Brussels, April 7, 2025:
Chairman of the Kashmir Council EU, Ali Raza Syed, has stated that lasting prosperity and sustainable peace in South Asia cannot be achieved until Kashmiris are granted justice. This was highlighted during an international women’s conference organized by the Kashmir Council EU at the European Press Club in Brussels, where prominent figures gathered.
The speakers at the conference expressed their concern over the global community’s silence on the suffering of Kashmiri women at the hands of Indian forces. The event highlighted the widespread atrocities faced by women in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the brutalities inflicted by Indian forces. Among the speakers were Ali Raza Syed, European woman Ella Faruqi, Kashmiri scholar Amna Iqbal Sardar, and young Kashmiri intellectual Waseem Syed. The conference was moderated by human rights activist Naveen Qayyum.
The speakers emphasized that Indian forces in occupied Kashmir have systematically been targeting women, citing horrific events such as the 1991 mass rape in Kunan Poshpora and the 2009 brutal killings of Asiya and Neelofar. These painful incidents continue to haunt the Kashmiri people, yet justice remains elusive. The speakers highlighted that these are not isolated incidents but part of a planned and terrifying state policy, where women are used as instruments of war. International human rights organizations have raised these concerns multiple times, but Indian forces continue to enjoy impunity.
The speakers vowed to continue their efforts on global platforms to highlight these atrocities. Over 30 women attended the conference, raising their voices for Kashmiri women and calling on the international community to break its silence on the oppression faced by Kashmiris.
The participants emphasized that it is time for the global community to act, stop the atrocities, and free human rights defenders like Khurram Parvez and prominent Kashmiri political leader Yasin Malik, along with all other Kashmiri detainees.
Chairman of the Kashmir Council EU, Ali Raza Syed, concluded that peace is tied to justice, and as long as Kashmiris are denied justice, lasting prosperity and peace in the entire South Asian region will remain unattainable. He also expressed the deep desire of the Kashmiri people for permanent peace in the region and a prosperous life for the people of South Asia. He thanked all the speakers, participants, and particularly the Kashmir Council EU team for their efforts in making this important event a success.
