Reign of terror in Kashmir occupied by India

Kashmiris whose motherland was occupied by India at gunpoint in violation of the United Nations Charter more than six decades ago have not surrendered. They look towards Muslim states for unhindered support to their cause in the face of curfew, killing of men, women and chidren.

The Kashmiri youth living in Rawalpindi-Islamabad and Lahore for studies and earning livelihood feel encouraged by Pakistan’s befitting response to India’s aggressive posture on Line of Control. They laud highlighting at emergency OIC sessions the Indian brutalities in Jammu and Kashmir against innocent and defenceless civilians who are struggling for their right to self-determination.

India had promised to hold plebiscite long ago in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution but has not yet stood by its commitment. Instead, it has reportedly violated the ceasefire agreement 103 times. Such an undemocratic act should have opened the eyes of the Western democracies, but they all seem to have turned a blind eye to Indian barbarity in the occupied valley.

Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and across the globe observe the Indian Independence Day on August 15 as Black Day to convey the message to international community that India is usurper of their inalienable right to self-determination.

The question is: Can regional peace be achieved without solving the Kashmir issue? Youths say there has to be a just resolution of the dispute: “We can’t be cowed, nor can anybody, silence us.”

The issue has been lying unresolved with the UN despite resolutions adopted unanimously, which empowered Kashmiris to exercise their right to self-determination. That’s called plebiscite which simply means the direct vote of Kashmiris, wherever they are, on the issue.

The state of Jammu and Kashmir wanted to exercise that right, but the Indian Armed Forces committed naked aggression on the state.

A memorandum annexed to Kashmiris’ appeal to British MPs 28 years ago high-lighted their struggle against oppressive Dogra rule and establishment of a de jure revolutionary government in liberated part of the state on October 24, 1947.

The notable part thereof was the fact that the fleeing Maharaja Hari Singh secretly entered into “an unholy treaty” with the Indian government on October 27, 1947, and a provisional treaty of accession was executed on the basis of which the Indian Army troops were dropped and pushed into the state to fight against the Kashmiri freedom fighters.

The day of Indian army attack came to be known as the Black Day in Kashmir and is observed as such by Kashmiris and their supporters.

There is reign of terror in Indian-occupied Kashmir. At least 200 Kashmiris, incuding minors, have been martyred, and 8,000 injured by Indian army during the last two- and- a- half years. About 500 have lost their eye-sight and about 1700 have been arrested.

—- zasarwar@hotmail.com