a negotiated settlement of the Kashmir dispute under the UN Security Council resolutions. (Gerald Koffman, British MP – May, 2001)
    • The Indian soldiers are killing Kashmiris and violating human rights in the held Kashmir. ……… India must fulfill her commitments regarding giving the right of self-determination to Kashmiris. (Fiona MacTaggart, British MP – July, 2001)
    • The US is bound to take notice of the human rights violations in the held Kashmir. (US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage – December. 07, 2001)
    • The world and the international media should highlight the human tragedy in Kashmir. (John Battle, British MP – February 5, 2002)
    • Kashmir issue is a blot on our claim to be civilized society. Human rights continue to be abused systematically, sufferings and torture continue on daily basis in Indian held Kashmir (John Stevenson, British MP – February 5, 2002).
    • The UN resolutions are just as valid now as they ever have been. (Liz Lynne, British MP – February 5, 2002)
    • China considers Kashmir is a major dispute between India and Pakistan, which needs to be resolved to ensure peace and stability in the South Asia. (Yang Wenchang, Chinese Senior Vice Foreign Minister – April, 2002)
    • Kashmir is an “unfinished business”. (Jack Straw, British Foreign Secretary - May 24, 2002)
    • Kashmir is on the international agenda. The US would provide a helping hand to all sides in order to resolve the Kashmir issue. (Colin Powell, US Secretary of State - July 28, 2002)
    • The United States sat on the sidelines for over 50 years and let this Kashmir situation get to this point that it is now exploding on us at a time of real crisis. (Senator Bob Graham, Chairman of the US Senate Intelligence Committee – July, 2002).
    • We have not had the courage to step forward to India and tell the Indians they have to permit the people of Kashmir to have a plebiscite to control their own destiny. (Dana Rohrabacher, US Congressman – July, 2002)
    • The issue of Kashmir should be taken seriously by the world as it could prove to be flash point for a war between India and Pakistan and might lead to a nuclear conflict. (U. S. Prof. William Baker, President of CAMP – October 30, 2002)
    • Kashmir, Taiwan straits and the Korean Peninsula are three ‘major flashpoints’. The South Asia poses particularly difficult challenge for regional security. (Alexander Downer, Foreign Minister of Australia – White Paper on Foreign Policy – February, 2003)
    • It is a profound misrepresentation of the situation to describe Kashmir as being simply or even mainly a terrorist matter. (Prof. Robert G. Wirsing – March, 2003).
    • Kashmir, apart from Israel and Palestine, is the “most dangerous place in the world”. (Richard Armitage, US Deputy Secretary of State – August 13, 2003)
    • India is portraying the situation of Kashmir, which is quite abstractive, negative and deceitful. (Cris Davis, MEP, Head of Delegation of European Parliament to AJK – October, 2003)
    • India is not permitting the people of Kashmir to have a vote, to determine their destiny by vote. This will be over if the people of Kashmir will be given the right to determine their destiny with a vote. (US Congressman Dana Rohrabachar, at the House Committee on International Relations – October 30, 2003)
    • Kashmir is one of the most dangerous and tragic places in the world. A referendum is the most logical way to find out the will of the Kashmiri people. (Madeline Albright, Former US Secretary of State – December 3, 2003)
    • We reiterate with equal resolve our call to stop the killing in Kashmir. (US Congressman Robert J. Giuda – December 24, 2003)
    • I call upon the government of India to open to world what is happening in occupied Kashmir. (Robert J. Giuda, Head of six member Congressman delegation – February 27, 2004)
    • Tackling the issue of nuclear weapons in South Asia requires a settlement of Kashmir dispute first. (Dr. Hans Blix, Chief UN Arms Inspector for Iraq – March, 2004)
    • The best settlement of Kashmir issue lies in the UN resolutions. (James Elles, Chairman Kashmir Committee, European Parliament & Paul Goodman, British MP – September 20, 2004)
    • Peace and stability will not return to South Asia unless Pakistan and India sort out Kashmir conflict amicably. (James W. Wolfensohn, President, World Bank – February, 2005)
    • My country supports peace moves between Pakistan and India and would be ready to mediate on Kashmir issue, if requested. (Foreign Minister of Russia – June 15, 2005)
    • The human rights violations in the Indian occupied Kashmir at the hands of Indian troops should be stopped. (Baroness Jill Knight of Collingtree, MP and Marsha Singh – June 18, 2005)
    • Kashmir is an open wound and one of the oldest conflict. (Larse Rise, Former Chairman, All Party Group on Kashmir in Norwegian Parliament – March 16, 2006)
    • It is ridiculous to deploy 700,000 troops in Kashmir. The Indian Government should reduce the troops. (John W. McDonald, Chairman, Institute for Multi Track Diplomacy, Washington – May, 27, 2006)
