Human Rights violations in Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir widely condemnable

Hyderabad: Today, when as we are celebrating 70thAnniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it’s a shame on society that human rights violation cases still come up in this 21st Century, observed P. Ramakrishnam Raju, former judge of AP High Court and former Member of AP State Human Rights Commission.

Speaking at a seminar on Human Rights Violations in Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) organised by Hyderabad-based voluntary organisation Social Cause on the eve of Human Rights Day here at PG College of Law, Justice Raju said human rights keep changing depending on time, region, circumstances and so on. “Basically, the human rights are inherent rights and are undeniable. Human rights vest in a human being even before birth. From womb to tomb, human rights must be respected. No country can infringe upon human rights of citizens?” he added. Human rights are mostly violated and are more honoured in the breach than in the observance, Justice Raju lamented. Sometimes governments, individuals and society get blamed for human rights violations because they do not respect the human rights of the people. “When we are talking of rights, we always talk about our rights first.

But, we must think first of our neighbour rather than think of our rights,” he said. Speaking about the human rights violation in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB region) in Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), Justice Raju said that whenever the people in GB region raised a voice, they were suppressed and oppressed. From the time the area was accessioned to India, the problem continues. India has maintained a deaf ear to what is happening in Gilgit-Baltistan region (GB region). The people do not have sufficient facilities such as schools, hospitals, etc. These things and many more are effectively reflected in the book “Gilgit-Baltistan and its Unending Saga of Human Rights Violations” by Capt Alok Bansal, he said.

Justice Raju said that the GB region has rich natural resources, but people are pushed into poverty and not allowed basic amenities and rights. He deplored that despite United Nation’s resolution, Pakistan is not vacating from there and turned it into their colony. Prof G.B. Reddy, Dean, Faculty of Law, Osmania University, criticised the recent UN report on human rights violations in Kashmir by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. Prof Reddy condemned the report and said that it was partisan. India is a country in which not only are the human rights guaranteed by the Constitution but India follows whatever international human rights of treaties to which India is a signatory.

Dr T Aparna, Principal, PG College of Law, OU, focussed on the historical aspect of the GB region and said that Capt Alok Bansal’s book focuses on the strategical importance of the region and demolished the falsehood of how the region does not belong to India through data, documents, etc. K Raka Sudhakar Rao, National Executive Member, Jammu Kashmir Study Centre (JKSC), speaking on the occasion said that the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has a total of 111 seats but elections are held for only 87 seats belonging to Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh regions and there are 24 empty seats for areas of the state that were occupied by Pakistan in 1947. It is a reminder that India has to bring them back to the fold one day or another.

Rahul Razdan, General Secretary, Youth for Panun Kashmir, also spoke on the occasion and said that the narration of the people of Jammu and Kashmir is scattered. Some people face severe subjugation in GB region; some people are forced to live in exile for over 29 years; etc. It is a biggest travesty of justice. Pakistan is slicing and dicing people metamorphically and on the ground. The root cause of the problem is the rogue State Pakistan, he said.