APHC rips BJP’s fake democracy as Kashmir remains under fire
Srinagar: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has said that the Indian Bharatiya Janata Party government and its installed Lieutenant Governor regime are staging a “democracy drama” to mislead the international community, while Kashmiris continue to be caged and silenced under draconian laws in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, senior APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas in a statement in Srinagar said that Kashmiris remain steadfast in their struggle and sacrifices for the UN-acknowledged right to self-determination, which is being denied under the deployment of nearly one million heavily armed Indian forces. He said the troops continue to terrorize civilians through atrocities, cordon-and-search operations, arbitrary arrests, and house raids.
Minhas reminded the Indian government that the United Nations has repeatedly clarified that elections cannot replace the right to self-determination or a plebiscite in the disputed territory. “Since the Hindutva BJP regime, led by Narendra Modi, illegally abrogated Articles 370 and 35A on August 5, 2019, the people of IIOJK have been stripped of every fundamental right,” he said.
The APHC spokesperson added that Kashmiris’ democratic, political, and economic rights have been systematically taken away, while lands, homes, and properties are being seized under the guise of administrative measures. “Step by step, India is deliberately crippling Kashmiris politically and economically,” he said.
The statement described India’s current policies in the territory as a form of large-scale colonial subjugation, urging the Kashmiri people to unite and resist the occupation. The APHC also called upon the international community to enforce United Nations resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, which remain unimplemented despite repeated commitments by the UN Security Council.
