Geelani has also proposed a ‘four-point peace formula’ as a possible solution to the decades-old conflict.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Geelani has written a letter to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and its permanent members (US, UK, China, France and Russia), members of the European Union (EU), the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC), the South Asian Association of Regional Countries (SAARC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); the heads of Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, China and Iran.
Geelani said, “India continues to institutionally perpetrate violence in Jammu and Kashmir, and has ensured so far that no armed forces personnel involved in heinous war crimes to be prosecuted by its own judicial mechanism”.
He proposed that the controversial status of the Indian-held Kashmir and Kashmiris’ self-determination right should be accepted while Indian troops from heavily populated areas should be withdrawn and draconian laws should be repealed.
Geelani also demanded that the Indian government must release political prisoners.
He said the UN and all international human rights and humanitarian organisations should be allowed to enter and work in the region.
Also Read: Indian police seize newspapers amid Kashmir unrest
India should ensure free political space for parties in the troubled valley, particularly those advocating the right to self-determination, he added.
The state of Indian-held Kashmir has already imposed a curfew to stop people from gathering in the streets and stage more protests over last week’s killing of a popular leader Burhan Wani.
Police seized tens of thousands of newspapers in Indian-held Kashmir early on Saturday and detained printing press workers, ramping up an information blackout.
With the internet and mobile networks already suspended, authorities also halted cable television on Saturday, fearing news of protesters’ deaths could fuel further protests after the restive region’s worst violence in years.