Why Kashmir Matters by President of Pakistan, Arif Alvi

Why Kashmir matters By President of
Pakistan, Arif Alvi

THIS year, Aug 5 will mark two years since India unilaterally and illegally stripped Indian Illegally Occupied
Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) 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 are minder that the valiant spirit of freedom, imbued in the people of Kashmir by their forefathers through
their epic struggle against Dogra rule, 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 theaspirations of the people of
Kashmir and in keeping with the principles of UNSC resolutions. Despitethe ebb and flow of global politics,
Pakistan always has, and will continue to remain committed tothis 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 rightsviolations on the
world stage. For the first time in decades, the Kashmir issue has been discussed atthe UNSC. Several leaders
across the world and international journalists have called out India for itshuman rights violations in IIOJK.
The prime minister, his cabinet, and our parliament have raised serious concerns about brutal Indianactions in
IIOJK since Aug 5, 2019. I share those concerns. The situation on the ground and theunilateral and illegal actions
of the occupying Indian forces demonstrate that a project to erase theKashmiri identity is underway in IIOJK. This
includes forced demographic change through arbitraryalterations in a century-old domicile law. This practice,
wherever it has been used, increasesbitterness in the local population against the occupier’s activities and
intentions.
The struggle in Kashmir is indigenous andhas enjoyed popular support against India’smilitary occupation.
Kashmiris are no strangers to the demographic designs of their occupiers. India first employed thisstrategy during
the time of partition. In November 1947, close to 300,000 Kashmiri Muslims werebrutally exterminated in Jammu
by the maharaja’s state-sponsored Dogra paramilitaries and RSS-inspired mobs. This genocidal massacre led to
the exodus and forced displacement of nearly a millionJammu Muslims. Experts claim this was a state-sponsored
massacre to deliberately alter thedemographic make-up of Jammu, a region where Muslims were over 60 per cent
of the totalpopulation, and therefore in a clear majority. As a result of the massacre and forced
displacement,Muslims in Jammu were reduced to a minority and the demographics remain artificially altered tothis
day. Today, many in IIOJK fear a repeat of that tragedy.
In addition to demographic change, the Indian government has passed a law to diminish the use ofthe Urdu
language — which has been the official language for the last 131 years in the region. Muslimnames of public
spaces are also being changed while an effort to artificially decrease therepresentation of Muslims through forced
delimitation is another attempt to diminish the uniqueidentity of Kashmiris.
These actions have been made possible by the unilateral and illegal revocation of Article 370 and 35Acompletely
against the wishes of the people of IIOJK. While Pakistan has never recognised theapplication of any article of the
Indian constitution on IIOJK, the revocation of Article 370 and 35Ahave resulted in material change in the situation
on the ground — a clear violation of bilateralagreements and international resolutions.
To ensure that widespread resistance by Kashmiris against these draconian actions is controlled, theIndian
occupation forces have turned IIOJK into a prison like no other in the world. Today, there isone Indian soldier for
every eight Kashmiris. Thousands of political leaders, teachers, activists,journalists and students remain
incarcerated in prisons across India under draconian laws andtrumped up charges. Many Hurriyat leaders are in
frail health and their families fear for their safety.
Explainer
What India's change to occupied Kashmir's status means
The BJP government has demonstrated that its Hindutva-inspired political tendencies and actionsnot only
threaten Kashmir’s political identity and historical legacy, but also pose a danger to regionalpeace and a global
order based on international norms of choice and freedom. India, under the BJP,has become increasingly
revisionist and hegemonic, seeking to change the status quo through the useof force and military adventurism.
To divert attention from the humanitarian catastrophe in IIOJK, India has embarked on a campaignto malign
Pakistan internationally through a concerted propaganda campaign while actually sponsoring terrorism against
my country, as revealed by Pakistan’s dossier on Indian-sponsored terrorism and disinformation against Pakistan.
The internationally acclaimed EU Disinfo Lab has revealed the manipulation and mischievous efforts to mislead
the UN system and EU Parliament using fake NGOs and fake news websites to demean Pakistan. Most recently,
a high Indian official has admitted to playing politics on FATF
and leveraging its clout to make Pakistan stay on the grey list. All these raise important questions for Pakistan and
the region. We ask ourselves if the current Indian government is a rational actor or an ideologically motivated
regime that cannot be trusted.
The struggle in Kashmir is indigenous and has always enjoyed popular support against the Indian military
occupation. Through its latest actions, a belligerent India has lost whatever little support it claimed to have in
IIOJK. Kashmiris have always shown bravery, resilience and perseverance in the face of injustice and state
brutality. They will resist Indian occupation till they achieve their political rights, guaranteed to them by the
international community under UNSC resolutions.
Pakistan will continue to awaken the world conscience to the plight of the Kashmiris and I urge the nations of the
world and remind them that they owe it to the people of Kashmir and to the principles of humanity to let Kashmiris
decide their future for themselves as enshrined in the UNSC resolutions. Kashmir stays as an unfulfilled promise
on the world conscience. The day is not far when the people of Kashmir will be free from the yolk of Indian
occupation Insha’Allah.
The writer is president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

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Why Kashmir Matters by President of Pakistan, Arif Alvi

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Why Kashmir matters By President of

Pakistan, Arif Alvi

What India's change to occupied Kashmir's status means

The writer is president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

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