/wion/media/agency_attachments/2024/12/26/2024-12-26t112006978z-wion-white-logo-for-website-2-1.png){kind=logo}
/wion/media/agency_attachments/2024/12/13/2024-12-13t071548098z-wionlogo.webp)
/wion/media/member_avatars/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/2018/09/10/4104-Siddhant-Sibal.png)
/wion/media/member_avatars/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/2018/09/10/4104-Siddhant-Sibal.png)
/wion/media/post_attachments/files/2023/03/23/340481-copy-of-untitled-27.png)
New Delhi
The 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) was a platform for Kashmiri activists from India to voice their aspirations and concerns regarding cross-border terror. Shuib Lone, a former lawmaker and activist, highlighted the significant decline in violence in the region, largely due to the constitutional changes in 2019 and local government reforms.
"The families of those impacted by cross border militancy have come out to share their experience" but warned that Kashmir faces new challenges from "hybrid war...the online radicalization of youth in Kashmir, with events from Afghanistan and used as a pretext to draw Kashmiri youth in the international conspiracy theories," said Lone.
The threat of false information about Kashmir being used to radicalise the youth of South Asian origin in the UK was also raised. This international dimension is a significant concern. Lone highlighted, "attempts are being made to radicalise youth in Britain in the name of Kashmir".
Bushra Mahajabeen, a terror attack survivor, spoke out about the exploitation of Kashmiris at the hands of militants. She stated that the long silence from thousands of victims had come to an end, and more people would come out to speak against it. Mahajabeen's sister was killed by militants, pointing out, "life has never been normal since that day".
The growing cross-border drug trade in Jammu and Kashmir was also brought to the council's attention. Terrorist networks are redirecting their investment into this trade and using false social media narratives to radicalise both Kashmiris and the South Asian diaspora. Another activist, Tasleema Akhter pointed to human rights concerns in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The 52nd session of the UNHRC provided a crucial platform for Kashmiri activists to bring attention to the issues they were facing in the region. The decline in violence and the emergence of victims sharing their experiences are positive developments, but the threat of hybrid warfare, and radicalization through false information remains a challenge.
WATCH WION LIVE HERE: