Saif ur Rehman
THE government of Pakistan has announced August 5 as Youme Estehsaal which will be observed to remind the world community as to how the forces of darkness led by the haughty Indian leaders, under the command of Prime Minister Nirendra Modi, unconstitutionally and unjustifiably revoked Articles 370 and 35 A of the Indian Constitution on this day, last year (on Aug 5, 2019).
It was yet another black day in the history of Kashmir, the same Kashmir that has been declared a nuclear flashpoint by the global powers time and again because both Pakistan and India have fought two major wars on this dispute i.e the Kashmir dispute which dates back to the partition of subcontinent. Already, the Kashmiris especially the Kashmiri Muslims have seen too much of misery and suffering at the hands of Indian troops which are in a state of invasion. It is strange that India calls Kashmir as its integral part (Atoot Ang). Still it has deployed 0.7 to 08 million regular troops and about 0.4 million paramilitary forces in Kashmir as if they were invading their own territory.
While the Kashmiri Muslims who have been denied their due right of self-determination for the last seven plus decades, were already subjected to mass rapes, mass killings, kidnappings, siege and enforced disappearances, the very act of revocation of Articles 370 and 35 A can be described as the height of injustice. By way of this act, the Indian government has reinforced the unfair, unjust accession of Kashmir to India, as done by the Valley’s Dogra Maharaja about seven decades back.
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has made it a point to expose the nefarious designs and wrongdoings of Modi Sarkar at the global level as he is making use of every available opportunity (rather, PM is creating opportunities) to highlight Kashmir cause vociferously and perseveringly.
It is about time the world should wake up from the deep slumber and try in all earnest to forestall the catastrophe in the making in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K).
It is a fact that the bestialities in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K), especially after the revocation of special status of Kashmir on August 5 last through unconstitutional means i.e through the repeal of Articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian Constitution, have multiplied manifold.
But, at the same time, one feels satisfied to see our officialdom and overseas Pakistanis joining hands with Pakistan’s top leadership to sensitize the world to the Kashmir imbroglio which is no less than any human tragedy in the contemporary world.
The global fraternity must say goodbye to its indifferent posturing and save more than one billion population of Pakistan-India subcontinent from disaster. The world is already well aware that two major wars have been fought on Kashmir in this region and in case of another war erupting in the wake of heightened tensions, the end result is going to be devastation. It must also be kept in view that Pakistan and India are globally recognized nuclear powers, as well.
And this fact is also very well known to the world that India has always been looking for pretexts and lame excuses to incite aggression in this volatile region. The repeated ceasefire violations at the Line of Control (LoC) by Indian forces has become a regular routine and it has ended up, most of the time, in the martyrdom of innocent Pakistanis. Indian forces have not even spared the working boundary. But, whenever, the UNMOGIP (United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan) team has expressed its desire to visit the areas where ceasefire violations have been reported, the Government of India has refused to grant the UNMOGIP request on one pretext or the other. Sometimes, India takes refuge behind misinterpretations of UNMOGIP mandate.
However, Pakistan has always cooperated with the UN Observers and other international teams coming to inspect these areas. Pakistani authorities also arranged a tour of European diplomats to see the proofs of ceasefire violations for themselves as committed by India, time and again.
The problem with Nirendra Modi is that he is a RSS disciple and, as such, is imbued with the spirit of contempt and hatred for minorities. These people look down at non-Hindus, especially Muslims with contempt.
Indian society abounds in instances of perpetration of violence against Muslims.
The biggest victims of this hatred are the Muslims of Kashmir. Their first crime is that they are Muslims. Yet bigger crime of the Kashmiris, apart from their adherence to Islamic faith, is their demand for plebiscite under the aegis of United Nations, as per Security Council resolutions.
And those among Kashmiri Muslims who go a bit further in demanding freedom, simultaneously condemning Kashmir Valley’s fake accession to India, are the most hated category of people.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, during his latest address to the UN General Assembly, gave an in-depth analysis of all these ruthless happenings which have roots in the phenomenon of Islamophobia.
Now, the international media has also started understanding the realities as they exist on ground in the Kashmir region. The credit goes to Pakistani government and its diplomatic corps as well as to Pakistani media and diaspora.
This, in turn, has made Pakistan’s Kashmir case yet clearer to the world community.
It is believed that the world community will assert this time and play its due role for ensuring lasting peace in the region called nuclear flashpoint.
