ISLAMABAD: Kashmir Council-EU Chairman Ali Raza Syed on Wednesday called on the European Commission to intervene to prevent the use of unnecessary force against the civilian population during the current unrest in Kashmir.
In a personal letter to Federica Mogherini, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Syed expressed his deep concern over the use of pellet guns by the Indian military against unarmed civilians and innocent by-standers, many of them children. He noted that the number of serious head and eye injuries was such as to support a prima facie case that excessive force was being used by the Indian Army.
Syed stressed that it was unacceptable for so serious a dispute to be allowed to continue for nearly 70 years and pointed to the continuing failure of existing mechanisms to produce any sort of peace agreement. He called on the International Community to become actively involved in the peace negotiations as being the only way in which the present impasse can be resolved and urged the European Union to set an example by using its influence with both parties to negotiate and launch a peace process.
Syed recalled that UN Security Council Resolution 43 of 1948 which provided for Kashmiri self-determination had been agreed by all parties to the dispute and stressed the importance of Kashmiris having a voice in whatever peace process eventually decides the political future of the disputed territory.
The letter dispatched to the EU’s Official is part of Kashmir Council EU’s diplomatic campaign to in order to stop India from use of excessive force specially usage of pellet gun again civilians in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK). In the first step, the chairman wrote the letter to high ranking officials of European Union (EU) and similar letters would also be addressed United Nation, International Human Rights Organizations and Governments of different countries of the world.
Beside the High Representative of EU for Foreign Affairs, So far, the letter has been also dispatched to president of EU’s Commission, president of EU’s Parliament, and heads of Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Committees of EU’s Parliament. In his letter, expressing deep concerns over the current situation in IHK, Syed urged that EU should adopt a clear position on use of pellet guns against the unarmed demonstrators.
He also called upon EU to break its silence over Kashmir’s situation and prevent use of excessive force against peaceful Kashmiri civilians in the territory. Giving detail of sharp increase of civil unrest in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir, the letter said, about 51 killed and more than 200 wounded since July 8. Most of the causalities were unarmed protesters which proved use of excessive force by the Indian army. Further more widespread incidence of head and particular eye injuries would seem to indicate that pellet guns widely used by the Indian Military which caused permanent damage to the individuals targeted specially they lost their eyesight.