    • Kashmir today is locked in a death struggle for survival and the right of self-determination. This historic valley of beauty has become a valley of death. A country of thirteen million inhabitants face on daily basis the bullets and brutality of an occupation army of Indian soldiers. (Prof. William Baker –October 30, 2006)
    • Peace and stability in Kashmir is essential for improving security in the Sub-Continent. (Dr. Bernard Bot, Dutch Foreign Minster, 2006)
    • The Kashmir issue is very important for the region. Since Kashmir is a flash point, the world community should not ignore it. (Prof. Marco Lambari, Catholic University of Italy – November, 2006)
    • Kashmir is the unfinished agenda of partition of the Sub-Continent and the UK has the moral and historical responsibility of facilitating the effort for resolution of this over half a century old problem (Harry Cohen, British MP – November 17, 2006)
    • Jammu and Kashmir conflict is a flashpoint between Pakistan and India. It must be addressed with great care and responsibility. (Jonas Gahr, Foreign Minister of Norway – December, 2006)
    • It (Kashmir) is a flashpoint. Its a place that has sparked conflict in the region. (Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State – House International Relations Committee)

CHAPTER-II

World Bodies

i.   UN

    • Both India and Pakistan desire that the question of the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India or Pakistan should be decided through the democratic way of a free and impartial plebiscite. (UN Security Council Resolution – April, 21, 1948)
    • The question of the accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India or Pakistan will be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite. (UN Commission for India & Pakistan Resolution – January 5, 1949)
    • The convening of a Constituent Assembly recommended by the General Council of the “All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference” and any action that assembly might attempt to take to determine the future shape and affiliation of the entire State or any part thereof would not constitute a disposition of the State. (UN Security Council Resolution – March 30, 1951)
    • The final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. (UN Security Council Resolution January 24, 1957)
    • I believe great powers have to stand up to (Kashmir) situation and not equivocate because of importance of India, even if this means Soviet veto and refusal of case to General Assembly. Whether it would produce concrete results would depend on degree to which big powers would bring pressure to bear on both but India in particular… I feel strongly Kashmir problem could not be swept under the rug as some people seemed to think. (Frank Graham, UN Representative – March 12, 1958)
    • In the end, I became convinced that India’s agreement would never be obtained to demilitarization in any such form, or to provisions governing the period of plebiscite of any such character as would in my opinion permit the plebiscite being conducted in conditions sufficiently guarding against intimidation and other forms, influence and abuse by which the freedom and fairness of the plebiscite might be imperiled. (Sir Owen Dixon, UN Representative)
    • The accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India cannot be considered as valid by canons of international law… The issue itself cannot be sidetracked. The history of the case has made it clear that time has only aggravated, not healed the conflict; that neither the Pakistanis nor the Kashmiris will accept the status quo as solution… No high hopes should be entertained that bilateral negotiations will lead to a settlement… The United Nations has a principal responsibility to seek a solution. (Josef Korbel, Member of UNCIP – Father of Madeline Albright, Former Secretary of State)
    • The life of the Kashmiris remained a Saga of poverty and oppression. Every thing and every body was taxed. ------ The state police ruled mercilessly. For minor offences people were thrown in jail, often without trial. As late as 1920, it was a capital offense for a Muslim to kill a cow; later the penalty was reduced to ten years of imprisonment and still later to seven years. (Josef Korbel, Member UNCIP)
    • The members of the Council expressed their concern with respect to two great countries which have everything to gain from re-establishing good relations with each other and whose present disputes, particularly that centering upon Jammu and Kashmir, should be settled amicably in the interest of world peace. (President of the Security Council – May 18, 1964)
    • Demand cessation of hostilities as a first step towards a peaceful settlement of the outstanding differences between the two countries on Kashmir and other matters and decide to consider as soon as ceasefire took effect what steps should be taken to assist towards a settlement of the political problem underlying the present conflict. (UN Security Council Resolution – September 20, 1965)
