Panun Kashmir organized a Press Conference at Ahmedabad (Gujarat) today to address the current political scenario vis a vis Kashmir and Kashmiri Pandits. The Press Conference was addressed by Shri Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, President, Panun Kashmir, who is presently on a visit of Gujarat state. S/Shri S. K. Bhan, President and Shri. Sunil Kachru, General Secretary, Koushur Miltchar respectively and Vivek Ogra, Gujarat Coordinator of Panun Kashmir were also present in the press conference.
Shri Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, President, Panun Kashmir while addressing the press conference said that it is gratifying to note that the India’s Permanent Representative to the UN offices in Geneva slammed Pakistan in the 35th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council for preaching and nurturing terrorism, The Envoy broke all shackles to register that the entire state of J&K is an integral part of India. Pakistan remains in illegal occupation of a part of our territory. Therefore, the neutrality of the phrase ‘Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir’ is artificial. While Panun Kashmir appreciates the statement that the central problem in Jammu and Kashmir is cross border terrorism and Pakistan’s use of terrorism as an instrument of its state policy, the permanent representative should have brought into picture the victims of terrorism in J&K also and especially the ethnically cleansed indigenous people of Kashmir -the Kashmiri Pandits.
Panun Kashmir expresses its deep concern over the situation that the issues pertaining to the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Kashmiri Pandit community in Kashmir remained unanswered till date. Despite the decision of the National Human Rights Commission, after a prolonged struggle of eight years, that the acts akin to genocide have been committed against the Kashmiri Pandits, all successive governments chose to keep silent. While most of the nations of the globe constituted crime tribunals and special courts to try those responsible for terror and genocidal crimes, the governments in India took a soft state approach and allowed derailment of the due process of law.
In this context, Panun Kashmir has made a demand that a full-fledged Special Crimes Tribunal in Jammu and Kashmir be constituted to go into the excesses committed against the Kashmiri Pandit community during the last three decades. The NHRC decision and the observations made by the courts and the other accredited human rights bodies in context of the Pandit mass exodus in Kashmir should form the basis of the judicial review of the crimes committed against the humanity. All hate crimes, acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing should also be duly brought before the Special Crimes Tribunal. Panun Kashmir be made a party to the official complaint to the Tribunal and a senior Supreme Court judge be appointed the Chairman of the Tribunal. All those responsible for the heinous crimes against the Pandits and other minority community members be brought to justice under the purview of the Special Crimes Tribunal sooner than later in order to ensure that the ethnically cleansed community of the Pandits is provided justice.
Panun Kashmir condemns the gruesome murder of Samir Bhat, a member of the Kashmiri Pandit community serving in the Police department in Kashmir by his own colleagues. This is a horrifying tale of Kashmir situation. Though his killer and the other conspirators have been arrested by the Police, Panun Kashmir demands that the culprits be brought to justice and no leniency in this regard be made. The Chief Minister who is also the Home Minister of the J&K state and the police administration are accountable to the displaced community so far as the due process of law is concerned.
Panun Kashmir also released its twitter handle #panunkashmir at the press conference.
