Youm-e-Istehsal
The inhuman military siege of occupied Kashmir laid by New Delhi on August 5, 2019 through its brute occupation force, numbering in hundreds of thousands, continues with callous disregard to human sufferings and in stark violation of international laws and conventions. The continuing two-year-long siege has literally turned the Himalayan territory into an open jail, with its millions of inhabitants deprived of their fundamental rights to move freely, assemble, and communicate among themselves and with the outside world. And all the leaders and activists raising voice against this unprecedented oppression have found themselves in jails or put under house-arrest. The brutal restrictions — meant to preempt a reaction to New Delhi’s revocation of occupied Kashmir’s special autonomous status — continue to this day as the Modi regime is well aware of the resistance potential of the gritty Kashmiri nation.
As this vicious lockdown of the Muslim-majority state completed two years yesterday, people across Pakistan as well as in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan observed Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir — or Day of exploitation — to highlight the unceasing savagery of the Indian government in a hope to jolt the world out of its criminal slumber. Rallies in support of Kashmiris were staged across the country with vibrant participation of people from all walks of life. One such rally, in Islamabad, was led by President Arif Alvi and other government officials. One more — staged in Karachi — had Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah in the lead. Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, in their strongly-worded statements, warned New Delhi against any sinister moves on the occupied region, and sent out a clear-cut message that the whole of Pakistan is with their Kashmiri brethren.
It’s time for New Delhi to realise its inability to actually annex Kashmir to the state of India — by whatever means. It’s also time for the world powers to help lift India out of this illusion — a pointless plan that has failed to translate into reality for more than seven decades. It’s time to give the Kashmiris their due — their right to self-determination.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 6th, 2021.
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