Growing extremism and terrorism and its impact on Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir, speech of Dr Shabir Choudhry in a conference arranged by Jammu Kashmir International People’s Alliance on 13 March 2015 in Geneva

Growing extremism and terrorism and its impact on Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir, speech of Dr Shabir Choudhry in a conference arranged by Jammu

Kashmir International People’s Alliance on 13 March 2015 in Geneva

Title of the Conference is: Growing extremism and terrorism and its impact on Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Chairman, friends and colleagues aslamo alaikam and very good evening.

Despite war on terrorism and extensive counter terrorism measures; and death of tens of thousands of innocent people and destruction of property of billions of dollars, terrorism still continues to pose a major threat to international peace and security. Furthermore, terrorism openly and consistently undermines the core values of all major religions, cultures, and liberal and democratic societies.

The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy was adopted by Member States on 8 September 2006; and it strongly condemns ‘terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes, as it constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security’.

However, The Counter Terrorism Strategy Reaffirms ‘that terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group’.

Clearly that means Terrorism has no religion; and culprits can fool people in name of religion but in actual fact they are not promoting the cause of any religion. Their plan is to inflict fear, terrorise people in to subjugation and advance their own political and economic agenda.

Terrorism is planned to attack and undermine human rights and fundamental freedoms of citizens available in all democratic societies. Furthermore, terrorism threatens security and territorial integrity of states; that in turn force governments to adopt counter terrorism measures which also infringe civil liberties.

The United Nations encourage governments to strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and urge governments to take urgent and appropriate measures to combat  and eradicate terrorism which endangers peace and security of the world.

However, some governments despite being members of the UN are openly and consistently violating noble ideals of the UN and human rights; and sad thing is they get away with it as well. They promote violence, extremism, religious intolerance; and they export terrorism to other countries.

Mr Chairman

It is unfortunate that a country which was created in name of Islam, and now known as Islamic Republic of Pakistan is also responsible for promoting extremism and terrorism through the terror infrastructure they have created. The terror groups they have created had no plan to advance cause of human rights or to serve humanity or to promote any religion. Their aim was to use weapons and threat of violence to subjugate people. They promote sectarian values, promote religious intolerance and hatred. They deliberately target minorities, kill innocent people and burn down their places of worship.

All this is clearly against the teaching of Islam. Sad thing is despite these crimes some people call Pakistan a fort of Islam; reality however, is that some Muslims are systematically killed there. If even Muslims are not safe, then one can visualise what could be plight of non - Muslims in this country.

In view of many experts on terrorism Pakistan is a hub of extremism and terrorism. Secret agencies promote extremism and terrorism to divide people and spread hatred; and use their proxies to commit acts of terrorism in various parts of Pakistan and in neighbouring countries.

Islam does not justify killing of other human beings and destroying of their places of worship. Overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world express their support for democracy, equality for all and religious tolerance. However, a tiny minority with misplaced loyalty and tunnel vision is determined to impose its will by use of force and by derailing democracy, and by targeting those who promote tolerance, equality and fairness.

True, these fanatics target religious minorities as well, but if we look at facts they have killed many more Muslims than non-Muslims. A report published by Combating Terrorism Center at West Point in 2009 asserted that between 2004-2008, 88% victims of Al- Qaida were Muslims; and 12% were Westerners.

(Source: CNN article).

Mr Chairman

Constitution of Pakistan explicitly guarantees to protect the rights of non-Muslim citizens; and Article 20 reads ‘Every citizen shall have the right to profess, practise and propagate his religion’.

And section B states, ‘Every religious denomination and every sect thereof shall have the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions’.

Now let us look at what reputable international human rights organisations say about situation in Pakistan. Amnesty International, in its recent annual report for year 2014/15 strongly criticised Pakistan and I quote:

‘Religious minorities continued to face laws and practices that resulted in their discrimination and persecution. Abuses connected with the blasphemy laws occurred regularly during the year as demonstrated in several high profile cases’. Unquote

Human Rights Watch, another international human rights organisation in its World Report of 2015, narrated the plight of minorities, and I quote: ‘Pakistan’s government did little to stop the rising toll of killings and repression by extremist groups that target religious minorities”…the government is failing at the most basic duty of government — to protect the safety of its citizens and enforce rule of law. Institutionalised discrimination fostered violent attacks on religious minorities’. Unquote.

