(by Syeda Kausar Fatima)
“Youm-e-Istehsal” reminds us of the grave consequences of India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 vis-à-vis Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Since 5 August 2019, India has embarked upon a ceaseless campaign to alter the demographic structure and political landscape of IIOJK. Issuing domicile certificates to outsiders, registering temporary residents in the voters’ lists, gerrymandering assembly constituencies, and modifying land and property ownership laws are some of the key features of this campaign. All these measures are in blatant violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions and international law, including the 4th Geneva Convention.
India has given a “carte blanche” to its occupation forces to unleash a reign of terror in the besieged territory. In the last 77 years, India has tried different methods to perpetuate its illegal rule on Jammu and Kashmir. However, an intensified campaign to ‘Indianize’ Kashmir, and transform Kashmiris into a disempowered community in their own land, has been in full swing since 5 August 2019. Today, in IlOJK, efforts are being made to silence the genuine leadership of the Kashmiri people and muzzle the media. The number of political prisoners remain in thousands, while 14 political organizations have been outlawed. Through its August 2019 actions, India is trying to consolidate the occupation and impose what it ominously refers as “Final Solution” to the occupied territory through a mix of legal, administrative, demographic and electoral measures. A key element of India’s so-called “Final Solution” is to transform Kashmir from a Muslim majority State to a Hindu majority territory in blatant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the relevant resolutions of the Security Council. It has issued over 4.2 million domicile certificates to non-Kashmiris; seized Kashmir lands; allowed non-Kashmiris to buy real estate and register on electoral rolls. This settler colonial project of the Hindutva inspired BJP government amounts to a war crime in international armed conflicts. The aim of the project is to disempower and disenfranchise Kashmiris and alter the Muslim identity of Kashmir. All the pro-freedom Hurriyat leaders, the genuine voice of Kashmiri people, remain incarcerated for past several years. Several have died in suspicious circumstances in Indian custody. Mr. Yaseen Malik, leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, who was awarded life sentence over a fabricated terror financing case, is now facing a death penalty trial. Over 13,000 young Kashmir men have been abducted and many of them tortured. Hundreds of innocent Kashmiris are extra-judicially killed each year with impunity in fake “encounters” and “cordon and search” operations.
History has proven, time and again, that durable peace in South Asia remains contingent upon the settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. In the interest of lasting peace and security in South Asia, India must move from dispute denial to dispute resolution. For the past seven decades, the Kashmiris have waited for the United Nations to fulfil its solemn commitments. It is crucial that the international community urges India to end its human rights violations in IIOJK and implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Pakistan stands in solidarity with the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIIOJK), advocating for peace, justice and their right to self-determination. It always calls upon the international community to hold India accountable for its crimes against Kashmiris and demand that India reverses its illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019, revoke draconian laws, cease all human rights violations, and stop its state-terrorism against the people of IIOJK.
