NEW YORK: Hundreds of Kashmiris and Sikhs staged protest against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in United States (US) where he came to participate in United Nations’ (UN) meeting.
The US-based Kashmiris and Sikhs held placards and chanted slogans against the Indian prime minister when he was making speech at the UN Summit on Sustainable Development.
The Kashmiris through protest wanted to draw attention of the world community over the gross human rights violations by the Indian authorities in Kashmir.
‘It is time to remind the world leaders that Kashmir is recognised by the United Nations as a disputed territory whose status is yet to be determined,’ a statement from the Kashmir
Mission in US said.
‘Because of the obduracy of India to give the people of Kashmir the right of self determination, Kashmir has become the largest military concentration in the world,’ the statement said.
The Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) said it would approach Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon on the issue of the Sikhs rights during the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly.
The Sikh group has been campaigning for the right to vote in the year 2020 on the question: ‘Should the territory of Punjab, currently occupied by India, be an independent country?’
Carrying banners stating ‘India denies Sikhs language, religion’, ‘Sikh Referendum 2020 – For Self Determination’, the community raised slogans against the Indian government.
Meanwhile the US-based Sikh rights group also filed a lawsuit in a court in California seeking to block the public address of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Silicon Valley on September 27.
Over 150 Heads of States and Government were attending the event at the UN Headquarters that was also addressed by Pope Francis.