Even the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan strongly criticised Pakistan on its human rights record. In its annual report, HRCP asserts, and I quote:

‘Pakistan’s record in protecting members of its religious and sectarian minorities from faith-based violence and discrimination has been far from impressive in recent years. In fact, the year under review saw continuation of the recent trend of violence and impunity that seemed to reinforce each other. The growing problems for the minorities came from extremist militant groups seeking to justify violence and brutalities in the name of religion. Secondly, the challenges came from the local factors; and finally, from the government’s failure to protect members of minority religions and sects from faith-based violence or to confront hate speech, intimidation or intolerance. This year also nothing was done to weed out discrimination against non-Muslim citizens written into law or to introduce safeguards widely acknowledged to be needed in order to prevent abuse of the blasphemy law’. Unquote

Mr Chairman

Reports of these reputable human rights organisations clearly endorse the view that some ethnic groups in Pakistan, which include Muslims as well, are not safe. Terrorist groups under the patronage of officials systematically harass, intimidate and kill members of ethnic minorities; and the state which has a responsibility to protect all of its citizens is not discharging its responsibilities to protect people and to make culprits accountable.

Extremism and religious intolerance have deep roots in Pakistan; and it look extremism and terrorism have become an industry in Pakistan. Leaders of terrorist groups are treated with respect and honour; and no one dares to question their authority.

A report published in Foxnews.com calls Dar Ul Uloom Haqqania – meaning House of Knowledge and Truthfulness, ‘ivory tower of terrorism, a jihadist factory’. This is also known as “University of Jihad”, and Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is a ‘Principal’, and he is also known as a God father of Lashker e Taiba, a notorious terrorist group. No one in Pakistan dares to challenge his authority. This institution has produced prominent militants and jihadi warriors, and among its graduates include likes of Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar and Jalaluddin Haqqani, founder of the dreaded Haqqani Network. 1

The campus of this ‘Jihadi factory’ is size of four football fields, and has many buildings under their use where more than 3500 students live and study. Over the years they have provided thousands of militants to fight a proxy war for Pakistan. They have also produced thousands of clerics who spread hatred and religious intolerance; and radicalise the society.2

Growing extremism and terrorism means more problems for Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir. It means more innocent people will lose their lives. There will be more instability in Pakistan and in the region. Terrorist groups will become stronger and will dominate all aspects of life in Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir. It also means life of religious minorities will become a living hell as they will be targeted and killed.

In name of Jihad in Kashmir and elsewhere, these terror groups will commit acts of violence which will seriously result in abuse of human rights and perpetuate our suffering and miseries.

A Pakistani cleric Maulana Akram Awan has a large following in Pakistan; and many of his followers are part of the ruling elite in Pakistan. At one time he was also committed to Jihad in Kashmir; and for this purpose he formulated Al-Akhwan Jihad Force and collaborated with Lashkar E Tayaba. Later on in life he had a change of mind and he expressed his views in international journal, ‘News Pakistan’, New York in August 2000, and I quote:

‘No Jihadi outfit has the capacity to snatch Kashmir from India. Operations by these outfits like killing four, eight or ten Indian soldiers from time to time only have repercussions of further atrocities on the people of Kashmir by Indian forces. Their houses are looted and their women are raped. Who is responsible for this situation? And there is another aspect of the problem: what are we going to do with Kashmir if we manage to free from India? Any of these Jihadi outfits might establish a separate state of Kashmir. Where there is social justice in Pakistan so that Kashmiris would like to have an accession with us.’ 3

Mr Chairman

This is a candid admission that militants of Pakistan and secret agencies of Pakistan through their proxies create situation where Indian forces react and commit human rights abuses. There is no evidence that the Indian army or Para - military forces entered houses of people in Kashmir before the proxy war started in 1988/9. What this means is that this proxy war has not helped people of Jammu and Kashmir; and if anything they have added to our miseries and suffering. Therefore, this proxy war, violence, religious hatred and militancy must stop, as it is very seriously hurting innocent people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Chairman, I thank you.

References:

1.         At Pakistan’s Taliban University Jihadists major in Anti – Americanism By Sib Kaifee Published February 08, 2014 FoxNews.com

2.         Ibid

3.         Interview Maulana Mohammad Akram Awan, Daily Pakistan, Lahore Magazine, 10 August 2000. Also see Punjabi Taliban, by Mujahid Hussain, page 90

-- 

Dr Shabir Choudhry

 Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) said: "Say what is true, although it may be bitter and displeasing to people."

-- 

It is difficult to liberate fools who respect their chains, Voltaire

Turkey, Terrorism and the Global Proxy War, by Eric Draister

Turkey, Terrorism and the Global Proxy War, by Eric Draister

(April 2014 rally in Petates, Turkey. Photo courtesy Miguel Carminati / wikipedia.)

