JKCHR – Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights
NGO in Special Consultative Status with the ECOSOC of the United Nations
Established in 1984
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
– Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The prevailing deplorable human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir is also a direct consequence of the failure of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in initiating peaceful alternatives for Kashmir’s right of self-determination.
In an unusually critical letter dated October 4 to Dr Mirwaiz Mohammad Umar Farooq, Chairman (APHC), the London-based Jammu Kashmir Council for Human Rights cautions that absence of an alternative solution and failure to “observe a constitutional discipline adopted on 31 July 1993” is hurting the jurisprudence of the Kashmir cause.”
While expressing concern about the continued ‘house-arrest’ of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and the continued ban on Friday Prayers at Jamia Masjid, Dr Syed Nazir Gilani
President-JKCH, says the organization remains deeply concerned about the rights of Kashmiri Pandits.
“Our documents submitted on the “Freedom of religion or faith” and on the “protection of the human rights of minorities” to the UN Secretary General have been released as NGO69 and NGO71 at the 49th session of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Our position on the status of Kashmiri Pandits remains the same as expressed in our “Sixteen Days in Kashmir” Report of Febuary1997,” recalled Dr. Gilani.
We sincerely trust that Government of India would live up to the statement made by Swashpawan Singh, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Goolam E. Vahanvati, Solicitor General of India while introducing the national report of India – “a country which has over one billion people and the home of almost all religions of the world” on 10 April 2008.
Two OHCHR reports of June 2018 and July 2019 also made similar recommendations to Governments of India and Pakistan to improve the human rights situation in their respective areas of control, which JKCHR fully supports.
Below is the letter in full text, written on 04 Oct, 2022:
Dear Mirwaiz sahib,
Assalamu alaikum, JKCHR expresses our deep concern on your continued ‘house-arrest’ and continued ban on Friday Prayers at Jamia Masjid. JKCHR remains deeply concerned about the rights of Kashmiri Pandits.
Our documents submitted on the “Freedom of religion or faith” and on the “protection of the human rights of minorities” to the UN Secretary General have been released as NGO69 and NGO71 at the 49th session of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Our position on the status of Kashmiri Pandits remains the same as expressed in our “Sixteen Days in Kashmir” Report of Febuary1997.
We sincerely trust that Government of India would live up to the statement made by Swashpawan Singh, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Goolam E. Vahanvati, Solicitor General of India while introducing the national report of India – “a country which has over one billion people and the home of almost all religions of the world” on 10 April 2008.
The two OHCHR reports of June 2018 and July 2019 have made recommendations to Governments of India and Pakistan to improve the human rights situation in their respective areas of control. JKCHR fully supports these recommendations.
JKCHR wishes to express its deep concern over the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Human rights are for all and unless we act equitably, we shall be held responsible for hurting the jurisprudence of the case, the people and the habitat.
In my considered opinion a major part of this failure could be attributed to Hurriyat Conference for its failure to observe a constitutional discipline adopted on 31 July 1993 to:
- “make peaceful struggle to secure the people of the State of Jammu and Kashmir the exercise of the right of self-determination in accordance with the UN Charter and the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council” and
- “make endeavours for an alternative negotiated settlement of the Kashmir dispute…under the auspices of UN or any other friendly countries”.
People who authored a militancy, without any due regard of UN template and the simple fact that the jurisprudence of Kashmir case, rested on a UN supervised count of the living people. A right to life preceded this count. This school remains responsible for precipitating the death of a generation and hurting the habitat, case and all the people.
JKCHR has remained associated with Hurriyat since latter’s participation at the Islamic Summit held in Casablanca in December 1994. Government of India allowed Hurriyat chairman and one senior member Maulvi Abbas Ansari to travel and participate. We made our inputs while in Casablanca, in February 1997 Report and tendered an advice at the international event on “Next Step in Jammu and Kashmir : Give Peace A Chance” in November 2000 jointly organised by International Centre for Peace Initiatives, India and Institute of Regional Studies, Pakistan, that there is a need to ‘re-position’.
In this communication I would therefore restrain from making any comments on militancy, which of course did not fit in the Constitutional Discipline of Hurriyat and the UN template on Kashmir.
Hurriyat claim that it represented various political, social and religious organisations had merit, as it had adequately (but not fully) addressed the principle of inclusivity. In addition the Constitution had very carefully addressed the UN template on Kashmir, and entertained India and Pakistan as parties.
Hurriyat had started reaching out to a sympathetic constituency throughout India. It was allowed to open its Kashmir Awareness Bureau at Malviya Nagar, New Delhi. Delegates from the United Kingdom attending the November 2000 “Give Peace A Chance” event in Delhi visited the Kashmir Awareness Bureau and had an exhaustive interaction with Syed Ali Shah Gilani (Late). I led the delegation.