    • The relations between India and Pakistan are still marred by their dispute over Jammu and Kashmir, one of the oldest unresolved conflicts still on the United Nations agenda. (UN Secretary General’s Report, 1994)
    • The Indian government is responsible for human rights violations in occupied Kashmir. The officials responsible for abuses in the occupied territory should be punished. (Jose Ayala Lasso, UN Human Rights Commission – November, 1995)
    • India is among those countries, which are not accessible to human rights activists. (UN Human Rights Commission Report, 1999)
    • The fragility of the region remains evident in the continuing tensions between India and Pakistan. (UN Secretary General Kofi Annan – September, 2000)
    • My good offices are always available for the solution to the Kashmir dispute. (UN Secretary General Kofi Annan – March 11, 2001)
    • The human rights situation in Indian held Kashmir is very gloomy. (Mary Robinson, UN Human Rights Commissioner – November 13, 2001)
    • It (Kashmir) is a long-standing issue, which should be resolved through peaceful means. The UN Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan monitors the situation in Kashmir and keeps the UN informed of the developments. (Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations – January 12, 2007)

ii.  Others
 

    • The reluctance of India to recognize the centrality of the issue of Jammu and Kashmir continues to contribute to the intolerable human rights situation in the region. (Madam Maggie Bowden, General Secretary, International League for Rights and Liberation of people)
    • India is allowing “gross and systematic human rights abuses in Kashmir”. In held Kashmir the authorities have clearly abandoned the rule of law for rule by the gun. (Asia Watch – May, 1991)
    • The government forces have systematically violated international human rights law by using lethal force against peaceful demonstrators. (Asia Watch, 1991)
    • The methods employed by the Indian security forces at detention centers are “barbaric, inhuman and imaginatively vicious”. (Federation Internationale Des Ligues Deroits Del’ Home, 1993)
    • In their efforts to crush the insurgency, Indian forces in Kashmir have engaged in massive human rights violations, including extra-judicial executions, rape, torture and deliberate assaults on health care workers… Indian government forces have systematically violated international human rights and humanitarian law. Among the worst of these have been the summary execution of hundreds of detainees in the custody of the security forces in Kashmir. Such killings are carried out as a matter of policy. (Joint Report of Asia Watch and Physicians for Human Right, 1993)
    • Torture was practiced systematically in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, where its occurrence was facilitated by illegal, incommunicado and secret detentions. ‘Disappearances of scores of suspected political activists were reported from Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, and hundreds of political activists were allegedly extra judicially executed. (Amnesty International – March, 1993)
    • The brutality of torture in Jammu and Kashmir defies belief. It has left people mutilated and disabled for life. The severity of torture meted out by Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir is the main reason for appalling number of deaths in custody of young men picked up by the army or the paramilitary forces during crackdown operations in villages and other areas to identify suspected “militants”………Local journalists and media personnel persistently complain of harassment by government forces. (Amnesty International – December, 1993)
    • Rape is not uncommon and there is evidence of its employment as an instrument of terror. The infamous mass-rape by the Indian army at Kunan Poshpora was reported widely in the press both in India and abroad. It is to date the most sickening example of the brutal excesses of the security forces against the women of the region. There have been numerous examples of rape, of molestations, of sexual humiliation. (FIDH – Paris based Human Rights Group)
    • The indifference of Britain towards what is happening in Kashmir is painful. (Kashmir Watch, London – January 13, 1995)
    • Events in occupied Kashmir remained among the most serious human rights situation in Asia. (Human Rights Watch World – January 21, 1995)
    • Indian security forces are responsible for many human rights abuses in occupied Kashmir…….. Para-military forces are deployed throughout India and have committed significant human rights abuses particularly in Jammu and Kashmir. (US State Deptt, 1995)
    • Thousands of allegations of torture and deaths in custody have been reported in Jammu and Kashmir since early 1990. (Amnesty International, 1995)
