Under a lockdown for more than a year, Kashmiris have been braving the cruelty of the Indian occupation forces for decades. More and more Kashmiri youths — like the iconic Burhan Wani — are sacrificing their lives for the sole purpose of achieving the right to self-determination guaranteed to them under the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The Kashmiris’ struggle for freedom has gained momentum in recent times. The stories of the valour of Kashmiri civilians and the oppression by the Indian troops are also being highlighted in the mainstream and social media. The images of a sobbing toddler sitting near the dead body of his grandfather, who had been brutally murdered by the occupation forces, evoked both sympathy and outrage the world over. And recently a report by a renowned international news agency highlighted the struggle of journalists in Kashmir. The report says that many journalists were detained just because they were raising their voice against the Indian brutality. The media, according to the report, is being intimidated by authorities so that they could not highlight the truth.
What is happening in Kashmir is heart-wrenching. But unfortunately, the Muslim Ummah is divided with almost every country only acting in self-interest instead of supporting the cause of the Kashmiris with one voice. The Ummah must unite in their stance on the longstanding Kashmir dispute. The OIC must now come out of its deep slumber and pressurise India to lift the lockdown in the occupied state. The 57-member Muslim bloc must take a serious action as regards the resolution of the Kashmir issue rather than do mere lip service.
Syed Mulazim Hussain Yasir
DI Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, August 12th, 2020.
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