UN urged to reconsider Modi’s participation in UNGA session
Islamabad, September 22 (KMS): Hurriyat AJK leader, Abdul Hameed Lone, has appealed to the United Nations to reconsider Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s participation in the ongoing session of the UN General Assembly.
Abdul Hameed Lone in a letter addressed to the UN General Secretary, Antonio Guterres, said that Narendra Modi-led Indian fascist government was committing unspeakable atrocities on the people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and it was very disturbing to hear that someone with Modi’s record spanning over several decades is being given access to such an august gathering as the General Assembly.
Narendra Modi is reportedly schedule to address the annual high-level UN General Assembly session in person on Saturday (25 September).
Abdul Hameed Lone, who is also Vice Chairman of Friends of Kashmir International, in the letter wrote that while Modi was chief Minister of Gujarat state, he was refused entry to the US and Europe for a decade because of his complicity in the riots in Gujarat in 2002 that left over a thousand dead. “Among the dead were also citizens of foreign countries including Britain. Modi’s association with the RSS modelled on European fascist organisations of the 20th Century is a clear indication of unsuitability to speak at the UN General Assembly,” he wrote.
Hameed Lone maintained that the veteran Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Gilani, passed away at the age of 92 earlier this month while being under house arrest for last twelve years. “Modi’s administration forced his (Gilani’s) funeral through without the presence of his family and against the wishes of the deceased who wanted to be buried at Martyrs’ Graveyard in Srinagar. His family now is being hounded and bizarrely faces charges under India’s draconian anti-terrorism law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for trying to respect the wishes of their loved one,” he deplored.
The Hurriyat AJK leader in his letter pointed out that Modi as Prime Minister of India, has overseen many of the atrocities committed by the Indian authorities in IIOJK. He said in August 2019 amid a harsh crackdown, Modi-led Hindu nationalist government stripped Kashmir of its special status, scrapped its separate constitution and removed inherited protections on land and jobs since 1927. It divided the region to a federally governed territory without involving the Kashmiri leaders but by placing them under detention with draconian law Public Safety Act (PSA), he stated.
Abdul Hameed Lone pointed out that the Indian government has not only refused to implement UN’s own resolutions but also made the nightmare of demographic change in the dispute territory come true by introducing new domicile rules and stepping up the genocide of Kashmiris.
“The right to self-determination is enshrined in the UN charter and is promised to the people of Jammu and Kashmir as part of the UN Security Council resolutions over seven decades. The right is guaranteed by the UN resolutions but Modi denies the Kashmiri people their right to self-determination. His presence at the UN General Assembly must be opposed since he has stripped Kashmir of special status and the people of Kashmir have faced harsh lockdown and military violence that have led to countless deaths,” he further wrote.
Abdul Hameed Lone requested the UN to remove India from the UN Security Council due to the draconian laws it has imposed in IIOJK to victimize the Kashmiris for opposing its illegal hold on their homeland. “All peace loving people, those standing for justice and peace demand that the UN reconsiders Modi’s participation in the General Assembly. The international community must put pressure on Modi government to withdraw its troops from IIOJK, restore special status of the territory and take steps for holding of impartial plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir at the earliest to give the Kashmiris an opportunity to decide their future by themselves,” he further wrote.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Pasban-e-Hurriyat Uzair Ahmad Ghazali in a statement in Muzaffarabad also called upon the world conscience not to allow Narendra Modi to address UNGA as he is accused in killing of Muslims in Gujrat riots and Jammu and Kashmir.