While the world's attention has been fixed on France in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo killings, the subsequent manhunt, and the political fallout from the incident, a number of important news items have quietly been pushed off the front pages of the world's major newspapers, and out of the lead segments of television news programs all over the globe. In Nigeria, Boko Haram reemerges with a vengeance, committing one of the worst atrocities in the recent history of the region. In Syria and Iraq, the war against the Islamic State continues unabated. In Greece, an all-important election that could have dire implications for the future of the European Union is set to take place.

And quietly, with almost no fanfare from international media, reports surfaced from China indicating that Chinese authorities had arrested at least ten Turkish suspects alleged to have organized and facilitated the illegal border crossings of a number of Uighur [Muslim ethnic group in Western China] extremists. It has further been revealed that the Uighur extremists were planning to travel to Syria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan to train and fight with fellow jihadis.

While the details of the investigation have not been fully revealed as yet, the incident points to a much larger issue than simply a few Turks being involved in document forgery and illegal immigration. Rather, the story is still further evidence of a well-funded, well-organized international terror network operated and/or facilitated by the Turkish government and Turkish intelligence. From the hosting of extremist fighters along the Syrian border to providing material support to terrorists in China, Turkey has placed itself at the center of an international terror war aimed at countries that oppose NATO and stand in the way of the Neo-Ottoman vision that President Erdogan and Prime Minister Davutoglu have for Turkey.

What We Know and Why It Matters

According to the Turkish foreign ministry, the ten Turkish citizens were arrested in Shanghai on November 17, 2014 for facilitating illegal immigration. While the formal charges against them range from forging documents to actually aiding illegal migration, it is the larger question of international terrorism that lurks beneath the surface. Because of course, as the evidence seems to indicate, these Uighur immigrants were not merely traveling to see loved ones in another country. On the contrary, they were likely part of a previously documented trend of Uighur extremists traveling to the Middle East to train and fight with the Islamic State or other terror groups.

In fact, precisely this trend was exposed two months earlier in September 2014 when Reuters reported that Beijing formally accused militant Uighurs from Xinjiang of having traveled to Islamic State-controlled territory to receive training. Further corroborating these accusations, the Jakarta Post of Indonesia reported that four Chinese Uighur jihadists had been arrested in Indonesia after having travelled from Xinjiang through Malaysia. Other, similar reports have also surfaced in recent months, painting a picture of a concerted campaign to help Uighur extremists travel throughout Asia, communicating and collaborating with transnational terror groups such as IS.

Now, with these latest revelations regarding Turkish nationals being involved in the trafficking of extremists, it seems an invaluable piece of the terrorist transit infrastructure has been exposed. The lingering question of course remains: Why?

Why would Turkey - a country that has long sought to play both sides of the East-West divide (fast becoming a NATO-BRICS/SCO divide) - seek to destabilize China in this way? Why risk a potentially lucrative partnership with Beijing to help a radical fringe Islamist movement in Xinjiang?

Turkey's Ottoman Revanchism

While Ankara's policy of fomenting regional conflict through terrorism might seem counter-intuitive given Turkey's economic and political interests today, and the importance of positive relations with non-Western countries, the policy actually makes perfect sense if seen from the Neo-Ottoman perspective.

Perhaps here it is critical to define "Neo-Ottoman" as simply the term used to describe the desire of Turkey's current government to reunify the Turkic peoples spread from Istanbul, through Central Asia, and into Western China. As such, Erdogan and Davutoglu see the Xinjiang jihadis of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM aka "The Chinese Taliban") and similar groups, not as Chinese terrorists, but as Turkey's lost children in desperate need of reunion with their historic homeland. Though of course such thinking smacks of neocolonialism, it is not entirely unpopular in Turkey, especially with the more conservative base of Erdogan's support.

The political marketability of Turkish revanchism is critical to understanding why it is being pursued. Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) have galvanized a wide segment of the population that has become ever more skeptical of the liberalism of the West, and its perceived pernicious effects on Turkish society. In turn this stokes a militaristic and aggressive foreign policy posture as Erdogan trades in the currency of "respect" and "honor." As The Atlantic reported in 2013:

But beyond foreign policy there lies a much more significant domestic transformation, one that is also driven by history. In that same speech, the foreign minister spoke of the need for a "great restoration" where "we need to embrace fully the ancient values we have lost." Praising the historic bonds that connected the peoples of Turkey over the "new identities that were thrust upon us in the modern era," Davutoglu maintained that the road to Turkey's progress lies in its past - an assertion that has terrified the government's detractors enough for them to make it a losing political platform each new election.

But when one considers precisely which countries and which peoples are affected by this Turkish revanchist thinking, the foreign policy fingerprints of the West - the US specifically - immediately become apparent.

The West Writes the Policy, Turkey Does the Dirty Work

The more one looks at a map of the "Turkic peoples," the more obvious it becomes that Turkish revanchism - or Neo-Ottomanism - is a foreign policy that is perfectly aligned with the US as its main targets are Russia and China. Indeed, such a conclusion becomes unavoidable when one considers that the Turkic peoples cut a wide swath across both Russian and Chinese spheres of influence. From the former Soviet Republics of Central Asia to Xinjiang in Western China, the Turkic population becomes a massive hotbed of potential terrorism, secessionism, and destabilization. Moreover, as the US formally exits Afghanistan (remaining informally in a variety of capacities, of course), its ability to directly influence and/or control events on the ground in Central Asia is diminished considerably.

The US has long supported terrorist groups throughout the Caucasus region as a means of destabilizing and otherwise controlling Russia, and stifling its political and economic development. The same is true in Xinjiang, China where the US has, through the National Endowment for Democracy and a number of other "democracy promotion NGOs," financially and politically supported Uighur separatist groups for years. However, now that Turkey has become a regional player looking to assert its own hegemony, Washington seems to be perfectly content to allow precisely that strategy to play out to the detriment of Russia and China.

And perhaps a good indicator of precisely this thinking from the US comes in the fact that repeated, large-scale terror attacks in Xinjiang, and Western China generally, go almost unmentioned by the Western media. For instance, in May 2014, 31 Chinese civilians were killed in a terror attack on a market in Xinjiang. Almost triple the body count of the Charlie Hebdo killings, but barely a mention in the West. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that the West must always present China as the aggressor, never the victim of terrorism. Beyond double-standards, such hypocrisy illustrates the insidiously cynical mindset of Western "planners" who see any destabilization of China as a net gain for their hegemony.

The US Wins When China and Russia Lose

Ultimately it is geopolitics and economics that is dictating the Western (and by extension, Turkish) foreign policy agenda in Central Asia and China. It is an attempt to stifle the economic development of both Russia and China, and prevent the two powers from continuing on their dual paths of cooperation and regional integration. Seen in this way, Turkey becomes a giant wedge used to keep Russia and China apart, but also to keep China and Europe apart. There is much wizardry taking place behind the proverbial curtain.

In the context of China, Washington's primary objective is to prevent it from expanding the infrastructure of its economic development not only in Asia, but especially to Europe. Primary among the Chinese grand projects is the 'New Silk Road' - an ambitious project that would link China and Europe via land using high-speed trains, new airports, and a vast distribution network. Such a development would transform global trade as China would no longer be forced to rely almost entirely on commercial shipping, a sphere dominated by the naval power and influence of the US.

A key linchpin in the New Silk Road is the western Chinese city of Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang province. As Duan Zixin, general manager of the Xinjiang Airport Group explained:

"We believe the new international airport in the regional capital of Urumqi will be operational by 2020, and will become one of the most influential aviation hubs in Central Asia... Our focus is to launch new routes connecting Xinjiang with key trade centers in Central Asia, East Asia, and Europe. It will be a Silk Road in the air."

The expansion of airports, combined with the proposal to use Urumqi as a rail hub on the New Silk Road distribution network, has thrust Xinjiang into the center of China's plans for global economic expansion. It is precisely this fact that has made the destabilization of Xinjiang a top priority for the US and its regional ally Turkey. By financing, training, and providing material support to ETIM and other extremist groups in the region, the West hopes to make Xinjiang not viable for economic development, thereby derailing China's plans.

Similarly, Russia has begun implementing its major plans in Central Asia, specifically with the establishment and expansion of the Eurasian Economic Union - a regional economic union that includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Armenia, with Kyrgyzstan set to join this year, and Tajikistan having expressed interest as well. Considering the geographic immensity of the area covered by the EEU, one cannot help but see it as fundamental to the success of China's 'New Silk Road'. In fact, both Russian and Chinese planners have long since recognized this natural partnership and mutually beneficial development trajectory.

Recent massive energy contracts signed between Russia and China, including commitments to invest large sums in pipeline infrastructure development both in the west - where the Altai Pipeline not so coincidentally will terminate in Xinjiang - and the east, have made Washington increasingly nervous. Naturally, the US sees the potential inherent in such cooperation which ultimately could make even Europe an unreliable ally for the US; it will do anything it can to prevent Russia-China cooperation from being fully realized.

And so, Turkey is given more or less free rein by the West to pursue its Neo-Ottoman strategy using the same tried and true methods of the US: sponsoring terrorism, fomenting civil war, and breeding chaos for the purposes of 'crisis management.' This has led to countless deaths in Syria, and undeniably will lead to more in the future. It has created divisions and conflict in the Middle East, yet another net gain for the US and its closest regional allies, Israel and Turkey. It puts Russia and China directly in the crosshairs of the Empire. And, it would seem, that has always been the goal.

Originally published by New Eastern Outlook.

Eric Draitser is an independent geopolitical analyst based in New York City, he is the founder of StopImperialism.org and OP-ed columnist for RT, exclusively for the online magazine "New Eastern Outlook".

http://www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/2015/02/23/turkey-terroris.php

Speech of Dr Shabir Choudhry in a seminar during 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council - March 2015. SEMINAR ARRANGED BY AIPD-GL (ACTION INTERNATIONALE POUR LA PAIX ET LE DEVELOPPEMENT DANS LA REGION DES GRANDS LACS)

Speech of Dr Shabir Choudhry in a seminar during 28^th session of the UN Human Rights Council - March 2015. SEMINAR ARRANGED BY AIPD-GL (ACTION INTERNATIONALE POUR LA PAIX ET LE DEVELOPPEMENT DANS LA REGION DES GRANDS LACS)

 HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN SOUTH ASIA - THURSDAY 12 MARCH 2015

Mr Chairman, friends and colleagues aslamo alaikam and very good morning to you all.

In the short time allocated to me, it won’t be possible to encompass all aspects of human rights abuses in South Asia; however, I will try to highlight some of the problems we face in so called Azad Kashmir. Like Gilgit Baltistan, this area is also legally part of the former State of Jammu and Kashmir; and does not belong to India or Pakistan.

We people living in areas of the State occupied by Pakistan are still deprived of fundamental human rights. How sad that despite being a member of the United Nations and a signatory to different declarations on human rights, Pakistani officials openly defy all their obligations on human rights.

I acknowledge that even people of Pakistan are denied various rights, and some groups in Pakistan are systematically targeted and killed because of ethnic and religious reasons. There are some people who try to tacitly justify Pakistani crimes in Jammu and Kashmir by saying that Pakistan has some serious problems and even Pakistani people are suffering. These people forget that Pakistan’s problems are because of their illogical and wrong policies; and we people of Jammu and Kashmir should not be punished for their follies.

Mr Chairman

Right of expression is a fundamental human right; and no society can make progress by suppressing this right. We in Pakistani Occupied Kashmir cannot even complain that we are occupied or expose Pakistani abuses and exploitation of our resources.

Two years ago Mr Arif Shahid was killed in Rawalpindi. We demanded that his killers should be found and punished. Sadly, our pleas and demands fell on deaf ears. Last year I wrote a book called:

Why Arif Shahid was killed? This book was banned by puppet government of Azad Kashmir on instructions from Islamabad. Office of the publisher of the book, Mr Rafiq Khawaja, who is also President of Kashmir National Party for Mirpur district, was raided. His staff was harassed and all the books confiscated. We are taking them to court, but we know the outcome of this petition.

Abdul Hakeem, President of Kashmir National Party Muzaffarabad district, wrote a book on Kashmir last year. This book was also banned on orders of Islamic Republic of Pakistan which claims to speak for people of Jammu and Kashmir and believes in democracy – one can say this is a Pakistani democracy, which is designed to oppress people.

Another Kashmiri writer and a researcher Mohammed Saeed Asad wrote a book called: ‘Book of knowledge on Kashmir’. This book was also banned. He published a map of the former State of Jammu and Kashmir, showing exactly what area is occupied by which country. This map was also banned last month.

A lady called Farzana Yaqoob, who is a daughter of President of this Pakistani colony; and lives in Switzerland, and holds a ministerial post in so called Azad Kashmir. A few days ago she summoned Saeed Asad in her office and reprimanded him for publishing the map. This genius lady has reported to have said, since you live in Azad Kashmir and work in Azad Kashmir, you should only publish maps about Azad Kashmir and not other parts of Jammu and Kashmir State.

