Original Text
To His Excellency,
The Honorable,
United Nations Secretary General,
Mr Ban ki Moon,
I, Mushaal Hussein Mullick, a victim of a divided Kashmiri Family fighting for our right to self Determination as per the United Nations Security Council Resolutions and wife of detained Kashmiri Freedom Fighter Mohammad Yasin Malik Chairman Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front request you to take notice of the current gross human rights violation taking place in Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir .My small three year old daughter Raziyah Sultana and I have not seen Yasin Malik for the past two years because India is not issuing us a visa because me and my daughter hold a Pakistani passport. My husband living in Indian held Jammu and Kashmir has been denied a passport by Indian state Authorities for the past three and a half years. We desperately want this long separation between our divided family to end.
My Husband Mohammad Yasin Malik has been languishing in Prisons in Srinagar since 9th July 2016 after the killing of Kashmiri poster boy Burhan Wani. His life is at critical risk for the past few weeks after being shifted to Joint Interrogation Centre HumHuma in Srinagar.
Yasin who has been put into a solitary confinement in extremely shabby conditions at Humhama, has grown very weak, lost over 15 Kilos and last week he was taken to Khyber hospital Srinagar in Army custody where his medical tests results came dangerously alarming. His personal doctor Sajad Reshi Cardiologist examined him and advised many medical checkups regarding his heart, kidney and other ailments. Yasin Malik’s kidney stone has enlarged risking his kidney function severely. Medical tests regarding his heart ailment are also unsatisfactory as he has a metallic valve in his heart which requires a lifesaving drug on a daily basis but is not being given to him on a daily basis, thus risking his life from blood clotting. The doctors at the hospital termed his overall health condition at high risk and urged the Indian State to shift him to a ICU at the Hospital urgently to monitor his heart valve functioning at a 24 hours basis. He has been advised many medicines and also to follow up his medical tests after one week. Unfortunately, after medical examinations he was again shifted to Joint Interrogation Centre Humhama cell.
I urge you to put pressure on the Indian State to release Yasin Malik and shift him to the hospital immediately otherwise there is no guarantee of survival for his life. Let me add further that Yasin Malik is not a terrorist but a Political prisoner and a Prisoner of Conscience. Every human life is precious and as per the Universal Human Rights Charter every religion, every human being has right to Self Determination. This is the power truth. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. This is stated in the 1st article of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights .All Faiths declare the unity of human beings and freedom for all.
As we all know, The Kashmir dispute is the oldest unresolved international conflict in the world today. Pakistan considers Kashmir as its core political dispute with India. So, does the international community, except India.
The freedom movement of Kashmiris is rooted in the struggle of the people for the exercise of the right of self-determination. Peaceful processions chanting demands for freedom are fired upon by Indian Army and police pellets and bullets. Thousands and thousands of innocent men, women and children have been killed or wounded.
Our message is loud and clear that the people of Kashmir demand what was pledged to them by the United Nations and guaranteed by the Security Council, the right to self-determination.
Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Suraj who has recently delivered sermons of morality and humanism at UN General Assembly must introspect her own Country’s behavior towards a tiny nation of Jammu and Kashmir. If one compares the killings and atrocities committed during World War 2, Jammu and Kashmir falls number second in comparison of the tyranny and brutality. Kashmir is and was not any nation’s integral part but a disputed territory whose inhabitants are striving for their birth right as per UNSCRs.
I urge you, as the icon of peace Mr Ban ki-Moon and as the United Nations Secretary General to use your good office to take notice of the Indian state-sponsored violence in Kashmir and prevail upon the Indian authorities to immediately cease all such actions that violate the human rights, dignities and fundamental entitlements of the Kashmiri people. Because the United Nations is not only the guarantor of fundamental human rights of peoples anywhere in the world, but is also responsible for taking pro-active measures to ensure peace in regions prone to conflict such as the South Asian region.
Every girl be it a girl of war or conflict dreams of a fairytale no matter what day and age or what era she’s born in or what battle she’s fighting for. A fairytale world, a prince in shining armor who sweeps her off her feet, a fairytale wedding, an empowered identity, security , stability, safety , protection and so much more. Human beings around the world deserve the basic fundamental rights to freedom, honor and dignity. Unfortunately, these basic requirements are a pipe dream for people of conflicts and war zones and in this particular case the Kashmiri women our on debate.
Just imagine a woman who is a wife and a widow at the same time, she does not know, where her spouse is, is he dead or alive, would he ever return home or not? Now a mother, who continuously hopes to hear the footsteps of her son, is stuck in a life of a shuttle cock between hope and fear. A child who is unable to decide if he or she is fatherless or not yet an orphan, with curious eyes constantly glued to the door and a sister watching outside from her window with never-ending tears in search of her missing brother. These people in Indian Held Jammu and Kashmir sadly, have extraordinary titles as they face extraordinary challenges. These are the half widows, half mothers, half fathers, half orphans and half siblings of the society. There is little left to say from them except to keep on searching for the traces of their loved ones who have entirely vanished or become invisible from the face of earth.
The 21st century is a violent time. September 11th sparked protracted wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Conflict prevails in Sudan, Mali democratic republic of Congo. uprisings shape the landscape in Libya, Yemen, Egypt and Syria. In short the world is in turmoil.9’11 has proven to the world that this globe is a global village. If one area of the world is hit by terrorism, the whole world is signaled unsafe. In order to make this world a safer place all outstanding conflicts around the world, particularly Kashmir and Palestine must be resolved on table with the oppressors and the oppressed through international pressure. The demand for Global economies, global peace, global ties depends on how strong the counter terrorism and conflict resolutions policies are.
The global involvement in Kashmir will not only end the bloodshed and suffering in Kashmir, but also will have a direct positive effect on international security by eliminating regional fighting, national tensions, and the risk of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. It is in everyone’s interest to settle the Kashmir conflict peacefully without further delay.
Peace in the region would remain elusive without the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN resolutions that call for a free and fair election to determine the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
I, as the rest of you would wish to make this world a better place to live in, where our children, babies, future generations, our three year old daughter Raziyah Sultana who has unfortunately been a victim of Indian Army’s brutality and who doesn’t have the privilege of living with both her parents under the same roof in her homeland Kashmir , breath an air of freedom and tranquility. Where curfews do not restrict children from going to schools, where children do not lose their innocence, where children our not left homeless, orphaned or without the love and compassion of their parents.
Hoping for your early and positive reply. Writing to you, this painful letter with a lot hope attached in this hour of helplessness and immense psychological stress. Please do not let the hope die in humanity.
Regards,
Mushaal Hussein Mullick