'Strong, stable Pakistan critical for success'

Masood says struggle in disputed territory is purely locally armed with beliefs and convictions

The fate of Kashmir is intrinsically linked to the Pakistan’s political, strategic, economic and social viability of Pakistan.

This was stated by Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan while talking about ‘Kashmir: Today and Tomorrow’ at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in Islamabad on Wednesday.

Calling Pakistan a ‘window to the world for Kashmir’s struggle’, Masood lauded Pakistan’s role in keeping the Kashmir issue alive in the international arena, noting that the country had to make sacrifices over the past 70 years, but it never relinquished its support to the Kashmiri freedom movement.

Speaking of Indian propaganda, Masood said that New Delhi was deliberately trying to blur the lines between the freedom struggle of the indigenous population and terrorism to hide its atrocities and to justify the presence of over 700,00 Indian forces in disputed Himalayan territory.

This, he said, was indicative of the fact that there are crimes against humanity taking place there, with suppression.

Masood further warned that India was trying to ‘doctor’ the population’s ratio to support the Indian narrative.

Rejecting  New Delhi’s accusations against Islamabad for supporting militant groups in Kashmir, he claimed that there were no non-state actors from Pakistan operating across the Line of Control (LOC), which was sealed through heavy barbed wires and latest surveillance technology.

“The ongoing struggle and fight for freedom of Kashmir is indigenous and is armed with only with the belief and conviction of freedom fighters,” he remarked.

Masood noted that the fifth generation of Kashmiris had taken to a new battleground to fight its war of independence against India, raising its voice through social media and unarmed street power.

Masood noted that international organisations like the UN whose behaviour largely lacked empathy for the Kashmiris and was based on double standards.

Talking about AJK, Masood said that contrary to Indian propaganda, the Pakistani side of Kashmir was thriving and had its own political and governance structure in place.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2017.