By Our Correspondent
Pakistan will observe Youm-e-Istehsal on August 5 (Friday) to mark the third year of Indian military siege of Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and denounce illegal, immoral and unconstitutional step to strip IIOJK of its special status.
The government has planned a series of activities including seminars and conferences to mark the Youm-e-Istehsal and express solidarity with the oppressed Kashmiri people while rallies in their support would be staged across the country with vibrant participation of people from all walks of life.
After Modi’s move on August 5, the Kashmiris living in occupied Kashmir have suffered degradation from any angle. According to the Kashmir Human Rights Forum, in recent days there has been an increase in the incidents of Indian security forces rounding up innocent Kashmiris and brutally torturing them at unknown places.
It came as no surprise to anyone following the Modi government’s policies in Occupied Kashmir when the BJP took a U-turn on the government’s Kashmir policy on August 5, 2019. For example, putting Hurriyat leaders in jails, establishing false cases against them, strengthening Kashmiri Hindu Pandits politically and economically, and martyring young Kashmiris in fake encounters were all planned.
Today, the ground reality in occupied Kashmir is that the concept of civil liberties is extinct there, with pro-India political, social and journalistic organisations interpreting the suppression of the voice of Kashmiris as peace. The truth is that Kashmir has once again entered the dark ages, and can be described as a prison behind the bars of Indian oppression and bullying. The neutral circles of the United Nations recognise the fact that the neutral media has been strangled in occupied Kashmir, the journalistic institutions that expose Indian atrocities to the world are forcibly closed. India has been telling the world that it has started a new era of construction and development in occupied Kashmir, but the facts on the ground are that, according to the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, five thousand Kashmiri men and women have lost their jobs.
According to the report, even today thousands of Kashmiris are locked in jails in occupied Kashmir who do not have the freedom to fight their case according to law and justice. Hundreds of young children are also locked in Indian jails who are not being heard. India has implemented strict journalistic censorship to prevent the facts from being brought to light, which cannot in any way reveal the news related to the situation that millions of Kashmiris are facing.
The Modi government implemented the Media Policy 2020 in Occupied Kashmir, which is another name for the strict government policy to suppress dissenting voices in Kashmir. Kashmir Media Policy 2020 empowers bureaucrats and clerks in information department to forcefully suppress true journalistic values. In fact, it is a result of Modi’s new media policy in Kashmir that more than 50 male and female journalists have been issued police notices to come to the police station and give an explanation about their news. Those that came were humiliated, some were threatened by the police and some were even arrested.
Experts believe that after the initiative of August 5, 2019, the New Delhi government has also failed to bring a government in the occupied valley that seems to be representative of Kashmiris. In this background, it can be definitely said that if the policies of the Modi government continue in the same way, then the future will not be bright for the people living in occupied Kashmir.
Despite Pakistan’s diplomatic and political efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue, Islamabad is well aware that India, a follower of Chanakya politics, has created its allies in the world. Regardless of the distinction between Muslim and non-Muslim countries, the Modi government has presented itself to the world as playing a key role in developing the global economy in the third world. This is the reason why important western countries including the United Nations do not hesitate to recognise India’s position, with the Kashmir issue being a practical proof of the double standard of international conduct. This is the reason why the majority of Kashmiris are fed up with the international contractors for peace, including the UN, the truth cannot be denied that they themselves have lit the candle of Kashmir’s freedom movement with their blood.
The circles watching the freedom struggle of occupied Kashmir do not hesitate to admit that Kashmiris are fighting the war of freedom themselves. The Prime Minister of Pakistan expresses his commitment that despite all the problems, Pakistan will continue to support the Kashmiris diplomatically. Shehbaz Sharif has also frequently given the message to the Muslim world that they should put aside their differences and come forward to help the oppressed Kashmiris. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, during his visit to America, informed the top American officials in Washington about the worst situation in occupied Kashmir after India’s action on August 5, 2019.
From the platform of OIC, Pakistan has repeatedly asked Muslim countries to increase their pressure on India for a peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue. Other peacekeeping organisations, including the United Nations, continue to ignore the fact that the Kashmir conflict between two nuclear-armed states can ignite the flames of war at any time.
