IoK: EU parliamentarians' letter

The so-called 'conscience of Europe', the EU Parliament, should have taken notice of grave human rights violations committed by India's occupation forces in India-held Kashmir long time back. There are mass graves and miles-long graveyards to see. There is verifiable evidence of women raped and houses burnt down as well. And, hundreds of children blinded by blatant use of pellet shotguns. But it's better late than never. The EU parliamentarians' open letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing their grave concern on continued human rights violations in IoK is indeed a welcome step and is in the right direction. Howsoever peripheral may be its impact on the Indian mindset this move on the part of the Members of European parliament is a ray of hope for Kashmiris. Earlier too the office of High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UK Parliament's All Parties Parliamentary Kashmir Group (APPKG) had publicly called out India over its gross human rights violations in IoK. They had called for immediate end of use of pellet-firing shotguns, and wanted India to bring all relevant laws into compliance with international human rights standards. They had also called for urgent repeal of draconian laws particularly the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1990 and the Public Safety Act which accords virtual impunity to the Indian occupation forces. But New Delhi did not move. Even then it is our hope that the letter sent by the EU parliamentarians would receive much-wanted attention of the Indian prime minister - though it remains unclear if Modi would cast his eyes on this letter, because his entire election campaign is built around revival of mythical Mahabharata in which a Muslim-dominated Kashmir has no independent identity. The ground reality is that Modi's BJP is bent upon amending the constitutional provision which guarantees Jammu & Kashmir a "special status" and security against moves to turn ethnic Kashmiris into minority in their own land due to influx of non-Muslim outsiders.
Accepted, on the face of it the EU parliamentarians' letter to Indian prime minister is a move in the right direction. They took notice of use of pellet shotguns that is what any decent person would do. But why then some of the governments in the West are bent upon politicizing the UN anti-terrorism regime. Rightly then Pakistan's Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi has warned against use of FATF and 1267 Sanctions regime as "political tools to advance their geopolitical goals." If terrorism is the problem then Pakistan has done its possible best to control it. Scores of members of banned organisations are in prison and the National Action Plan is being made even more stringent. China, one of the permanent members of Security Council, has also warned against "forcefully moving" a resolution in the Council. "This is not in line with resolution of the issue (listing of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a UN-designated global terrorist) through dialogue and negotiations," says the Foreign Office. That one man's absence from the scene would secure the entire world against terrorism, it is a misplaced thinking. Was it a Jaish-e-Mohammad follower who attacked mosques in Christchurch, killing 49 Muslims? India did accuse this outfit for the Pulwama outrage. But is it not true that the suicide-bomber, who nursed personal grievance against the occupation forces, was a local Kashmiri? If the issue is that he was member of Jaish-e-Mohammad then it is also an issue what made him to go for it - though the whole truth about this incident is yet to be discovered, and as to why his plan and action didn't come on the radar of local intelligence. If not terrorism what then is this brutalization and oppression of people who are struggling for their legitimate, and UN-recognized, right of self-determination. That serving as backdrop the letter penned by the EU parliamentarians is a welcome move and hopefully the first drop of impending rain that would heal the wounds of innocent Kashmiri men, women and children, including 19-month-old pellet-victim Hiba Nisar.