PAPER READ AT BRUSSELS (KASHMIR CONFERENCE OCTOBER, 2005)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me first of all introduce my self to this august gathering I am Bashir Sidiq, from Srinagar. I have been practicing in J&K High Court, Srinagar for the last 10 years and twice I have been elected joint secretary of the Bar Association. I was elected Joint Secretary 2nd time in the month of July/august, 2005.

J&K High Court Bar Association Srinagar, is an association of the lawyers, practicing in the High Court and District Courts, Srinagar. It has a membership of about 700 lawyers who come from different parts of the state, some lawyers from Jammu and Delhi are also our members.

J&K High Court Bar Association has a constitution of its own. Besides other objectives enshrined in our constitution, we are committed to find ways and means, take steps, for resolving the issues concerning public at large including larger issue of peaceful settlement of Kashmir dispute and for this purpose to organize seminars, conventions, delegate its members to various places within India and outside India, to become members of other Associations, bodies or forums which share common outlook with the Bar Association, publish Human Rights violation reports, articles etc.

In order to achieve the aforesaid objectives, we have held number of conferences for finding out ways and means to solve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of the people. In 1993 we held a two day conference in which people from all walks of life participated. After the conclusion of the conference we passed a resolution, which was approved by all, saying that the only solution to the Kashmir problem is to hand over the entire J&K State as it existed on 14th of July, 1947, to the United Nations for a period of 5years and allow people of all regions of the state to meet each other and discuss as to what is the possible solution of Kashmir. We said that unless people of all the regions are free from the subjugation of others, it won't be possible for them to tell the truth. We also said after 5 years, there be a referendum allowing the people of Kashmir to express their wish and desire, as to whether they want to go to India, Pakistan or remain independent. We have sent copies of our resolution to all over the world
and as on today we stick to that resolution.

India and Pakistan have no doubt decided to settle their disputes amicably which also include Kashmir dispute but as we have seen there has been no sincere efforts in resolving the Kashmir issue for the last about two years. While Pakistan has gone to the extent of saying that it is prepared to talk on Kashmir in disregard to U. N. resolution. India has shown no sign of reluctance. When India says that there can be no redrawing of boundaries, one can well understand as to what kind of solution is offering for the resolution of Kashmir dispute.

Kashmir should not be made a territorial dispute by India with Pakistan. It is a problem, which concerns a multitude of people, who have suffered terrible humiliation and subjugation during the last 57 years. Only from 1990 till date, more than 1 Lac people have been killed in my state. Thousands and thousands have been maimed and disabled, thousands and thousands have become orphans and widows. Thousands of houses and hamlets have been raised to ground. The modesty and chastity of our women folk has also not been spared. Our mothers, sisters and daughters have been raped. It is not a rape of one woman by one person but a gang rape of girls below ten and women above 70 years. There are more than one million Indian security forces in Kashmir. Besides thousands and thousands of Police personnel. There is a special task force, to eliminate those, whom they suspect either to be the supporters of the cause or else providing any kind of sustenance to the movement. These people are so ruthless that they can pick up anyone anytime and after killing him throw his dead body in river Jehlem and say that he fled from their custody and jumped in river. No one in Kashmir is safe today, only other day three boys were gunned down in Bangergund, Kupwara by the
army personnel, when they were coming from a marriage party. At Bhan Kulgam a carpet weaver was short dead by the army, when he was going with two other carpet weavers to another village. A girl in Doru, Anantnag, was killed by a BSF soldier, who had entered her house in the dead of the night and pretended to be militant and wanted to ravish her.
When she protested she was fired and killed. These are a few instances which I am quoting only to show as to what is happening in Kashmir everyday.

In Kashmir there are number of draconian laws, which are in force. J&K Disturbed Area Act, Armed Forces (J&K) special Powers Act, J&K Public Safety Act, J&K Enemy Agents Ordinance, TADA and POTA are frequently used in Kashmir to subjugate the people. Any one who dares to challenge his arrest or detention in courts is either eliminated or booked in one
or other cases to make his release impossible. The maximum period of preventive detention is only 2 years but in Kashmir under the said Act a man is detained for years together, which is now a routine.court orders are never obeyed and thousands of thousands contempt petitions are pending in the courts seeking implementation of those orders.

Only recently when Molvi Umar Farooq and his men were discussing with Prime Minster Man Mohan Singh the plight of the detenues and it was agreed that the cases of all the detainues and undertrial prisoners will be reviewed and those who are innocent, will be released, eight women activists of Dukhtaran-I-Millat who had decide to launch a campaign against prostitution in Srinagar were booked under Public Safety Act and put behind the Bars. It is for the first time in the history of Kashmir
that eight women were arrested and detained under Public Safety Act along with a 15 year old boy, who had taken them in his car to Channapora, Srinagar, where a brothel was being run in a restaurant, under the patronage of Police.

We in our Bar Association have lawyers, who too have been put behind the bars, for highlighting the cause of the people and more particularly the human rights violations.Some of our brother lawyers were murdered by the Indian forces only
because they had traveled from Kashmir to Geneva for highlighting the human rights violations. Jaleel Indrabi, Abdul Qadir Sailani, Mohd Hussain, Mohd Sultan, Abdul Gani and Hissam-u-Din are the Advocates, who were picked up in the broad day light and killed or were got killed through renegades, which is a force created by the Indian Security agencies from the surrendered militants, to whom a handsome amount is paid for every murder and then, they are given shelter for hiding the crime. Jaleel Indrabi was killed by one Major Avtar Singh who had been hired by Indian Army and when his crime was established by Police
through Investigation and a challan was presented against him in the Court of law, Army authorities said that they have dismissed him and he is no more in army Services.

Kashmiris are peace loving people but when one is pushed to wall, he has no option but to do what ever is possible to safeguard his honor and prestige. India and Pakistan have fought three conventional wars on Kashmir but it has yielded nothing. Today both India and Pakistan are nuclear, if there is a war between India and Pakistan it will be disastrous for both India and Pakistan, including Kashmir. Today is the time when we should start sincere efforts to resolve Kashmir issue. There is no question of dividing Kashmir on communal lines. Self-governance and autonomy is also no solution to Kashmir. Only the United Nations Resolution, provide the basis for settlement of Kashmir dispute. On our part, we are prepared to co-operate with any
organization/body, which is interested for finding a peaceful and permanent solution of Kashmir. But please remember that even if no country is prepared to come forward to facilitate the solution of Kashmir, we Kashmiris are committed not to rest till we achieve our goal. I hope you all will appreciate the anxiety of people of J&K and come forward at this crucial juncture and lend your helping hand in resolving the Kashmir tangle."

Thank you