Srinagar
In occupied Kashmir, the deadly coronavirus pandemic has spread its tentacles across more than 188 countries infecting nearly 8 million people worldwide, while Indian occupied Kashmir is stuck with a daily dose of military violence, cordon and search operations, killings and arrests.
Despite multiple calls for a ceasefire by the UN since the beginning of 2020 amid the pandemic, hundreds of cordon and search operations and killings have taken place in Kashmir in which over a hundred youth have been killed by Indian occupation forces.
More than 30 structures have also been destroyed and damaged by Indian troops. ‘These events are going to have a prolonged psychological effect on the whole population of Kashmir, particularly the children,’ Mutaqeem Altaf, a psychology scholar, told media men.
He said that, despite the pandemic, military violence has not been subdued in Kashmir and children, caught in the middle, are suffering heavily.
Meanwhile, Indian troops continued their cordon and search operations in Srinagar, Ganderbal, Budgam, Pulwama, Shopian, Islamabad, Pulwama, Kulgam, Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar, Rjaouri and Poonch districts. The troops also used choppers and unmanned aerial vehicles during operations in several areas.
It was reported earlier that India claims to have signed an instrument of accession with former Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir but its statement is controversial.
The fact is that Maharaja of Kashmir sought Indian military support against the popular insurgency in Kashmir. Despite the use of military power by India to crush this popular revolt, the Kashmiri people didn’t surrender politically. It was certainly and clearly an illegal and forcible occupation of a sizable part of the State of Jammu and Kashmir by India, therefore, the people of Kashmir and Pakistan never accepted New Delhi’s false claim over Jammu and Kashmir. The United Nations also doesn’t consider Indian claim as legally valid and continues to recognise Kashmir as a disputed territory. As per the UN charter of human rights, freedom is the basic right of any individual or nation. This right can’t be grabbed by any country, no matter how powerful it may be. The Kashmiris’ battle for freedom may appear to be long but the day is not far away when they will be free from India’s brutal occupation. The people of Jammu and Kashmir unanimously deplore the callousness of the international community to their just struggle as it has failed to hold New Delhi accountable for the genocide of the Kashmiris and urge it to give them their inalienable right, the right to self-determination. The world needs to acknowledge the reality that Kashmir has turned into a nuclear flashpoint as it involves two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The fact of the matter is that because of India’s stubborn and United Nation’s compromising attitude, the peace of the whole region is at stake.—KMS
