India’s settler-colonial policies threaten Kashmir’s identity: APHC
#SaveKashmirDemography | #StopSettlerColonialism
Srinagar: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference has warned that India’s demographic policies are posing a serious threat to the Muslim-majority character, identity and political rights of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the APHC spokesman, Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas in a statement in Srinagar said the Modi regime has intensified efforts to alter the demographic composition of IIOJK since August 2019, when New Delhi unilaterally revoked the territory’s special status.
The APHC said the granting of domicile certificates to lakhs of non-local people risks fundamentally altering the demographic balance of the occupied territory. It said the domicile policy was being used as a tool to facilitate the settlement of non-Kashmiris in IIOJK and advance what it described as a settler-colonial agenda.
The spokesman said demographic engineering was among the key objectives behind the revocation of Article 370, as India sought to undermine Kashmiris’ distinct identity and weaken their political and territorial rights.
He said the settlement of non-locals and changes to land and citizenship-related laws threaten Kashmiris’ control over their land and resources and could permanently transform the political character of the disputed territory.
The APHC maintained that such demographic alteration contravenes the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir and violates the spirit of relevant United Nations resolutions, which recognise the Kashmiri people’s right to determine their political future.
The Hurriyat body also expressed concern that India’s demographic policies raise serious questions under international humanitarian law, particularly in view of the prolonged occupation of the territory.
The APHC urged the United Nations and the international community to take notice of India’s demographic measures and prevent any attempt to alter the demographic character of IIOJK.
The spokesman stressed that the Kashmir dispute cannot be resolved through unilateral constitutional, administrative or demographic measures and called for implementation of the relevant UN resolutions to ensure a just and lasting settlement in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. KMS-1K