Kashmir Awareness Bureau was closed down in February 2003, for very unfortunate reasons and under avoidable circumstances. Unfortunately Hurriyat neither challenged the closure of the Bureau in a court nor made any genuine arrangements to secure another premises. Loss of Bureau was loss of a foothold and it was a self-inflicted loss. Government of India has asked the UNMOGIP to move to another premises in the past, but they have refused, to be dislocated. Kashmir Awareness Bureau had not done enough to build a strong constituency and there were not many tears shed. Hurriyat ignored its constitutional duties and mounted itself on a set of roller skates. It became available for easy pushes for people in power in Islamabad (remained detached from the people of Pakistan and the 2.5m Kashmiri refugees living in the four provinces) and caused a serious disadvantage to the people’s right of self-determination. Although it had addressed the UN template in its duties in the constitution, it failed to fix its representative character, and secure an inclusivity as pointed out by Dr. Frank P Grahams in his Report S/2448 submitted to UN SC on 17 January 1952. It failed to build its capacity to represent “people of legend” – “Moslems, Hindus, Sikhs and Christians”.
India has taken an action on 5 August 2019. It does not alter the UN template on Kashmir nor the jurisprudence of her bilateral agreements with the people of Kashmir. Many others (not Hurriyat) have challenged the Indian action in the Supreme Court. Gupkar Alliance has taken up an interim position on it and a vast constituency in India has called the action into question.
UN as back as on 23 December 1952 has duly expressed itself on any such possible action by India or by Pakistan. Netherlands at 611 meeting of UN SC has said, “The Party that would dare to violate an agreement thus reached would load upon itself a very grave offence against the other party, against the United Nations, and against the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to self-determination, a right which, in other contexts, both parties have so often and so eloquently defended”.
Hurriyat has no capacity, expertise or confidence to address the situation caused by Indian action of 5 August 2019. Hurriyat had 26 years from 31 July 1993 to 5 August 2019 when Government of India took an action which is averse to the habitat and the people.
We have a serious situation at hand. We have to defend the four components of Kashmir case. In this regard it is important to carry an audit of our work and failures. Hurriyat has failed as follows:
- for 24 years, it could not to consider the template provided by the offer of Prime Minister Rao at Burkina Fasu that “Sky is the Limit” for a dialogue on 4 November 1995
- for 13 years, it could not consider the four Working Groups on Kashmir, set up by Prime Minister Singh at Srinagar on 24 May 2006
- for 14 years it could not further the dialogue with GOI initiated in January 2004 on the doctrine of ‘Insaniyat, Jamhuriyat, Kashmiriyat’ introduced by Prime Minister Vajpayee in April 2003.
- it could not keep its Kashmir Awareness Bureau in Delhi, beyond 8 years
- for 18 years, it failed to benefit from The State Autonomy Committee Report published in July 2000. The report has a direct bearing on the jurisprudence Kashmir case
failed for 25 years to build on the gains made at the Islamic Summit held in Casablanca in December 1994. GOI had allowed a two member delegation of Hurriyat led by its chairman (the other being Maulvi Abbas Ansari) to attend the Islamic Summit. It was also attended by President Sikandar Hayat Khan and PM Sardar Quayyum Khan from Azad Kashmir. Dr. Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai of KAC and I
- received you at the airport. The Summit was a great success and item 10 of the Kashmir Resolution was very encouraging. Hurriyat failed to build on these interactions.
- Hurriyat became ethereal and out of touch for its own people. It presided over the collapse of 3 Kashmir Centres and its principal constitutional claims made in Chapter II – 2. (i) and (ii) of the Constitution adopted on 31 July 1993 were ignored.
Hurriyat’s big claim of “Aut Caesar aut nullus”, was foolish and had no merit. It did not evince any interest in the people and habitat of Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, or in the work of civil society, unless advised or restrained by elements in Islamabad.
We were surprised to note that IKA Conference held in London on 29 June 2004, did not sit well with senior Hurriyat leadership in Srinagar and it toed the line of Islamabad. It was the first bringing together of State Subjects from all the three administrations and leading people from India and Pakistan to debate an open ended agenda on Kashmir. It was for the first time that Prime Minister of Pakistan was able to meet leading Kashmiris at Commonwealth Institute in London.
Benazir Bhutto addressed the first session of the International Kashmir Conference and said “I am here to convey to you that I and my party are friends of Kashmir and would do anything that would help resolve the issue and ensure a peaceful and prosperous life for Kashmiri people.” She met Dr. Farooq Abdullah and other leading Kashmiris from the Indian side of Kashmir for the first time and went to hotel to express her condolence with Sajjad Lone.
Bashir Manzar in his series titled “When three Kashmiris met in London – IV”
published in Kashmir Images has quoted Benazir as:
“In a lighter vein she said that during function at New Delhi she said that Hurriyat was the representative voice of Kashmir and “Dr Farooq Sahib your son told me that he was elected by Kashmiris and if only Hurriyat leaders were the representatives, who was he? I told him that we don’t dispute anyone’s representative character.”
