By Afshain Afzal

On 20th September 2024, the first phase of Lok Sabha engineered elections 2024 was held in seven districts of Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir including Anantnag, Doda, Kishtwar, Kulgam, Pulwama, Ramban, and Shopian. The Kashmiris made complaints that the Indian Army had made clear announcements that those who would not cast their votes will be expelled from their jobs, their children dropped from schools and will be charged with treason. They made announcements that Indian authorities have installed surveillance cameras along all the routes and webcasting in all the polling stations to identify all Kashmiris who are loyal to India and who are the enemies. Witnesses including Nazir Bhat and Mohammad Irshad said that the Indian security forces threatened them to misbehave with their women and other members of their families if they do not cooperate.

Polling for 24 seats of the 90-member Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was held, with clear orders to the security forces to shoot at sight. Chief Electoral Officer Pandurang K. Pole said in a statement that Indian security forces provided tight security and last two weeks, 23 Kashmiris were killed and 13 injured to create deterrence. Election Commission of India had set up 3,276 polling stations with webcasting to ensure a fair and transparent voting process. Over 23.27 lakh voters were entitled to cast ballots to determine the fate of 219 candidates. The second phase of the elections is scheduled to be held on 25 September and the third and final on 1 October, whereas the counting of votes will take place on 8 October 2024.

The Kashmiris around the world and the people of Pakistan have rejected the illegitimate Lok Sabha elections in the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir and have called upon the international community to hold Prime Minister Narendra Modi government accountable for ongoing human rights violations and war crimes by Indian security forces against Kashmiris. The extent of violation of human rights can be judged from the fact that each year thousands of Kashmiris are killed by the Indian Army and Para Military forces and many are kidnapped with no traces at all. When complaints are lodged against the Indian Army or Para Military Forces in Jammu & Kashmir, these are dismissed as “false and baseless” or “with other ulterior motives of maligning the image of Armed Forces.” If a complaint is lodged against Indian Army it is dismissed under Rule 24 of the Army Rules, 1954 after a pre-trial procedure called the summary of evidence and there is no possibility for the victims’ families to appeal or review the decision reached through the Indian military justice system.

It is disappointing that Pakistan and the US are trusted allies and thousands of Pakistanis sacrificed their lives in joint and separate operations but Washington is backing New Delhi by violating the right of self-determination of the Kashmiris of Jammu and Kashmir, which is still on the agenda and pending issues of United Nations Security Council. It is generally believed that Washington prevented Islamabad from challenging the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir. There is a strong need engage the United Nations Organization and International Human Rights organizations to take concrete steps toward conducting a plebiscite in line with United Nations Security Council Resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir state and take notice of human rights violations against Kashmiris.