    • The stigma associated with rape and the fact that it often occurs in remote places means that this abuse is under reported… Rape has been systematically used as a means of punishing women suspected of being sympathetic or related to alleged militants (as well as) a weapon in the security forces’ efforts to intimidate and humiliate the local population. (Amnesty International Report, 1995)
    • Indian security forces are responsible for human rights abuses in occupied Kashmir. (US State Department – February 2, 1995)
    • The right of self-determination to which the peoples of Jammu and Kashmir became entitled as part of the process of partition has neither been exercised nor abandoned, and thus remains exercisable today. Unless the Kashmiris themselves can be made to feel that they have been given the freedom to choose their destiny, the issue may never be laid to rest. (International Commission of Jurists, 1996)
    • Violations of human rights and humanitarian law by regular security forces – the army, the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) – have also continued. These violations include deliberate killing of detainees in the custody of the security forces in Kashmir and reprisal killings of civilians… Indian security personnel in Indian held Kashmir have also been responsible for rape as a counter insurgency tactic. (Human Rights Watch/Asia – May, 1996)
    • Human rights conditions in occupied Kashmir have deteriorated as a result of a new policy of the Indian government to arm and protect irregular militias to carry out its counter-insurgency operations... Indian forces have in effect sub contracted some of their abusive tactics to groups with no official accountability. The extra judicial killings, abductions and assaults committed by these groups against suspected militants are instead described as resulting from “inter-group rivalries”. Since the conflict in Kashmir began in 1990, the Indian government has attempted to discredit militant organizations by claiming that the uprising was provoked by Pakistan and was not indigenous in origin. (Human Rights Watch Reports, 1996)
    • India should ensure that all political prisoners are tried promptly and fairly and all allegations of torture and deaths in custody are investigated and justice brought to those responsible. (Amnesty International – December 13, 1996)
    • Several state-sponsored militia commonly referred to as “renegades” in Jammu and Kashmir were serving as India’s secret army and they were involved in widespread human rights abuse attacks on journalists, human rights activists and medical workers. (Human Rights Watch – Report titled “India’s Secret Army in Kashmir: New Patterns of Abuse” – January 13, 1997)
    • The Indian government forces commit serious violations of humanitarian law in Occupied Kashmir. The Muslim majority population in the Kashmir Valley suffers from the repressive tactics of the security forces. (US State Deptt. Report, 1997)
    • Access to redress for victims of human rights violations, a right guaranteed under international law, is being denied to victims in Jammu and Kashmir. (Amnesty International – May, 1997)
    • The European Parliament is deeply concerned about human rights situation in occupied Kashmir. (Anita Pollack, Head of 4-member European Parliament Delegation – May 6, 1997)
    • In an effort to gain an economic advantage in a potentially sizable market, the international community is condoning India’s human rights record more particularly in Kashmir as well as ignoring their moral responsibility to demand an end to all government- directed-and-sponsored massive abuses in Kashmir… India also maintained its reputation as one of the dangerous places in the world for human rights activists. (Human Rights Watch, 1997)
    • Serious human rights abuses, extra-judicial executions and other political killings and excessive use of force by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir and other northern states; torture and rape by police and other agents of Government, deaths of suspects in police custody, arbitrary arrest are rampant. (US Deptt. Report – January 30, 1998)
    • The OIC upholds the fundamental human rights of the people of Kashmir and the exercise of the right to self-determination in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and condemn the massive violations of their human rights. (OIC Summit Declaration – March 24, 1999)
    • Government agencies fund, exchange intelligence with and direct operations of counter-militants as part of the counterinsurgency effort. (US Statement Department
      Report on Human Rights, 1999)
    • The escalation in fighting has made it urgent that the international community put pressure on India to end widespread human rights violations by its security forces in Kashmir… In their effort to curb support for pro-independence militants, Indian security forces have resorted to extra-judicial executions, “disappearances”, torture and rape. (Human Rights Watch, 1999)
    • Renegades, while usually acting in conjunction with any of these agencies are also reported to have actively taken people into their custody and “disappeared” them. (Amnesty International Report, 1999)
