Kashmiri representatives urge UNHRC to act against Indian repression in IIOJK
Call for probe into ‘constitutional terrorism,’ destruction of newspaper archives
Geneva: Kashmiri representatives Altaf Hussain Wani, Shamim Shawl and Advocate Parvez Ahmed Shah have urged the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to urgently intervene against India’s escalating repression in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, warning that durable peace in South Asia is impossible without granting the Kashmiris their UN-mandated right to self-determination.
According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking during the general debate under Agenda Item 2, Altaf Hussain Wani, Shamim Shawl, and Advocate Parvez Ahmed Shah warned of a deliberate and systematic campaign by India to erase Kashmiri identity and history. They pointed out that the imposition of settler-colonial laws, banning of books, removal of newspaper archives and digital human rights records, coupled with blanket restrictions on freedoms of expression, assembly, and association, amounted to “constitutional terrorism.” They cautioned that India’s destruction of archives was aimed at eliminating evidence of enforced disappearances, mass graves, and sexual violence.
The speakers urged the Human Rights Council to initiate urgent measures, including:
* a time-bound, independent investigation into the systematic destruction of cultural and historical records and immediate restoration of Kashmir’s archives;
* unfettered access to UN special procedures, independent observers, human rights groups, and international media;
* an updated OHCHR assessment on the prevailing rights situation in IIOJK; and
* the release of more than 3,000 political detainees languishing in jails under draconian laws like the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), including prominent leaders subjected to solitary confinement and shifted far away from their families.
They also expressed grave concern over the recent false-flag operation in Pahalgam, warning that such acts threatened regional peace and could trigger dangerous escalation in South Asia.
“Without memory there can be no justice, and without justice there can be no peace,” the representatives said, urging the UNHRC and the international community to end impunity, ensure accountability, and restore the dignity and fundamental rights of the oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir.
