RAAG calls for summoning Pakistan High Commissions Charg dAffaires; questions J-K Assemblys silence on PoJK

In a detailed memorandum addressed to External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, RAAG has sought a formal oral and written dmarche to Pakistan, followed by an appropriate Note Verbale recording Indias concern and expressly reserving its sovereign and territorial position over PoJK.

According to an official release, the memorandum is submitted by Advocate Madhavi Sambyal, authorised signatory of RAAG, drawing attention to the situation in PoJK and the appeals emanating from its people to India for protection of their lives, liberty, dignity and basic rights.

The people of PoJK are not merely inhabitants of a territory. They are our own people people of Jammu & Kashmir, separated from the rest of the country by a Line of Control and presently living under Pakistans illegal occupation. Their suffering and their appeals therefore cannot be treated as somebody elses problem and must receive assurance that they have neither been forgotten nor forsaken, and their voices and suffering continue to matter to the people and institutions of India, RAAG said.

RAAG further maintained that appeals emanating from PoJK during the present crisis ought not to remain unanswered and should receive an appropriate, considered and visible response from the Government of India, consistent with Indias sovereignty, national security interests and established position on Jammu & Kashmir, the release stated.

The memorandum places particular emphasis on Indias longstanding position that the entire territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India and recalls the unanimous Parliamentary Resolution of 22 February 1994 calling upon Pakistan to vacate areas under its illegal and forcible occupation.

RAAG has also relied upon Section 14(4) of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which provides that 24 seats in the J&K Legislative Assembly shall remain vacant until the area under Pakistans occupation ceases to be so occupied and the people residing there elect their representatives. The organisation said this provision is significant because Parliament has expressly recognised not merely the territory but also the people residing in that area.

The organisation expressed particular concern over the failure of the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly to raise and discuss the plight of the people of PoJK, despite the statutory framework of Jammu & Kashmir expressly recognising their place within the larger constitutional framework of the Union Territory, the release noted.

The memorandum notes that the Assembly has, during different sessions, witnessed members raising issues concerning Palestine and Gaza, Iran, Israel and the United States, but, according to RAAG, the continuing crisis affecting the people of PoJK has not received comparable institutional attention.

The Assembly has found occasion to raise and discuss international conflicts involving Palestine and Gaza, Iran, Israel and the United States. Yet, when people of our own Jammu & Kashmir, living in PoJK, are making appeals against violence, repression and humanitarian hardship, there has been no discussion. This silence raises a legitimate question: why are the voices of our own people across the Line of Control not receiving the same attention? RAAG said.

RAAG said concern for civilians anywhere in the world is legitimate, but questioned why the suffering of people belonging to territory historically and constitutionally connected with Jammu & Kashmir had not received similar institutional attention.

The memorandum states that this silence creates an unfortunate impression that the people of Jammu & Kashmir living across the Line of Control, and even the territory itself, have gradually faded from the institutional consciousness of the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly. It said this disconnect was among the reasons that compelled the Jammu-based organisation to approach the Union Government so that the people of PoJK know that they have neither been forgotten nor abandoned from the national consciousness of Bharat.

It has simultaneously appealed to the Speaker and members of the J&K Legislative Assembly to take up the issue for substantive discussion and to acknowledge the appeals of the people residing in the areas under Pakistans occupation, the release highlighted.

The question before the J&K Assembly is not merely about territory. It is about people. PoJK is part of Jammu & Kashmir, and the people of PoJK are our own people. Their appeal deserves to be heard in the very Assembly whose statutory framework keeps 24 seats vacant for their future representatives, RAAG said.

RAAG reiterated that the memorandum seeks attention to the life, liberty, dignity and rights of the people of PoJK, alongside Indias established position regarding the entire territory of Jammu & Kashmir.

RAAG has accordingly urged the Government of India to summon the Charg dAffaires of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, formally convey its grave concern over the reported treatment of civilians in PoJK and seek an immediate end to actions resulting in loss of life, injuries, arbitrary arrests and humanitarian hardship, the release added.

The memorandum has also been forwarded to senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs dealing with Pakistan, including the Foreign Secretary and Officials of the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran Division. (ANI)