APHC Slams BJP-RSS Agenda, Warns Against Demographic Engineering in IIOJK

As India’s ruling party intensifies efforts to reshape IIOJK’s identity, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) warns that cultural invasion and demographic manipulation will never suppress the Kashmiri demand for self-determination.

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has sharply criticized the BJP-RSS regime for pushing a Hindutva-driven narrative in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), under the guise of reviving a so-called “pre-Islamic Hindu civilization.”

In a statement issued from Srinagar, Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas, spokesperson for APHC, condemned the settlement of non-locals in IIOJK and the sale of local properties to outsiders, calling it a deliberate attempt to erase the Muslim-majority identity of the region.

Minhas emphasized that these tactics, including demographic changes and cultural distortions, will not weaken the Kashmiri struggle for the internationally recognized right to self-determination.

He urged the international community to hold India accountable, demanding the implementation of UN resolutions on the Kashmir dispute and protection of the region’s unique identity.

The APHC also called for the immediate release of thousands of Kashmiri political prisoners, including prominent Hurriyat leaders, who remain detained under harsh conditions in various Indian jails.

Highlighting the illegality of silencing dissent, Minhas said IIOJK is a disputed territory, and any restriction on the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly violates both international law and humanitarian principles.

For over 78 years, he noted, the people of IIOJK have been engaged in a peaceful movement to secure their right to decide their own political future.

The APHC strongly condemned the attachment of local properties and accused communal forces of trying to fragment the Kashmir Valley along religious lines—especially after the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A in August 2019.

Minhas further denounced India’s policy of issuing tens of thousands of domicile certificates to non-Kashmiris in both the Valley and Jammu region over the past six years.

He labeled this move as a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions, arguing that it was part of a broader strategy to disempower and displace the indigenous population.

In addition to demographic engineering, the BJP government is accused of using brutal tactics such as property confiscations, mass arrests, employee terminations, and house demolitions to forcefully alter the region’s makeup.

Minhas dismissed the Indian government’s “development narrative” as a distraction tactic. He asserted that the people of IIOJK are not interested in slogans or economic packages—they remain firmly focused on their right to self-determination, a subject the BJP-led Indian state avoids at all costs.