APHC Urges Global Action on Kashmir: India Must Be Held Accountable

Amid International Day of Living Together in Peace, observed yesterday, IIOJK remains a region silenced by militarization and repression, demanding global attention and justice.

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has once again appealed to the international community, including the United States, to hold India accountable for its repeated violations of peace, justice, and political rights in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

The International Day of Living Together in Peace, observed annually on May 16, APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas delivered a strong statement. He accused India of betraying its commitments to peace and urged global powers to recognize the suffering of the Kashmiri people.

Minhas criticized India for turning IIOJK into a military cantonment and likened it to an open-air prison. He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of pushing the region to the brink of destruction and warned Kashmiris to remain alert against the hidden agendas of BJP and its regional allies.

The APHC condemned widespread human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, mass arrests of youth, and the use of draconian laws like the Public Safety Act (PSA) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Minhas stated he himself had been a victim of such oppressive measures.

The APHC stressed that the world must press India to respect human rights norms and international law. It urged global leaders to initiate meaningful dialogue and encourage peaceful solutions that reflect the Kashmiri people’s political aspirations.

The statement also addressed the revocation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, by the BJP-led government—a move that stripped IIOJK of its special status. The APHC declared that the people of IIOJK have never accepted those actions, which they view as illegal and oppressive.

Minhas highlighted that numerous Kashmiri leaders, including Masarat Aalam Butt, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Yasin Malik, Asiya Andrabi, and human rights defender Khurram Parvaiz, remain in prison under false charges. He called these detentions acts of political vendetta and demanded that the detainees be treated as political prisoners.

Relatives of imprisoned leaders have voiced serious concern about their loved ones’ safety in jails across India and IIOJK. The APHC condemned the proxy rule in the region, stating that leaders like Omar Abdullah are mere puppets while BJP’s Manoj Sinha governs with the help of outsiders.

The APHC called on the global community to support justice, peace, and inclusive political dialogue on Kashmir, and to stand by the Kashmiri people in their quest for self-determination.