Separatists seek UN's effective' role

Srinagar: Kashmiri separatists on Monday sought United Nations General Secretary António Guterres‘s ‘effective and result-oriented’ role towards resolving Kashmir issue and bringing an end to alleged human rights violations in the restive State.

In a letter to Mr Guterres, an alliance of key separatist leaders called Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) said that on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day it hopes that he and the UN will stand up for the protection of human rights everywhere including in conflict-torn Jammu and Kashmir.

Acknowledging “greatly” the recent UN Human Rights Commission report on the human rights situation in Kashmir, the alliance informed the secretary general that it had decided to observe a human rights week in the state from December 3 but the authorities swooped down on its activists who were participating in candlelight vigils and peaceful protests.

“Massive crackdown was launched on the leadership as well as traders, transporters and other businessmen who decided to take out peaceful rallies against the gross human rights situation in Kashmir,” the letter said.

Alleging continuous “abuse, injustice and state repression” on the people of J&K, the alliance also said that the conflict on Kashmir “is not a frozen one but continues to consume human lives unabatedly since 1947. It added the conflict “has become the cause of horrendous human rights violations against the population of the area”. The letter urged him to initiate measures for the resolution of the dispute on J&K.