All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) chapter Convener Ghulam Muhammad Safi said today that the world is observing the International Widows’ Day, today, while Kashmiri women are oppressed by the Indian forces in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

According to a Kashmir Media Service report, Safi in a statement issued in Islamabad alleged, “There are over 2,000 half-widows in occupied Jammu and Kashmir whose husbands had been forcibly disappeared by the Indian Army. Nothing can be said about whether they are alive or dead. This situation has made life worse than death for these women.”

He lamented that thousands of women had lost their husbands, brothers and sons because they were martyred or disappeared in custody by Indian troops. “The world should not forget the trauma of Kashmiri widows today as it is a day to raise awareness about the plight of half-widows,” he added.

Safi said according to a report, since January 1989, over 23,000 women had been widowed in Indian state terrorism while their husbands were martyred by Indian troops and police personnel. He said the United Nations Secretary General, Human Rights Council and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation had also urged India to ensure the safety of women and citizens in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and also resolve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the resolutions of the World Body. A just and immediate solution to the lingering Kashmir dispute is very important for regional and world peace, he maintained.

Meanwhile, Hurriyat leader Abdul Hameed Lone in a statement in Islamabad said the purpose of observing this day was to highlight the problems faced by women whose husbands had been killed by Indian troops in the custody or disappeared.

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