It looks that Farzana Yaqoob has not learnt anything from a democratic and civilised society of Switzerland. She has not learnt that you cannot deny people their fundamental right to hold an opinion and express it. When she comes to the UN Human Rights session, she is more interested about rights of people of Jammu and Kashmir on the other side of the divide; and least concerned about the plight of the people living under Pakistani control.

That shows she is not a true human rights defender; but a defender of interests of Islamabad at the cost of Kashmiri interests. All those who serve interests of Islamabad need to wake up and understand that the country has very bleak future; and the ruling elite of that country knows it well, and that is why they have all economic interests outside in other countries.

They know the country has no respect in comity of nations. They stand alone in the entire world on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir because of their erroneous policies and out of date strategies. Other countries know Pakistan is also an occupier. They know Pakistan is not a well wisher of people of Jammu and Kashmir. Despite that some people of Jammu and Kashmir either because of economic interests or misplaced loyalty protect and promote the interest of Islamabad.

These ministers and so called Azad Kashmir government is controlled by Pakistani officials known as Lent Officers, namely Chief Secretary, IG Police, Finance Secretary and Accountant General. Further control is exerted through Ministry of Kashmir Affairs; and Azad Kashmir government officials find themselves at their mercy. Apart from that more than 20 secret agencies operate in these areas to ensure that no one tries to expose Pakistan’s Kashmir policy.

Moreover, Kashmir Council which is chaired by Prime Minister of Pakistan and Pakistani Ministers control everything of importance. Azad Kashmiri government cannot take any decision or challenge decisions of the Kashmir Council on 52 important policy areas. This in practise means they are in worse position politically and administratively than Kashmir under the occupation of India.

Despite these bitter facts, some people of Jammu and Kashmir propagate that areas under Pakistani control, namely Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir are not under occupation. Many people think they have either strong economic and political interests with Pakistan, or they are unable to distinguish between occupation and independence.

One can say this is a modern form of ghulami or slavery, where an enslaved person does not feel he is enslaved, if anything he takes pride in his status in order to be in good books of his political masters. We people of Jammu and Kashmiri must call spade a spade and struggle against all those who occupy us and deny us right to independence.

Mr Chairman, I thank you.

Writer is a political analyst, TV anchor and author of many books and booklets. Also he is Director Institute of Kashmir Affairs.Email:drshabirchoudhry@gmail.com 

HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN SOUTH ASIA, Dr Shabir Choudhry explained situation of human rights in Pakistan and Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, in a seminar during 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council on 13 March 2015

HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN SOUTH ASIA

Dr Shabir Choudhry explained situation of human rights in Pakistan and Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, in a seminar during 28^th session of the UN Human Rights Council on 13 March 2015

Mr Chairman, friends and colleagues aslamo alaikam and very good morning to you all.

It is sad to note that human rights situation is not getting better in South Asia. Be it in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan or in other countries of the region, state and non state actors are committing human rights abuses. Extremism, violence and religious intolerance is increasing; and people are denied of their fundamental rights.

People in position of power can always protect their rights; but ordinary people in society suffer the most, especially in a society where there are weak state institutions and no equality or rule of law. In undemocratic countries laws could be there, but there is no implementation and people continue to suffer.

This is more so in countries like Pakistan which has democracy in name only; and they continue to sponsor extremist policies and use non state actors as proxies to advance their agenda. The UN urge states and I quote:

‘To promote a culture of peace, justice and human development, ethnic, national and religious tolerance, and respect for all religions, religious values, beliefs or cultures by establishing and encouraging, as appropriate, education and public awareness programmes involving all sectors of society’. Unquote

Instead of promoting a culture of peace, ethnic and religious tolerance, in Pakistan we witness a policy of promoting extremism, terrorism and religious intolerance, where members of religious minorities are persecuted by fanatic religious groups; and authorities cannot even provide protection to these people, or prosecute the culprits because of fear of reprisals.

In some cases, some officials think what has happened to these victims is somehow justified because they believe in a different God; and what they practise is different to what they believe and practise. They hold these views because their minds are conditioned due to many years of negative propaganda against religious minorities. In this case, countries like India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan etc could also be held responsible for injustice and persecution of religious minorities.

Mr Chairman

First responsibility of a government is to protect life, property and liberty of all its citizens. However, when state patronage is available to promote extremism and terrorism; and terrorist groups are regarded as holy warriors and strategic assets, then ordinary people suffer. Even people with high status in society could also pay a big price for following a religion which is at variance with fanatics who are pursuing policies that are against interests of the ruling elite.

