TEHRAN – The Office for Strengthening Unity (OSU), an Iranian student organization, has written an open letter to United Nations Secretary General António Guterres urging the UN to condemn the Indian government for its behavior against Kashmiris.

Established in 1979, OSU has been described as “the country’s most well-known student organization,” and “Iran’s leading pro-democracy student group.”

In its letter to Guterres, the OSU said one of the means of preserving human dignity in any society is to protect the right of its people to choose their own destiny, Mehr reported.

“Recently, there have been incidents in the Kashmir region which are the cause of concern for every freedom-seeking human being,” the message read, pointing to the Indian government’s persecution of the oppressed Muslims of Kashmir and its violation of international treaties.

The OSU urged the UN to get actively involved in the crisis to end the Indian government’s suppression in Kashmir and condemn India for its failure to hold a referendum under Resolution 47.

India laid a siege on Kashmir after New Delhi scrapped the autonomy of the UN declared disputed region earlier this month. Fearing a violent public reaction, India enforced a curfew in its part of this Muslim majority region which is divided between Pakistan and India.

The curfew in the entire Indian Jammu and Kashmir is nearing to its third week. 

According to Gulf News, a delegation of opposition parties, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, boarded a flight to visit Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, their first since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5.

However, sources said the delegation was sent back from the airport as the state administration urged them not to visit the state, saying attempts should not be made to disturb the gradual restoration of normalcy there. 
 
MH/PA