Conflict

Protest in AMU against civilian killings in Kashmir, Students’ Union sends memorandum to President of India saying situation ‘explosive’

Srinagar: Aligarh Muslim University’s Student’s Union held a protest against the civilian killings and escalation of violence in Kashmir on Wednesday.

In a memorandum to the President of India, AMU Students’ Union expressed its shock over the killing of seven civilians Pulwama by the armed forces calling it unbearable and highly regrettable.

In their memorandum, students demanded that the iron fist policy should be immediately revoked and the policy of love and care must be adopted with the people of Jammu and Kashmir.  They also pointed out that the armed forces should maintain restrain and prevent the civilian causalities.

“The law should be allowed to take its course and all the civilian killing should be probed through credible investigation,” the memorandum said.

“All of the civilians had bullet wounds above their waist – on head, abdomen or chest. A bullet had made a deep hole in the neck of one of the civilians. Since last three days, the majority of the places in the state are observing shutdown or have been put under curfew like restrictions. As per the information of Ministry of Home Affairs, 587 incidents of violence have been reported in J&K in 2018 alone, and that civilian deaths have increased by a staggering 167% as compared to 2016. India’s conscience cannot attain peace after killing the unarmed civilians,” the memorandum added.

While mentioning about 19 month old Hiba, Kashmir’s youngest pellet victim, the AMU students called for banning the use of pellet guns in the valley. The memorandum said that the use of pellet guns on civilians has dented the image of India at the international level.

“Only weeks before, Hiba Jan, the 19 month-old baby was hit with pellets in her eye, when she was in the lap of her mother in her native village, Kapran in South Kashmir, and doctors are not sure about the future of her eye sight. Use of pellet-firing shotguns, which are 12-gauge pump-action shotguns that fire metal pellets have dented the image of India at the international level after they caused death of over a dozen people and injured more than 6,000 including nearly 800 with eye injuries. These days the visuals of the burning houses in the cold winter are also disturbing. The situation in Kashmir is not an ordinary one.”

Talking about the United Nations Report on Kashmir, the memorandum said, “India is seen in a bad light at the international level when it comes to the handling the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The report by UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) earned a fierce denial by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), however the fact remains that all is not well in Kashmir, and that denial is not an answer to the situation. The deteriorating situation in Kashmir calls for a serious attention.”

“We find the situation in Kashmir very explosive and going out of hand. The civilian population has shown a deep resentment towards the iron fist policy of the Government of India. The local mainstream political parties have failed to govern the state and the Governor rule is about to turn into Presidential rule in next few days. The absence of political engagement has worsened the situation. The local elections have been boycotted by most of the mainstream parties,” the memorandum added.

They also called for a political solution to the decades old Kashmir issue.

“Kashmir is a long standing problem and is political and humanitarian in nature. It should not be treated as a mere law and order problem. Kashmir needs a humane touch and greater political wisdom. India is capable enough to engage with all stakeholders and break a peace deal. The time has come to show humanitarian and statesmanship approach to end the cycles of violence in Kashmir,” the memorandum said.

“The era of Prime Minister Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and later the talks by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had given hopes to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. These initiatives should be launched at the same level. Our Army General Bipin Rawat has said that there isn’t a military solution to this issue and the Ex-Army chief General Ved Prakash Malik said that Kashmir needs a political solution. The hour demands a political approach to cater to the aspirations of the people,” it further added.

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