WMC warns of “Cultural Genocide” in IIOJK, demands urgent UN intervention
Geneva: Kashmiri representative Altaf Hissain Wani has called for immediate international intervention in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), describing the territory as an “open-air prison” where occupation has metastasized into systematic cultural genocide and political erasure.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Altaf Hissain Wani, speaking on behalf of the World Muslim Congress on the sidelines of the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva detailed a catastrophic human rights situation characterized by the complete suppression of fundamental freedoms.
He highlighted the crushing of free expression and peaceful assembly under draconian laws, alongside a suffocating digital siege and pervasive social media surveillance that criminalizes dissent and isolates the population from the world.
He raised relentless harassment against human rights defenders, who face arbitrary detention and extrajudicial violence, while thousands of political prisoners languish in jails for years without trial. He specifically condemned Delhi’s “Seven Pillars” security doctrine, describing it not as a framework for protection but as “seven bars of an iron cage” that militarizes every aspect of civilian life.
The World Muslim Congress further voiced alarm over evidence of war crimes, noting that families of victims killed in fake encounters are denied the fundamental dignity of last rites, with bodies instead buried in mass graves to erase evidence. Concurrently, the organization documented a systematic campaign of religious persecution against Muslims, including the demolition of homes, banning of religious practices, and state-sanctioned incitement of violence committed with impunity.
“This Council cannot remain complicit,” Wani emphasized. “We demand immediate international intervention, unrestricted access for Special Procedures, and accountability for these crimes against humanity. Silence is complicity.”
The World Muslim Congress urged the international community to move beyond expressions of concern and take concrete steps to address what it termed an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, insisting that the UNHRC has both the mandate and the moral obligation to ensure accountability for violations in the disputed territory.