    • Massive human rights violations are going on in occupied Kashmir. (Amnesty International Report – April 22, 2000)
    • India should release immediately all the Kashmiri leaders and political workers imprisoned in its jails and also revise the Public Safety Act to bring it in line with the laid down international standards for the protection of human rights… New tactics were being adopted for the harassment of opponents in occupied Kashmir and all political and civic right had been usurped. The Amnesty International is aware of numerous such cases in which the detenus are being kept under unlawful detention without a trial since 1990. (Amnesty International – May, 2000)
    • The United States must take up with India the civilian sufferings as a result of human rights violations in Kashmir. (Amnesty International – September 16, 2000)
    • We reaffirm our solidarity and support for the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to self-determination. (OIC Summit, Doha – November, 2000)
    • The US Government should play its vigorous diplomatic role on Kashmir in sharp contrast to India’s known stand of settling all its disputes with Pakistan bilaterally, free from any kind of foreign intervention. (Asia Foundation, San Francisco – February 23, 2001)
    • The State has shown little disregard for the lives and physical integrity of people in Jammu and Kashmir. When investigations of human rights violations do take place, officials have obstructed the course of the investigation by withholding evidence or refusing to obey court orders to attend hearings. In other instances, key witnesses and complainants have received threats to their lives if they appear in court. (Amnesty International – April, 2001)
    • The Indian soldiers indulge in a pattern of serious abuses in Held Kashmir, protected by laws that granted them impunity and prohibited their persecution. (J. Barua, Asian Buddhist Peace Conference – September, 2001)
    • The Indian government’s failure to honour UN resolutions had been the cause of turbulence and violence in the held Jammu and Kashmir since 1947. (International Human Rights Association of American Minorities – September, 2001)
    • The situation will continue to deteriorate unless India ends widespread human rights violations by its security forces in Kashmir… The Indian government to ensure that all reports of extra-judicial executions, “disappearances”, deaths in custody, torture, and rape by security forces and unofficial paramilitary forces in Kashmir are promptly investigated and prosecuted. (Human Rights Watch – November 20, 2001)
    • There is a need for “increased diplomacy to achieve a just, peaceful and rapid resolution of the conflict between India and Pakistan”, relating to the State of Jammu and Kashmir… Atrocities against the people of Jammu and Kashmir should be stopped, so that the threat of nuclear war in South Asia is reduced. (Resolution passed by New Hampshire Assembly – April, 2003)
    • The gross violation of human rights by Indian army in occupied Kashmir is a terrorism against unarmed Kashmiri people. International human rights organisations should be allowed to have access to the occupied Kashmir. (International Seminar organized by human rights organisations, Geneva – April 14, 2003)
    • We urge the government to immediately establish an official inquiry into the disappearances, which have occurred in Jammu Kashmir since 1989. (Amnesty International – September, 2003)
    • People under alien domination, colonial rule or foreign occupation have the right to struggle for self-determination. This struggle may not be equal with terrorism. (NAM Summit Putra Jaya – October, 2003)
    • Although India maintains that the dispute over Kashmir is a bilateral problem only, the fact that Kashmir will likely remain a nuclear flash point argues that while the dispute may be bilateral in nature, it is not bilateral in consequence. Kashmir is the focal point of Indo – Pak rivalry and could explode into an open war. (RAND - US Think Tank, 2004)
    • I call upon the Government of India to open to the world what is happening in occupied Kashmir. I also call upon it to cease shelling at random or regularly of innocent civilians in Azad Kashmir. (Robert J. Giuda, Head of six member Congressman delegation – February 27, 2004)
    • OIC supports the struggle of the Kashmir people for their right to self-determination. (OIC Secrertary General Dr. Abdelouahed Belkeziz at UN Human Rights Commission – March, 2004)
    • The excessive use of force by the armed forces as well as arbitrary arrests and disappearance in occupied Kashmir besides religiously motivated violence against Christians and Muslims continues in India. (US State Department Report – May, 2004)
    • Torture rape, deaths in custody, extra judicial executions and disappearances have been perpetrated by agents of the state with impunity. … The human rights abuses in the Kashmir Valley are facilitated by laws, which provide the security forces with virtual immunity from prosecution for acts “done in good faith”. (Amnesty International – May, 2004)
