MODI government is going ahead with its plans to disturb the demographic composition of occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Reportedly, up to twenty-five thousand Indian people have been granted domicile certificates of occupied Jammu and Kashmir since May 18. The certificate, a sort of citizenship right, entitles a person to residency and government jobs in the region, which until last year were reserved only for the local population.
The latest action indeed is part of Modi’s sinister scheme to turn Kashmiris into a minority in their own land. Last year, India had annexed the occupied territory with the same intent in mind. The way Israel has usurped the land of Palestinians by building illegal settlements, India is also pursuing the same course to grab the lands of Kashmiris. Reacting to the Indian step, Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said the Indian government by changing the demographic make-up of occupied Kashmir intends to undermine its residents’ exercise of their right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN supervision. Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute and the discussions held by the UNSC in the recent past vindicated Pakistan’s stance on it. Therefore, all such actions on the part of India are illegal and contrary to resolutions of UNSC. Whilst Kashmir has and will never accept such Indian tactics, it is time for Pakistan to further step its diplomatic efforts to project the true sentiments of Kashmiris at the international level. OIC must go beyond mere issuing condemnation statements and take the practical steps for the protection of rights of Kashmiri people. World bodies such as the United Nations must not remain silent on the domicile issue. They need to intervene and stop India from settling its people in the disputed territory. The consequences will be dangerous and the situation will further boil up if the world community fails to act now as the Kashmiris for the rightful reasons will never allow these Indians to grab their land. These Kashmiris have been rendering lives for their just struggle over the last seven decades and they will never surrender until they get their right to self determination.
