ISLAMABAD: The AJK President, Sardar Masood Khan while strongly condemning the random use of force by Indian Army including pellet guns against the participants of peaceful processions of Ashura in occupied Kashmir has described it as a direct attack on the religious freedom of the Kashmiri people.

“The brute use of force by the Indian occupation army left more than fifty mourners seriously injured and hundreds of others were arrested,” he said while addressing a joint Web Conference on "New Challenges & New Hopes" jointly organized by Tehrik-e-Kashmir UK and the Scottish Human Rights Forum.

Masood Khan said that on one hand, India had allowed Indian Hindus to perform Amarnath Yatra while on the other; the Kashmiri Muslims have been prevented from performing the centuries-old religious rite of mourning of Karbala tragedy.

He said that ten Kashmiri youth had been martyred by the Indian Army during the last two days while more than 10,000 youth whom the Indian Army had illegally taken into custody, have gone missing. "The Indian authorities themselves have claimed to kill 180 so-called militants since January this year," he said adding that the Indian Army in violation of the international human rights law, was killing innocent Kashmiri youth on daily basis and later declares them terrorists.

The AJK president disclosed that the Indian Government had settled more than half-million Indian Hindu citizens in occupied Kashmir since April last, and the target is to settled two million Hindus in the disputed territory in the next couple of years. The motive behind the policy is to turn the Muslims of occupied Kashmir into a minority in their own homeland.

No one can imagine that the people of occupied Kashmir were fighting against the neocolonial system even in this century since India has turned occupied Jammu and Kashmir into its colony.

Sardar Masood Khan warned that if the Kashmir conflict is not resolved in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people, not only Pakistan and India may face a disaster of war but this may pose serious threats to peace and security of the whole South Asia also. "The present Indian government, under its Hindutva agenda, intends to cleanse South Asia from non-Hindus," he added.

The AJK president said that at present, the Modi regime had opened three war fronts - repression against Kashmiri people, targeting its own of  Muslim citizens in India, and threats of war to all neighbouring countries.

In her address, UK MP Ms Allison Thewliss MP acknowledged the Kashmiris' exclusive right to self-determination and also condemned the attack of the Indian forces on the peaceful Muharram procession. She said that the UK has to play a more proactive role in the resolution of these issues.

Mr Afzal Khan MP laid down a very concise plan of action when asked to talk about the role of the diaspora community. He said that we need to widen our reach, unite and do away with our internal difference, simplify the message by highlighting the human rights violations, and finally, use multiple communication platforms to reach out to a wider audience.

Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai strongly condemned the change of demography in IOJK terming it a violation of international law. He said that it is unfortunate that India continues to exploit its economic and strategic importance and thereby unjustly enjoys immunity from any prosecution.