    • India Pakistan and people of Kashmir should resolve the Kashmir issue. We are concerned, because it (Kashmir) has been a flashpoint… There is a huge military presence (in the State) with approximately one soldier to every 10 civilians. I was amazed at the concentration of Indian troops in the Valley, which I have not seen anywhere else in the world. Kashmir has been turned into the most beautiful prison in the world… The struggle of people of Jammu and Kashmir is indigenous and their involvement in the dialogue process is a must. The custodial killings of innocent Kashmiris by Indian troops stands at 17 per day. (Adhoc Delegation of European Parliament, comprising John Cushnahan, David Bowe and other MEPs, after visit to IOK – August, 2004)
    • India is urged to be more serious about probing alleged human rights violations in Kashmir. (Amnesty International – August 30, 2004)
    • In their effort to curb support for pro-freedom activities, Indian forces have resorted to arbitrary arrest and collective punishments of entire localities, leading to further disaffection from India. Despite Indian government claims that normalcy has been restored, abuses by the army, paramilitary forces are rife. (Stanford Journal of Human Rights – February 25, 2005)
    • The Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which remains enforced in occupied Kashmir and north east region of India, should be repealed. The law violates international human rights laws by giving the security forces wide-ranging powers and has facilitated grave human right abuses. (Amnesty International – May 5, 2005)
    • Steps should be taken to end continued Human rights violations by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir. (Human Rights Watch – July 18, 2005)
    • The Indian military agencies involved in torture, arbitrary detentions and summary executions, must be brought to judicial accountability… Thousands of Kashmiris are still missing in custody after they were detained by military forces. (Human Rights Watch – Open letter to the Indian Premier – July 19, 2005)
    • In Indian held Kashmir, military, paramilitary and police forces continue their practice of torturing detainees, leading to custodial killing. … The European Union to spotlight human rights violations by India. (Human Rights Watch – November 21, 2005)
    • The human rights abuses continued despite tentative moves towards political settlement. The impact on women and children of longstanding conflict across the region is severe. (Amnesty International Report – 2005)
    • The Indian government’s failure to account for these abuses and take rigorous action against those members of its forces responsible for murder, rape and torture amounts to a policy of condoning human rights violations by the security forces. Among the worst of these violations have been the summary executions of hundreds of detainees in the custody of the security forces in occupied Kashmir. Such killings are carried out as a matter of policy. (Asia Watch & Physicians for Human Rights Report, 2005)
    • According to the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons around 10,000 Kashmiris have disappeared at the hands of Indian security forces since the current phase of the struggle started in 1989. (US State Department Report, 2005)
    • Under the laws enforced in Indian held Kashmir, the Kashmiris are kept for prolonged periods in police custody without being informed of the charges against them. They may be detained anywhere and are frequently not permitted any contact with lawyers or family members unless they are remanded to judicial custody and transferred to prison and only then if their family members are to locate the detainee. (Asia Watch)
    • “We are writing to express our profound concerns over the long standing problems of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.” (Third World Solidarity Group (UK)’s letter to the Indian Prime Minister, 2006)
    • The United Nations should take appropriate steps for access of the world media and human rights organizations to the Indian held Kashmir to monitor the grave human rights violations in the Valley. (Brad Adams, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch – 2006)
    • Situation in Kashmir is not stable. It can become a flash point any time…. Unless the Indian forces are withdrawn, it is not possible to stop the human rights violations. (International Crisis Group, Washington – June 15, 2006)
    • Kashmiris continue to live in constant fear as perpetrators of human rights abuses among Indian soldiers go scot free… Indian government has effectively given its troops free rein. The work of both the National Human Rights Commission and the State Human Rights Commission in occupied Kashmir is severely hampered by laws that prohibit them from directly investigating human rights abuses carried out by Indian troops…. The UN Human Rights Council should appoint Rapporteur to regularly publish public reports on human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir. (Human Rights Watch Report, 2006)
