QUAID-i-Azam declared Kashmir the jugular vein of Pakistan, making it our lifeline. The Kashmiri nation vehemently rejects the forced annexation of India-occupied Jammu & Kashmir imposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5, 2019. Since then, Pakistan has marked August 5th to protest the revocation of India-occupied Kashmir’s special status. India has taken cues from Israel on altering demographics. Despite numerous promises from Indian rulers to Kashmiris and Pakistan regarding the fundamental right of self-determination, none have been fulfilled. India signed the Simla Agreement with Pakistan in which it was decided that both the countries will hold bilateral dialogue regarding fate of Kashmir, but to date, India has refused to hold talks. Whenever the issue was raised on multilateral forums, India made excuses saying that it was a bilateral issue but they are not ready to talk. Pakistan did not accept Article 370 which provided special status to the occupied region because we want independence of Kashmir since it is not part of India. Narendra Modi’s government repealed the law and changed Article 35(A) on August 5, 2019. Since long India has imposed an unending lockdown in illegally occupied Kashmir.
The Pakistan government has always strived for peace. Even after India violated Pakistani airspace in response to the Pulwama blast, Pakistan returned the captured Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan to demonstrate to the world, and to India, that we seek peace, not war. Pakistan demands that the United Nations Security Council, which has passed resolutions regarding the Kashmir issue, fulfill its promises. To hide ground realities from the entire world, the Modi government is denying international media access to India-occupied Kashmir. If the situation is peaceful, the press should have complete freedom to report from the region. The changes introduced by the Indian government, which violate the Geneva Convention and UN rules, are unacceptable and should be withdrawn by all means. The Pakistani nation appeals to the international community and world bodies, including the OIC and UN, to take notice of the barbaric actions of the Indian forces in occupied Kashmir. Pakistan will always continue its peaceful efforts for the Kashmir cause. Every Pakistani stands with the Kashmiris, and the time is not far when illegally occupied Kashmir will be free from Indian brutal clutches. India snatched the identity of Kashmiris on August 5, 2019, took down their flag and imposed the world’s longest curfew in occupied Kashmir. Despite these atrocities, our Kashmiri brethren are determined in their struggle for self-determination. Kashmiris have decided that their lives and deaths are with Pakistan, and Pakistan’s life and death are with Kashmir. Pakistan would never leave their Kashmiri brothers and sisters alone.
Kashmir has been converted into the world’s biggest jail. Unfortunately, the world community has not given the response that was expected on the Kashmir issue. Pakistan will always strongly raise the burning Kashmir issue in the UN, OIC and all other international forums to bring the world’s attention to it. Pakistan is an ambassador of Kashmir to the whole world. We want to assure Kashmiris that every child in Pakistan stands with them. The government and opposition are united on the Kashmir issue, sending a clear message to India that they cannot break the Kashmiris with oppression and torture. India should not consider Kashmiris a weak nation. Strong and brave Kashmiris have been fighting against Indian forces for their fundamental right of self-determination.
For Kashmiris, August 5, 2019 is a date of exploitation. The government of Pakistan has declared August 5 as Yaum-i-Istehsal (the day of exploitation) of occupied Kashmir’s residents, in order to register protest against Indian government’s decision to strip occupied Kashmir of its autonomy. Pakistan continues to be an ambassador for all Kashmiris whose voices India has tried to silence. Kashmiris in IIOJK (Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir) have been subjected to a brutal fascist military siege by India since its illegal actions of 5th Aug 2019 followed by efforts to change the demography of IIOJK. Pakistani nation strongly condemns Indian government’s decision to strip occupied Kashmir’s special status and its ongoing atrocities against the residents of the region. Illegal act of India to annex occupied Kashmir is not acceptable for Kashmiris. The Indian occupied Kashmir has been under lockdown for years and people have been facing atrocities by the occupation forces. The martyrs of the Kashmir freedom movement can never be forgotten. Over one hundred thousand Kashmiris have been martyred by brutal Indian forces. Today young Kashmiris idealise the bravery and sacrifices of great Kashmiri freedom fighters Maqbool Butt, Afzal Guru and Burhan Wani.
—The writer is author of several books based in Islamabad.
