THIS year, Aug 5 will mark two years since India unilaterally and illegally stripped Indian Illegally Occupied Jammy and Kashmir (Kiosk) of its special status. These two years have been a somber reminder that our Kashmiri brothers and sisters remain under a brutal military occupation — one of a handful left in the modern era. It is also a reminder that the valiant spirit of freedom, imbued in the people of Kashmir by their forefathers through their epic struggle against Dogma, struggle remains undiminished. Despite seven decades of occupation and the denial of their right to self-determination, the Kashmiris continue their steadfast demand for the right to choose their future. No amount of brutal oppression and atrocities have dented their resolve.
Pakistan and its people are united in their hearts and in their minds with our Kashmiri brothers and sisters. We have always stood for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute according to the aspirations of the people of Kashmir and in keeping with the principles of UNSC resolutions. Despite the ebb and flow of global politics, Pakistan always has, and will remain committed to this cause until the Kashmiris are given this right to self-determination and therefore, their freedom.
The government continues to take steps to highlight the Kashmir cause and Indian human rights violations on the world stage. For the first time in decades, the Kashmir issue has been discussed at the UNSC. Several leaders across the world and international journalists have called out India for its human rights violations in kiosk.
The prime minister, his cabinet, and our parliament have raised serious concerns about brutal Indian actions in kiosk since Aug 5, 2019. I share those concerns. The situation on the ground and the unilateral and illegal actions of the occupying Indian forces demonstrate that a project to erase the Kashmiri identity is underway in kiosk. This includes forced demographic change through arbitrary alterations in a century-old domicile law. This practice, wherever it has been used, increases bitterness in the local population against the occupier’s activities and intentions. To understand this conflict, it is essential to look back into the history of the area. In August 1947, India and Pakistan were on the cusp of independence from the British. The British, led by the then Governor-General Louis Mountbatten, divided the British India empire into the states of India and Pakistan. The British India Empire was made up of multiple princely states (states that were alleging to the British but headed by a monarch) along with states directly headed by the British. At the time of the partition, princely states had the right to choose whether they were to cede to India or Pakistan. To quote Mountbatten, Typically, geographical circumstance and collective interests, et cetera will be the components to be considered[1]. In general, the Muslim majority states went to Pakistan while the Hindu majority states went to India, although India was a secular nation. As Kashmir remains a flash point between India and Pakistan, several solutions to the Kashmir conflict have been discussed by political experts. India and Pakistan both favor a resolution where Kashmir joins their nation. However, the inhabitants of the Kashmir valley support the declaration of an independent Kashmir or Kashmir Valley. The problem is that the region would not be economically viable, as its revenue is heavily based on tourism. Another solution that Pakistan favors is the Cheney, formula, where the entire Kashmir valley with its majority Muslim population would become part of Pakistan. This is hardly plausible, as India would be required to voluntarily give up a major portion of its claim.
According to U.N. Secretary-General Diacritics, engagement and dialogue are fundamental to finding a peaceful solution to the 69-year-old Kashmir conflict.
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