Commenting on the point made by Sajad that while Benazir had the luxury of mourning her father’s assassination and of talking against the killers, he had not even that luxury, Benazir said: “I am reminded of a meeting with a Hurriyat leader who once told me that India is offering talks to the conglomerate but they are scared. I knew they were scared of ISI.”
Hurriyat had its constitutional duty to gain inclusivity in its representation and the constitution was a compass for any interaction with India and Pakistan. There was no merit in turning away the All Party Indian Parliamentary delegation from your three doors one after the other in September 2016. The delegation was led by Home Minister Raj Nath Singh and included important elected members like Sitaram Yachury (CPM), D Raja (CPI), Sharad Yadav (JDU) and Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM).
It was “unfortunate” to see that Hurriyat which had met the Indian Prime Minister in January and March 2004, had turned averse to its own constitutional duties. Turning away a guest from your door or refusing to enter into a civilised dialogue, on behalf of your people, is a sin. Hurriyat has sinned beyond repair.
It was an extremely disturbing evidence of cowardice that Hurriyat chickened out to defend one of its associates who had acted as its “roller skates” at Casablanca in December 1994, when there was a genuine need of a defence.
Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Chaudhry Abdul Majeed who has never written a full paragraph in English in all his life, was forced to put his signature to an article written by the Establishment and published it on making huge payments in leading English dailies of Pakistan and Websites against one of your associates in December 2011. The PM did not have the courage to say that he would not cause an offence to a citizen of the State.
This person had acted as Advisor to the Government of Pakistan at CHOGM-93 at Limassol, at Islamic Summit in Casablanca, at the 50th Anniversary of UN GA in New York and for whom UNMOGIP chief General Alfanso Passolano flew all the way from Srinagar to have a three hour long meeting at UNMOGIP HQRS in Rawalpindi on 01 October 1996. UNMOGIP chief had a special clearance from UN Secretary General for this meeting.
I have brought in this individual example to make a direct point and prepare myself into a belief, whether a leadership, which is, so scared as pointed out by Benazir Bhutto at the Intra-Kashmir dialogue in London, would ever be able to reassemble itself and be able to defend the UN template on Kashmir. There is no option but to remain useful to our people. There is no running away at this point or reducing ourselves to an amoebic stretch and contract behaviour.
Hurriyat and Militant Leaderships have accrued civil and a criminal liabilities. Death of a generation and the Indian action of 5 August has hurt the UN template, the people and the habitat. Indian Governments of Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Dr. Manmohan Singh in particular and others have offered to engage Hurriyat and Militants, in a dialogue.
BJP Government of course has taken an action on 5 August 2019. Be it so. We have our own case and a counter argument. The jury is still out. BJP has offered a cease-fire and a dialogue to Militants in July 2005 and the militant representatives have had many formal preliminary sessions to prepare for a proper dialogue. Hurriyat leadership has also held two rounds of formal meetings with the BJP Prime Minister in January and March 2004.
Hurriyat has gone silent from 5 August 2019. It has failed to argue its case as described in Chapter II – 2. (i) and (ii) of its constitution that it will:
- “make peaceful struggle to secure the people of the State of Jammu and Kashmir the exercise of the right of self-determination in accordance with the UN Charter and the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council” and
- “make endeavours for an alternative negotiated settlement of the Kashmir dispute…under the auspices of UN or any other friendly countries”.
Hurriyat has to make a well informed decision, to either honour its constitutional discipline in letter and spirit or decide to take a graceful exit, so that we could take stock of the situation and plan ahead. In either case the burden of liabilities continues to remains unaffected.
JKCHR has never left Hurriyat or non Hurriyat Kashmiri leadership in the lurch. Our work is known to the UN for the last 32 years and to AJK Government for the last 35 years. Government of Pakistan has known about JKCHR work for the last 30 years, when the President of Pakistan Ghulam Ishaq Khan received a 5-member JKCHR delegation at the Presidency on 19 October 1992.
Government of India has known about our work since June 1993, when JKCHR represented the Unrepresented Peoples and Nations of the World at the UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna and contributed at the November 2000 event held in Delhi on “Give Peace A Chance” jointly organised by International Centre for Peace Initiatives, India and Institute of Regional Studies, Pakistan and for our lead step to organise an Intra Kashmir Dialogue at the Commonwealth Institute in London in July 2004. JKCHR had the chair of IKA. India, Pakistan and Hurriyat should not have a difficulty in assessing the gravity of the concern.
Please note that I shall be sharing this document with other party heads, organizations and individuals who keep an interest in the jurisprudence of Jammu and Kashmir case.
Yours Sincerely
Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani
President-JKCHR