We people of Jammu and Kashmir State are forcibly divided; and suffer on both sides of the divide. We suffer when Pakistani trained militant uses his gun; or when a member of the Indian Para - military forces uses his gun. We suffer when Pakistani army uses guns on Line Of Control; and we also suffer when the Indian army use their guns. We are sandwiched between two competing countries; hence we are forcibly divided, occupied and oppressed.

On the Indian side of the divide, at least, people can express their views. They can criticise New Delhi, condemn their policies, hold public meetings and rallies, throw stones at them and even burn their national flag. On the Pakistani side of the divide we cannot even protest peacefully.

It must be made clear that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is disputed; and we people of the former Princely State will have the final say on future of Jammu and Kashmir. Gilgit Baltistan and so called Azad Kashmir are not part of Pakistan; and we must have every right to express our opinion on that, and protest against imperialist policies of Islamabad.

Leaders of an alliance called, All Parties National Alliance held a peaceful public meeting in Gilgit to protest against wrong policies of Islamabad. No one was carrying guns or stones. No one burnt a Pakistani flag or even used derogatory language against Pakistani rulers, yet 19 leaders who were present there were charged under seditions laws; among them include 3 leaders of Kashmir National Party.

Question is, if we are not legally part of Pakistan, and we feel we are occupied, then how could it be sedition to express our opinion on this matter?

Kashmir National Party leaders have decided to go back to Gilgit Baltistan in protest and challenge the authorities. It is possible that ruthless secret agencies and their proxies could eliminate these people or, at minimum, imprison them, just like they have jailed innocent people like Baba Jan on fake charges. Baba Jan and his colleagues were only demanding that people uprooted by floods should be rehabilitated. Authorities in this Pakistani colony did not like this, and they charged them for sedition and tried them in anti terrorist courts and imprisoned them.

Just imagine, a peaceful protest for rehabilitation of uprooted people is deemed as terrorism in this Pakistani colony; but killing of Salman Taseer, a Governor of Punjab by Mumtaz Qadri, a fanatic who was employed to protect his life, is not regarded as terrorism. How could one get justice and equality in a country like Pakistan, or anyone with common sense wish to accede to this country which has no future and with atrocious record on human rights?

Mr Chairman

Just like right of expression, a right to assemble and a right to travel is also a fundamental right. The authorities in Pakistan don’t allow this right to be exercised by those who criticise wrong policies of Pakistan which are designed to produce more extremists and terrorists. The prime example of this is in the case of Mr. Abdul Qadeer, known as Mama Qadeer, General Secretary of Voice of Baloch Missing Persons, Ms Farzana Majeed and one activist, Ms Faiqa Baloch from proceeding to New York, USA, to attend a conference on human rights violations in Balochistan and Sindh.

None of these people had any criminal record; nor they were required in any court of law, yet the democratic government of Islamic Republic of Pakistan abruptly put their names in the Exit Control List (ECL) without giving any reasons as to why they were put on ECL list.

When it comes to inequality and injustice no one can rival Pakistani officials; name of Faiqa Baloch was not included in the ECL, but she was also not allowed to travel to the USA. Message was loud and clear, how dare you go to the USA and talk about thousands of missing Balochi people, which will expose Pakistani policies in Balochistan and Sindh?

As I said earlier, Pakistani governments and their proxies have a great experience in creating extremisms and terrorists of future. By this heavy handedness and by application of Protection of Pakistan Ordinance and military courts, they will surely abuse fundamental human rights in various parts of Pakistan, in Azad Kashmir and in Gilgit Baltistan; however, it is certain that they will also create extremists and terrorists of future too.

Mr Chairman, I thank you.

Speech of Dr Shabir Choudhry in a seminar during 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council

Speech of Dr Shabir Choudhry in a seminar during 28^th session of the UN Human Rights Council - March 2015. SEMINAR ARRANGED BY AIPD-GL (ACTION INTERNATIONALE POUR LA PAIX ET LE DEVELOPPEMENT DANS LA REGION DES GRANDS LACS)

 HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN SOUTH ASIA - THURSDAY 12 MARCH 2015

Mr Chairman, friends and colleagues aslamo alaikam and very good morning to you all.

In the short time allocated to me, it won’t be possible to encompass all aspects of human rights abuses in South Asia; however, I will try to highlight some of the problems we face in so called Azad Kashmir. Like Gilgit Baltistan, this area is also legally part of the former State of Jammu and Kashmir; and does not belong to India or Pakistan.

We people living in areas of the State occupied by Pakistan are still deprived of fundamental human rights. How sad that despite being a member of the United Nations and a signatory to different declarations on human rights, Pakistani officials openly defy all their obligations on human rights.

