Srinagar, April 30 2025 — A senior Hurriyat leader has issued an impassioned appeal to the United Nations in Srinagar to take urgent notice of the growing humanitarian crisis due to cross-border family separations in Jammu and Kashmir.
Hurriyat Conference representative Ghulam Muhammad Mir issued a press statement on Tuesday lamenting how decades of division and conflict along the Line of Control have caused thousands of Kashmiri families to be torn apart, yet their suffering continues to go ignored in wider geopolitical discussions about Kashmir.
“Underneath all of the political and military posturing, there are real lives being lost every day,” Mir said. “Elderly parents have not seen their children for years. Brothers and sisters remain estranged. Couples have been forced to live across hostile borders without hope of reunion.”
Mir requested the United Nations intervene on humanitarian grounds and facilitate a mechanism for cross-LoC family reunification, travel and communication. He proposed reinstating and expanding a cross-border bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad that had been suspended several times due to political tensions and security concerns.
Hurriyat leader Ahmad Malik also lashed out at India and Pakistan for failing to prioritize the humanitarian aspects of Kashmir conflict, noting: “Both sides exchange allegations and threats while it is the Kashmiris themselves who continue to bear the weight of an unresolved dispute,” according to him.
Human rights organizations have documented the plight of families separated in Kashmir. With postal, telecoms and travel links often being restricted or monitored by authorities, communication remains difficult and heavily bureaucratic for these separated families; especially those displaced during 1947-49 conflicts where communication lines were restricted or monitored and their communications impeded by LoC barriers.
Mir has made an appeal to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Human Rights Council, calling on them to conduct a fact-finding mission that can assess the human cost of conflict as well as recommend humanitarian corridors that facilitate meaningful family reunions.
“We cannot remain silent; Kashmir is not only a political conflict – it’s an unfolding human tragedy,” concluded Mr. Bhatia.
The appeal comes amid rising military tensions in Kashmir and rising humanitarian needs for thousands of families living there. Analysts warn of further escalated tensions escalation that could deepen humanitarian woes further for them.