MIRPUR (AJK) - Various political leaders of Spain Kashmiri people are being brutalised by India as retaliation for their aspiration for freedom and self-determination so the country should be held accountable for its crimes against humanity.
Meanwhile, AJK President Masood Khan urged European and Spanish parliaments to take note of the human rights violations in the Indian-Held Kashmir (IHK).
In a meeting with Senator Oscar Lopez, the secretary of International Relations and spokesman of the Socialist Party of Spain, he said: "The whole nation, which has yet to decide its future, is being brutalised by India as retaliation for its aspiration for freedom and self-determination." He demanded that India should be held accountable for its crimes against humanity in the Indian Held Kashmir, according to a message reaching here Saturday.
Senator Oscar Lopez said that the situation in Kashmir was worrying and the human rights of the people of Kashmir must be respected and protected. He said that the lawmakers in the Spanish Parliament were already seized of the situation and would cooperate in the efforts to ameliorate it.
Pablo Yanez, head of the International Cooperation of the political party Ciudadanos, called on President Masood Khan and expressed concerns over the continuing tensions in South Asia and the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Spanish leaders underlined the need for dialogue between India and Pakistan to address the longstanding issue of Jammu and Kashmir and contribute to peace and security. Sardar Masood Khan said that the people of Kashmir appreciate attention of Spanish Parliament and Spanish Members of European Parliament to the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Kashmir.
Later in the day, the president also briefed editorial boards of leading Spanish newspapers - El Pais and ABC - about the killing, torture, blinding and incarceration of the youth in the Indian Occupied Kashmir. He urged the European media to highlight the atrocities in IOK. He also addressed a gathering of Pakistani and Kashmiri community hosted by Pakistan's Ambassador to Spain Mr Rafat Mahdi.
Addressing Elcano Royal Institute in Madrid, the president said peace in South Asia is not possible without a solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Speaking on Security Challenges in South Asia, President Masood Khan said that South Asian security faced with many challenges and risks including nuclear and conventional race, terrorism and extremism, poverty and economic underdevelopment, climate change, and fair distribution of waters, but the most daunting challenge was non-resolution of Kashmir issue.
He said India's posture of non-engagement of Kashmir and its systemic violations of human rights in the Indian Occupied Kashmir are fraught with most serious risks for peace and security in South Asia.
He said that Kashmir could be a trigger for a wider and more disastrous conflict in the region, as in the past it has been the cause of war - casus belli - for four wars between India and Pakistan.
He clarified that the Kashmir dispute is not about secession of a province of India like Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Assam or Bengal, but the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir which never became part of India.
"They have yet to exercise their will under the auspices of the United Nations," he said. In the meantime, he demanded that the ongoing massive violations of human rights in Kashmir should come to an end. These crimes are being committed everyday with impunity, he said.
In fact, there are historical bonds between Pandit and Muslim communities. The exodus of Pandits was, he said, masterminded and executed by Indian occupied authorities to demonise and paint that Kashmiris are bigot and terrorist.
"Nothing could be further from the truth," he said adding that Kashmir had diversity and all segments would live harmoniously once the Indian occupation is termination. For a way forward, Masood suggested a proactive role by the UN in resolving the Kashmir dispute, resumption of engagement between India and Pakistan, demilitarisation of the Indian Occupied Kashmir, elaboration of nuclear and conventional confidence building measures, strengthening of regional cooperation, and better use of the additional space created by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
He said that India should stop using water flowing from Jammu and Kashmir as a weapon of war. The Indus Water Treaty, he said, should be implemented faithfully and fairly; and water should benefit all.