    • Torture is widespread, particularly in the temporary detention centers. Methods of torture include electric shock, prolonged beatings and sexual molestation. (Asia Watch Report, “Kashmir Under Siege”)
    • Upto 10, 000 enforced disappearances have been reported in the Indian controlled Kashmir. (Amnesty International – August 30, 2006)
    • The incidence of sexual violence in Jammu and Kashmir is highest amongst the conflict ridden regions in the world… Almost 99.2 percent of people reported having confronted crackdowns and search operations between 1989 and 2005… Almost everyone detained, whether legally or illegally, had been subjected to torture. (Medecins Sans Frontiers – the Dutch Noble Prize winning global networks’ Report – 2006)
    • The rule of law should be guaranteed in Kashmir as elsewhere in India. It is unacceptable that security forces arrest, detain and charge journalists in the most dubious circumstances. (Reporeters San Frontiers, Paris – December 13, 2006)

CHAPTER-III

India

i.   Leaders

    • The people of Kashmir should be asked whether they want to join Pakistan or India. Let them do as they want. The ruler is nothing. People are every thing. (Mahatama Gandhi, Speech at Prayer meeting – July 29, 1947)
    • The princes being the creation of British imperialism and the British having quitted India, the people in the states were their own masters and Kashmiris must, therefore, decide without any coercion or show of it from within and without to which dominion they should belong. (Mahatma Gandhi, Father of India – during a visit to Srinagar)
    • If the people of Kashmir are in favour of opting for Pakistan, no power on earth can stop them from doing so. They should be left free to decide for themselves. (Mahatma Gandhi, Speech at Prayer Meeting – October 26, 1947)
    • The accession was provisional upon an impartial plebiscite being taken by the Kashmiris. (Mahatma Gandhi – October 30, 1947)
    • We have declared that the fate of Kashmir is ultimately to be decided by the people. That pledge we have given not only to the people of Kashmir but to the world also. We will not and cannot back out of it. (Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru – November 3, 1947)
    • The question of aiding Kashmir in this emergency is not designed in any way to influence the state to accede to India. (Pandit Nehru in a cable to the British Prime Minister)
    • It is not the intention of the Government of India to go back on any commitment it has made on Kashmir. (Abul Kalam Azad, Education Minister of India – July 6, 1951)
    • Kashmir is not ours but it is of the Kashmiris. We cannot stay in Kashmir for a moment without the consent of the Kashmiris. It is not our property. (Jawarharlala Nehru, 1957)
      *(Jawaharlal Nehru and other Indian leaders made similar commitments on more than 50 occasions)
       
    • You know well that this business of plebiscite is still far away and there is a possibility of the plebiscite not taking place at all. I would suggest, however, that this should not be said in public, as our bonafides will then be challenged. (Pandit Nehru told Sh. Abdullah – January 12, 1949)
    • I would again add that time is the essence of the business and things must be done in a way so as to bring about the accession of Kashmir to the Indian Union as rapidly as possible with the cooperation of Sheikh Abdullah”. (Prime Minister Nehru advised Sardar Patel)
    • The UN resolutions on Kashmir constitute an international agreement. (Krishna Menon, Foreign Minister of India)
    • We profess democracy, but rule by force in Kashmir. (Jay Parkash Narayan confided to Indira Gandhi, 1960).
    • The very principle that a settlement must take into account the wishes of the Kashmir people is not acceptable to us. (Swaran Singh, Foreign Minister of India)
    • The armed police had been let loose everywhere. It was killing people like birds. There was no check, no magistrate. It was being done deliberately. Mr. Nanda (Interior Minister of India) had given a free hand to his men here. (Mridula Sarabnai, 1965)
    • Kashmiris have changed beyond recognition. They have lost fear. Kashmir is lost to us. (Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India – 1990)
    • We could see our own country’s imperialism alongwith that of other countries… It would be the foolish thing a nation can do, if we proceed on the assumption that we can hold any people down by sheer force and without making it absolutely manifest to the world nations that we have the consent of the people concerned by imposing any administration on them. Like justice, the political decision concerning Kashmir or any part of it should be on the basis of self-determination. (Minoo Masani)
