Flaming Kashmir
By Ali Sukhanver
India has once again started blaming Pakistan of supporting the freedom fighters in the Indian Occupied Kashmir through it premier intelligence agency the ISI. The tradition of dragging Pakistan into Kashmir conflict is very old but after Modi’s coming into power this tradition has become stronger. On one hand where Muslim actors, film directors, poets and singers are being victimized in India, the blame game with reference to the Indian Occupied Kashmir is also on its bloom. Every day the Indian newspapers are replete with the anti-Pakistan statements of the Indian extremist leaders. Mr. Modi is the commander and the in-charge of this anti Pakistan movement. The only demand of the Kashmiris is the solution of Kashmir conflict in the light of the promise made by the first Indian Prime Minister Mr. Nehru; the plebiscite or the right to vote. Most of the Kashmiri leaders are of the opinion that a simple plebiscite is the only solution to this chronic problem of Kashmir. The government of India is never willing to act upon the resolution of UN or on the idea promoted by Mr. Nehru. Instead of talking to the Kashmiri leaders, the government of India is trying its best to crush the Kashmiris by force. Every day one finds countless examples of human rights violations in Kashmir. Uncountable numbers have yet been wounded and maimed, mass imprisonment and exile and even the use of rape as a tool of occupation has ever been the lot of the Kashmiris and they are so helpless that except Pakistan no other country is ready to plead the case of helpless Kashmiris openly. The international community continues to engage India in trade, commerce, military, nuclear, and cultural relations, without insisting on answerability for the violations committed by its government and military and paramilitary forces. Moreover , publicly the Indian authorities are never willing to accept the reality that Kashmir is a controversial issue but inwardly they are very well aware of the fact that one day they will have to surrender before the local and international pressure and hold a plebiscite.
The Indian government is continuously depriving the people of Kashmir of their basic human rights. Executive Orders like AFSPA are simply making the life of Kashmir people painful as much as possible. Armed Forces Special Powers Act grants special powers to the Indian Armed Forces in so-called disturbed areas. This Act of 1958 is commonly known as ‘a draconian law’ and it allows even a junior non-commissioned officer to ‘shoot to kill’ on mere suspicion in order to maintain ‘Public Order’. This license to murder is widely misused by the security forces in India particularly in Indian Occupied Kashmir. Some of the moderate politicians of India call this license ‘a trigger-happy culture of governance’. The Act has been employed in the Indian administrated state of Jammu and Kashmir since 1990. As per rules and regulations the security forces of any country must be the custodians of human rights and civil privileges but in the Indian Occupied Kashmir the situation is altogether different. Under the shield of AFSPA, the security forces are butchering and slaughtering the innocent people of the Indian Occupied Kashmir. Various human rights activists have ever been expressing their reservations regarding this inhuman and brutal Act but they are never listened to.
The Indian occupation forces are trying their utmost to suppress the freedom movement in Kashmir by using coercive techniques to intimidate Kashmiris but they have yet not succeeded in defeating the people of Kashmir who are determined with an unwavering resolve to fight for their just cause in order to get their rights of self-determination. The Indian media is making an effort to confuse the world by portraying the Kashmir movement as a Muslim movement. Some of the ‘paid’ analysts are struggling to connect this freedom movement with jihad and Muslim extremism. But there are countless Hindu and Sikh scholars to whom the Indian occupation on Kashmir is the worst example of human rights’ violation.
At present the innocent Kashmiris are passing through the ever-worst phase of their life but the International community has done nothing so far for them. The scenic paradise of the Indian Occupied Kashmir has been blazing with flames of fright and terror for the last many decades. Countless innocent Kashmiris have yet been injured and so many deprived of their lives. Schools, markets, offices, mosques and even the small mud-houses are presenting picture of a wasteland. Indian obstinacy to delay meaningful dialogue on Kashmir and presence of its Army in the state are the main causes of delay in resolution of Kashmir dispute. The situation demands for a serious action including ban on draconian laws like AFSPA. The Kashmiris are a nation according to any definition. They must be given the same rights which other nations are enjoying.
