KG News Desk
Srinagar: A two-day seminar on “Human Rights Violations by ‘militants’ and how these have impacted Kashmiri citizens in the last 30 years”, commenced on Wednesday at BB Cantt, Srinagar. Twenty one subject experts, including research scholars, social activists, government officials and intellectuals from within and outside Kashmir, having proficiency in the subject, are participating, as per a statement received here.
In his opening address, Lt Gen DP Pandey, GOC Chinar Corps observed that “While rightly the State is responsible and accountable for maintenance of high standards of Human Rights in all activities, it is a fact that Human Rights get curtailed in a conflict region due to security concerns.”
“The curtailment of the Human Rights is pushed by the ‘militant’ nexus, which uses the power of the gun to establish its writ on the citizens”, the military officer as per the statement said while further remarking that “J&K has seen acts of curtailment of Human Rights violations by ‘militants’ due to threats, killings, disrupting education and economic activity and denial of freedom of speech.”
He highlighted that “the local, national and international HR groups and media houses, who have been vocal about alleged human rights in the past, have been totally silent about the recent killings of eleven innocents in Kashmir Valley.”
“He exhorted the audience to question and hold the Pakistan affiliates responsible for the denial of basic rights of economic activity, education, entertainment and freedom”, the statement read.
He further remarked that the aim of the seminar is to discuss these and deliberate on the way ahead.
In his keynote address, Lt Gen Raj Shukla, GOC-in-C, ARTRAC spoke about Jammu & Kashmir’s deep and organic connect in the geostrategic realm in the Indian sub-continent.
He spoke about the intrinsic civilizational, literary, cultural and historic connect that J&K has enjoyed being part of India, in the past five millennia.
The GOC-in-C, ARTRAC asked “the society to reverse the sense of supposed alienation and promote a multicultural and inclusive society and asked them to stand in unison and raise their voice against the Pakistani nexus which denies Kashmiri people the basic human rights, that are intrinsic to any civilized and just society.”
The seminar is being conducted over five sessions over two days and is being attended by a large number of people from all walks of life.
The seminar proceedings were broadcast live to civil and military audiences at Kupwara, Baramulla, Awantipur, Sharifabad, Delhi, Shimla, Nagrota and Udhampur even as the talk by the panelists was also being streamed live over Chinar Corps Facebook page.
