ISLAMABAD: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation secretariat on Wednesday urged Indian authorities to protect the religious rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, a disputed Himalayan region whose special status was revoked by India last week, followed by a clampdown on communications and freedom of movement.
“The OIC General Secretariat has learned with concern the reports of curtailment of religious freedoms of Kashmiri Muslims in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, including complete lockdown even on the auspicious occasion of Eid, denying Eid congregations and preventing Kashmiri Muslims from observing religious rituals,” the OIC said in a statement.
“Denial of religious rights constitutes a serious violation of international human rights law and is an affront to Muslims across the world,” the OIC said, adding: “Therefore, the OIC urges Indian authorities to ensure the protection of the rights of Kashmiri Muslims and the exercise of their religious rights without any hindrance.”
The OIC also called upon the international community, including the United Nations and other relevant bodies, to increase efforts for a negotiated settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute on the basis of relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
India revoked the special status of its portion of Himalayan Kashmir, known as Jammu and Kashmir, on August 5, and moved to quell widespread unrest by shutting down Internet, landlines and cellphone communication and curtailing freedom of movement.
Islamabad retaliated by suspending bilateral trade and all public transport links with India, as well as expelling New Delhi’s ambassador to Islamabad.
India rules the populous Kashmir Valley and the Hindu-dominated region around Jammu city, while Pakistan controls Azad Kashmir, a wedge of territory in the west. China holds a thinly populated high-altitude area in the north.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from colonial power Great Britain in 1947, They came close to another one in February after a deadly attack on Indian police by a Pakistan-based militant group resulted in airstrikes by both countries.
India’s revocation of special status for Jammu and Kashmir blocks the state’s right to frame its own laws and allows non-residents to buy property there. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has said old laws prohibiting people from outside Kashmir from buying property, settling there and taking up government jobs had hindered its development.
OIC urges India to safeguard “religious rights” of people of Jammu and Kashmir
OIC urges India to safeguard “religious rights” of people of Jammu and Kashmir
- Expresses concern over Kashmiris not being able to observe religious rituals during Eid-al-Adha
- Calls on the international community to increase efforts for a negotiated settlement
Pakistan has ruled out military operation in northwestern Tirah Valley
- Residents in northwestern Tirah Valley fled their homes this month fearing a military operation against militants
- Defense minister says army conducting intelligence-based operations in area, residents’ migration “routine” practice
Islamabad: Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday clarified that the military was not conducting a military operation in the northwestern Tirah Valley, saying that the ongoing residents’ migration from the area was a routine practice that has been going on for several years.
The defense minister’s clarification came as residents of Tirah Valley in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province bordering Afghanistan fled their homes this month, fearing a planned military operation by the army against militants, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group.
Pakistan’s information ministry on Sunday issued a clarification that the armed forces were not involved in the “depopulation” of the valley. It pointed to a notification from the provincial Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Relief, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Department in December which demanded the release of funds, reportedly Rs4 billion [$14.24 million], for the voluntary movement of people from Tirah Valley.
Speaking to reporters at a news conference alongside Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Special Assistant to the PM for Information and KP Affairs Ikhtiar Wali Khan, Asif said the last military operation in the area was conducted several years ago. He said the military had decided that intelligence-based operations (IBOs) were more effective than military operations as they resulted in lower civilian casualties.
“So over a long period of time, the army gave up [military] operation in favor of IBOs,” Asif said. “For many years this practice has been continuing. Hence, there is no question of an operation there.”
The defense minister described the migration of residents from Tirah Valley as a “routine” practice due to the harsh cold.
He criticized the provincial government, led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for not serving the people of the area, accusing it of not building any schools, hospitals, or police stations in Tirah Valley.
Asif said around 400-500 TTP members lived in the valley with their families, alleging that hemp was being harvested there on over 12,000 acres of land. He said that while hemp is also used for medicinal and construction purposes, its dividends were going to militants and politicians.
“All of this hemp is harvested there and the dividends from it either go to the people associated with politics or the TTP,” the minister said.
“We have initiated the process to stop this so that the people benefit from this harvest and so that schools and hospitals are constructed there.”
The minister said that a district-level jirga or tribal council met representatives of the KP government on Dec. 11, 24 and 31 to decide matters related to the residents’ migration in the area.
Holding up the KP Relief, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Department notification, Asif said:
“In the presence of this notification, in the presence of this tribal council and in the presence of all of these things, where do you see the army?“
The minister accused the provincial government of deflecting its “failures” in the province to the armed forces or to a military operation that did not exist.
The migration has exposed tensions between the provincial government and the military establishment over the use of force in the region.
KP Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi said earlier this month that the provincial government will not allow a military operation to take place in the area, arguing that past military campaigns had failed to deliver lasting stability.
