AJK president vows to explode false narratives about Kashmir woven by India

Masood Khan says Kashmiri youth will have a crucial role in shaping the valley's future

MUZAFFARABAD:

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan has said that the world multilateral fora’s, notably the United Nations’ response to the ongoing settler-colonisation of the occupied territory remains guarded and cautious as we complete one year of the Modi-led government’s audacious militaristic lebensraum and irredentism in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

“UN Secretary General António Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet have made some helpful statements but that is not enough,” President Masood wrote in an article published by Hilal magazine of Pakistan Army.

He said that against the backdrop of the ghastly crimes being committed and the ongoing genocide entering the penultimate phase of extermination, an indigenous explosion within IIOJK, not “abetted” by Pakistan, cannot be ruled out. “The asphyxiating chokehold in the territory is unbearable. The dead are dead, but the livings are also dead. They see no choice but to reclaim their homeland.”

The AJK president said to turn the tide in the coming months, we will have to close our ranks and convert the liberty of Occupied Kashmir into an intentional movement and take it to multilateral forums without feeling discouraged by their apathy and expediency.

“We should remain persistent in knocking on their doors until they open them and hear us out. The UN Security Council must be coaxed, goaded and pushed to create conditions for the implementation of its own resolutions on Kashmir or to start afresh round of consultations under Chapters VI and VII of the Charter.”

While insisting that bilateralism has failed to resolve Kashmir issue, President Masood said Kashmir is neither a territorial dispute nor a barter of chattel, so the myth that Kashmir is a bilateral issue must be shattered.

“The fate of 14 million Kashmiris is at stake that has to choose their destiny. In this context, we will continue to work on influential parliaments whose weight will be felt by the the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council. Equally important, in this context, is the international civil society, which now determines, for instance, the fate of fossil fuel and how societies should redesign a safe and secure global ecosystem. It can be a powerful voice on Kashmir," he went on to say.

The president said 10 million strong Pakistani and Kashmiri diaspora community, along with its growing network, has adequate political influence and economic clout to shape public opinion and tilt the balance towards the truth and the restitution of the rights of the Kashmiris. "We will continue to leverage their strengths."

He also wrote in the article: “In order to explode the false narratives about Kashmir woven and peddled by India to the world, we would continue to take our true, genuine narrative to the world forums and the international community. Our efforts should not be confined to the traditional and new media but to the outlets where critical thinking is nurtured and to the portals of new technologies."

Stressing the need for passing the baton of leadership to the younger generation – both men and women, the AJK president said youth will have a crucial role in shaping our future and they are already giving their blood in Kashmir. "They must be made part of political and diplomatic campaigns and outreach."

He said when we talk about Indian atrocities; we do not hold all 1.3 billion people of India responsible. "Among them are some of the most exploited and degraded segments who are at the mercy of an elitist oligarchy and plutocracy in India."

He said some 250 million Dalits are being treated in India as sub-human species. "And 200 million Muslims are on the verge of exile and expulsion en masse."

He added that there are others: Sikhs, Christian, Tribal and economic migrants who all face the risks of statelessness in varying degrees. The bulk of these marginalised citizens do not endorse India’s brutal policies in IIOJK. It is therefore essential to build bridges with them and muster their support for Kashmir.

Pleading that conscious effort should be made to turn Pakistan into a politically cohesive and economically strong nation, Masood said BJP-RSS regime in India has waged multiple wars simultaneously against all its neighbours, especially Pakistan, the people of IIOJK, and, above all, against its own people by taking off the veil and veneer of secularism.

“What is left now is a skewed doctrine of jingoism, violence, hatred, exceptionalism and exclusivism. The worst victims of this toxic brew would be Indian people but before that, the juggernaut of Hindutva would have destroyed the shackled nation of Kashmir.”

He remarked that effort has to be made to avert such a catastrophe. "For their part, the valiant people of Kashmir have vowed that they would get their freedom from India despite its latest invasion. This is the verdict of history."