I acknowledge that even people of Pakistan are denied various rights, and some groups in Pakistan are systematically targeted and killed because of ethnic and religious reasons. There are some people who try to tacitly justify Pakistani crimes in Jammu and Kashmir by saying that Pakistan has some serious problems and even Pakistani people are suffering. These people forget that Pakistan’s problems are because of their illogical and wrong policies; and we people of Jammu and Kashmir should not be punished for their follies.

Mr Chairman

Right of expression is a fundamental human right; and no society can make progress by suppressing this right. We in Pakistani Occupied Kashmir cannot even complain that we are occupied or expose Pakistani abuses and exploitation of our resources.

Two years ago Mr Arif Shahid was killed in Rawalpindi. We demanded that his killers should be found and punished. Sadly, our pleas and demands fell on deaf ears. Last year I wrote a book called:

Why Arif Shahid was killed? This book was banned by puppet government of Azad Kashmir on instructions from Islamabad. Office of the publisher of the book, Mr Rafiq Khawaja, who is also President of Kashmir National Party for Mirpur district, was raided. His staff was harassed and all the books confiscated. We are taking them to court, but we know the outcome of this petition.

Abdul Hakeem, President of Kashmir National Party Muzaffarabad district, wrote a book on Kashmir last year. This book was also banned on orders of Islamic Republic of Pakistan which claims to speak for people of Jammu and Kashmir and believes in democracy – one can say this is a Pakistani democracy, which is designed to oppress people.

Another Kashmiri writer and a researcher Mohammed Saeed Asad wrote a book called: ‘Book of knowledge on Kashmir’. This book was also banned. He published a map of the former State of Jammu and Kashmir, showing exactly what area is occupied by which country. This map was also banned last month.

A lady called Farzana Yaqoob, who is a daughter of President of this Pakistani colony; and lives in Switzerland, and holds a ministerial post in so called Azad Kashmir. A few days ago she summoned Saeed Asad in her office and reprimanded him for publishing the map. This genius lady has reported to have said, since you live in Azad Kashmir and work in Azad Kashmir, you should only publish maps about Azad Kashmir and not other parts of Jammu and Kashmir State.

It looks that Farzana Yaqoob has not learnt anything from a democratic and civilised society of Switzerland. She has not learnt that you cannot deny people their fundamental right to hold an opinion and express it. When she comes to the UN Human Rights session, she is more interested about rights of people of Jammu and Kashmir on the other side of the divide; and least concerned about the plight of the people living under Pakistani control.

That shows she is not a true human rights defender; but a defender of interests of Islamabad at the cost of Kashmiri interests. All those who serve interests of Islamabad need to wake up and understand that the country has very bleak future; and the ruling elite of that country knows it well, and that is why they have all economic interests outside in other countries.

They know the country has no respect in comity of nations. They stand alone in the entire world on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir because of their erroneous policies and out of date strategies. Other countries know Pakistan is also an occupier. They know Pakistan is not a well wisher of people of Jammu and Kashmir. Despite that some people of Jammu and Kashmir either because of economic interests or misplaced loyalty protect and promote the interest of Islamabad.

These ministers and so called Azad Kashmir government is controlled by Pakistani officials known as Lent Officers, namely Chief Secretary, IG Police, Finance Secretary and Accountant General. Further control is exerted through Ministry of Kashmir Affairs; and Azad Kashmir government officials find themselves at their mercy. Apart from that more than 20 secret agencies operate in these areas to ensure that no one tries to expose Pakistan’s Kashmir policy.

Moreover, Kashmir Council which is chaired by Prime Minister of Pakistan and Pakistani Ministers control everything of importance. Azad Kashmiri government cannot take any decision or challenge decisions of the Kashmir Council on 52 important policy areas. This in practise means they are in worse position politically and administratively than Kashmir under the occupation of India.

Despite these bitter facts, some people of Jammu and Kashmir propagate that areas under Pakistani control, namely Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir are not under occupation. Many people think they have either strong economic and political interests with Pakistan, or they are unable to distinguish between occupation and independence.

One can say this is a modern form of ghulami or slavery, where an enslaved person does not feel he is enslaved, if anything he takes pride in his status in order to be in good books of his political masters. We people of Jammu and Kashmiri must call spade a spade and struggle against all those who occupy us and deny us right to independence.

Mr Chairman, I thank you.

Writer is a political analyst, TV anchor and author of many books and booklets. Also he is Director Institute of Kashmir Affairs.Email:drshabirchoudhry@gmail.com