124th Day—Kashmiris continue to suffer under Indian Siege

As the UN Human Rights Day approaches on 10 December, High Commissioner Mohammad Nafees Zakaria, who regularly updates on the grave humanitarian crisis IOK, expressed concern and called for international attention to the plight of Kashmiri Muslims of the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), on 6 December 2019.

At the High Commission, a collective Dua was also offered for the Kashmiri victims of Indian atrocities in IOK on the occasion of the Juma (Friday) Prayer.

High Commissioner message was that as the Kashmiri Muslims were living under unabated siege by Indian occupation forces for the last 124 days, the international community needs to act quickly to alleviate the sufferings of the Kashmiri people. Mr Zakaria said there are concerns of genocide by Indian occupation forces to bring about  demographic change in IOK and, therefore, the countries that champion the human rights must stand up to end the humanitarian crisis in IOK.

The High Commissioner said it is a matter of grave concern that no word is coming out of IOK about the plight of the Kashmiris due to complete communication blackout by Indian government with no access to international media and human rights organisations to the region. He said one can imagine the catastrophic situation and resultant death toll in IOK as there is severe shortage of food and medicines.

The High Commissioner has been regularly expressing solidarity with the Kashmiris since the siege started on 5 th August 2019 with unilateral measures by India to change the status of Kashmir in violation of UNSC resolutions on Kashmir and related international conventions.

On the occasion, photos depicting Indian atrocities against defenceless Kashmiris were also displayed. The photos of the victims of Indian atrocities, as documented by various international institutions and human rights organisations helped visitors understand the magnitude of the human rights abuses in IOK.