    • Elections in Kashmir have been rigged from the beginning. Bakhshi continued, unfortunately as did Sadiq, who was the nearest to a true democrat. The Congress leadership at the center, too, thought it to be the best way of ruling Kashmir. But 1987 exposed them because the “Muslim United Front” came up and showed how there were candidates getting votes but the ballot box was not producing them……..All the periodic elections in the state have thus repeated the same old story of illegal rejection of nominations, proxy voting, booth capturing, beating and abducting rivals, disrupting public meeting, etc. (P. S. Verma – Jammu & Kashmir at the Political Cross Roads)
    • It would be very difficult to find a Muslim resident of Kashmir Valley, who does not passionately desire complete independence from India…….The local government servants talked harshly about India having ‘enslaved’ Kashmir. The lawlessness of the extremists cannot be eliminated, at least in a democratic society, by government which itself becomes lawless…….A humanist can have no doubt that the people of Kashmir should have the right of self-determination. Kashmir has been the main cause of the antagonism… A grant of plebiscite to the people of the Kashmir Valley is the obvious solution. (Justice Tarkunde – 1990)
    • Kashmiris rose in rebellion not because Muslims are constitutionally incapable of loyalty to a “secular” state, but because they saw no hope of redressal within the Indian state’s institutional framework to the gross, consistent and systematic pattern of abuse of their rights as citizens and as human beings. (Sumantra Bose)
    • The fact is that the whole Muslim population of the Kashmir Valley is wholly alienated from India and due to the highly repressive policy pursued by the administration in recent months, especially since the advent of Shri Jagmohan in January 1990, their alienation has now turned into bitterness and anger. (Justice V M Tarkunde & Justice Rajinder Sachar Justice and Educationists; Amrik Singh and Balrajpuri)
    • The most bitter and tragic part of the situation is the killing and injuring of innocent people at the hands of the security forces. (Justice Rajinder Sachar, Former Chief Justice, Delhi High Court)
    • The accession of Jammu & Kashmir to India was wrong (Dr. Anand, Former Chief Justice of India)
    • The frequent military crackdowns, the inhuman torture of innocent persons, the indiscriminate shooting of people, the frequent thefts and occasional rapes committed by security forces have increased the disgust and resentment of the people in the Valley. (Justice Turkunde – May, 1992)
    • The international human rights organisations, like Amnesty International and Asia Watch should be given an opportunity to visit Kashmir to take an on-the spot account of the human rights situation in the Valley. (Justice M. V. Chalia, Chairman, National Human Rights Commission of India)
    • The Kashmiri people have been left at the mercy of force and they are still alienated from the rest of India. (V P Singh, Ex Indian Premier – April, 1996)
    • Amnesty says our forces raped women in Kashmir. They (Security Forces) are right. They should rape (Kashmiri women). What else should be meted out to them? Should we invite them to a five course meal. (Bal Thakery, Leader of Shiva Sena – AFP)
    • Elections and the military operations are not the solution of the Kashmir dispute. (Indian General Padam Nath – January, 1997)
    • India should fulfill promise of holding a plebiscite in Occupied Kashmir. I personally visited Kashmir and witnessed the sufferings of Kashmiris. (Raj Mohan Gandhi, Grandson of Mohatama Gandhi – November 5, 1998)
    • The intense competition among Indian army commanders engaged in operations against Mujahideen in Indian Held Kashmir had driven their Officers and jawans to suicide and insanity. (Gen (R) Samay Ram – November 16, 1998)
    • It is impossible to visit Kashmir and not confront immediately the reality of almost total alienation of the people from India. The outside world sees Kashmir as a major trouble spot with a potential to explode into a nuclear conflagration. (Muckhund Dubey, former Foreign Secretary of India – July 18, 2000)
    • Ultimately Kashmir has to have a political solution and deployment of huge army is not a solution of this dispute. (Indian Army Chief General V. P. Malik – September, 2000)
    • The Kashmir issue needs immediate world attention. The problem was created by the British in 1947 and they should solve it now. (Jagjit Singh Chohan, Leader of Council of Khalistan – May, 2001)
    • Kashmir is not an integral part of India. (Ram Jeth Melani, Chairman, Kashmir Committee of India – August 11, 2003)
    • We are sincere about discussing and resolving all issues, including Jammu and Kashmir. (Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India – June 24, 2004)
    • Kashmir is an important issue to be resolved between India and Pakistan (JN-Dixit-National Secretary Adviser to the Indian Prime Minister – August 31, 2004)
    • Kashmir issue is a nuclear flash point (Natwar Singh, Foreign Minister of India – September 9, 2004).
    • I am an Indian, I do not want to make any bon