javed chaudhry columns
Do-Palkon-Se
Why Solidarity with Kashmiris!
5th February translates into an act of promise in which people of Pakistan vow to uphold the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to self-determination in conformity to the resolutions of United Nations Security Council calling for impartial and above-board plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir. The commemoration of Kashmir solidarity day is also a message to the International community to fulfil its commitments towards the peaceful resolution of the long-standing core question of Kashmir.
There are a number of legitimate and genuine reasons for the people of Pakistan to express solidarity with their oppressed Kashmiri brethren because both share strong bonds in respect of religion, geography, culture, aspirations and economy. Seminars, conferences and demonstrations are organized on the day to highlight important aspects of the Kashmir dispute and the gross human rights violations being perpetrated by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir. At the same time, the world community is reminded that resolution of the Kashmir dispute is imperative for ensuring peace and stability in South Asia.
The number of Kashmiris who migrated to Pakistan from occupied Kashmir since 1947 due to Indian aggression is in hundreds of thousands, which shows Kashmiris' emotional attachment with Pakistan. Even when India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was asked a question in 1965 about holding of plebiscite in Kashmir, he responded, “Kashmiris would vote to join Pakistan and we would lose it. No Indian government responsible for agreeing to a plebiscite would survive.”
It was the ideological commonality that prompted the Muslim Conference of Jammu and Kashmir to pass a resolution in its meeting in Srinagar on 19th July, 1947, whereby it was declared that Jammu and Kashmir should become a part of Pakistan. This happened about a month before the creation of Pakistan. The attachment of the people of Kashmir is manifest from the fact that the Valley of Kashmir has been from time to time, reverberating with the slogans of “Long Live Pakistan” and “We want Pakistan.” Pakistani flags are hoisted in Jammu and Kashmir on the national days of the country, whereas such days of India are observed as black days. On the other side, it was his commitment to the interest of the Kashmiri people that drove Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah to visit Jammu and Kashmir three times before 1947 (in 1926, 1936 and 1944). He tried to convince the Kashmiri leadership to become a part of the Pakistan Movement as the people of the territory were civilizationally linked with the Muslims of South Asia. It was rightly said by the Quaid-e-Azam that Kashmir is the “Jugular Vein” of Pakistan.
Pakistan has been the victim of Indian military aggression for supporting the Kashmiris during the past sixty-four years and it has to spend a major chunk of its financial resources on defence. It had to take the decision of conducting nuclear tests despite its difficulties and setting aside the international pressure in 1998 after India showed its clear intentions of military aggression against it. On one hand, India wants that Pakistan withdraws its support to the Kashmiri people, while on the other it has been resorting to all kinds of undemocratic tactics to suppress the Kashmiris’ just struggle for securing their right to self-determination. Since 1989, when the people of Kashmir intensified their liberation struggle, the unabated Indian state terrorism has resulted in the killing of nearly one lac innocent Kashmiris and disappearance of thousands in custody. This phenomenon of killing has rendered over twenty-five thousand women widowed and around a hundred and ten thousand children orphaned.
It is a truth that unabated Indian state terrorism has failed to subdue the liberation sentiment of Kashmiris. In 2008 and 2010, hundred of thousands of people took to the streets in Srinagar and other towns of occupied Kashmir with the demand of their right to self-determination. Instead of respecting the sentiments of these people, Indian troops and police personnel responded with bullets, teargas shells and batons. In 2010 alone, Indian forces killed over 120 innocent people including women and children besides injuring thousand others within a period of just a few months. The response of international community to the peaceful protests in occupied Kashmir and subsequent killings was also marginal, as it could not hold India responsible for the massacre of unarmed Kashmiris and not a single trooper or policeman was punished.
In view of the precarious nature of situation where two nuclear-armed neighbours are facing each other, the international community must take the situation seriously. Besides, the innocent lives and futures of millions of Kashmiris are at stake owing to stubborn and inflexible behaviour of India. 5th February is a reminder to the international stakeholders that they should employ reason and solve this dispute, which has human proportions. The supreme sacrifices of Kashmiris must not go unheard and waste. The resolutions of the UN should not be desecrated and the human rights violations of India should not be overlooked. 5th February is a reminder, a stark reminder!
There are a number of legitimate and genuine reasons for the people of Pakistan to express solidarity with their oppressed Kashmiri brethren because both share strong bonds in respect of religion, geography, culture, aspirations and economy. Seminars, conferences and demonstrations are organized on the day to highlight important aspects of the Kashmir dispute and the gross human rights violations being perpetrated by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir. At the same time, the world community is reminded that resolution of the Kashmir dispute is imperative for ensuring peace and stability in South Asia.
The number of Kashmiris who migrated to Pakistan from occupied Kashmir since 1947 due to Indian aggression is in hundreds of thousands, which shows Kashmiris' emotional attachment with Pakistan. Even when India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was asked a question in 1965 about holding of plebiscite in Kashmir, he responded, “Kashmiris would vote to join Pakistan and we would lose it. No Indian government responsible for agreeing to a plebiscite would survive.”
It was the ideological commonality that prompted the Muslim Conference of Jammu and Kashmir to pass a resolution in its meeting in Srinagar on 19th July, 1947, whereby it was declared that Jammu and Kashmir should become a part of Pakistan. This happened about a month before the creation of Pakistan. The attachment of the people of Kashmir is manifest from the fact that the Valley of Kashmir has been from time to time, reverberating with the slogans of “Long Live Pakistan” and “We want Pakistan.” Pakistani flags are hoisted in Jammu and Kashmir on the national days of the country, whereas such days of India are observed as black days. On the other side, it was his commitment to the interest of the Kashmiri people that drove Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah to visit Jammu and Kashmir three times before 1947 (in 1926, 1936 and 1944). He tried to convince the Kashmiri leadership to become a part of the Pakistan Movement as the people of the territory were civilizationally linked with the Muslims of South Asia. It was rightly said by the Quaid-e-Azam that Kashmir is the “Jugular Vein” of Pakistan.
Pakistan has been the victim of Indian military aggression for supporting the Kashmiris during the past sixty-four years and it has to spend a major chunk of its financial resources on defence. It had to take the decision of conducting nuclear tests despite its difficulties and setting aside the international pressure in 1998 after India showed its clear intentions of military aggression against it. On one hand, India wants that Pakistan withdraws its support to the Kashmiri people, while on the other it has been resorting to all kinds of undemocratic tactics to suppress the Kashmiris’ just struggle for securing their right to self-determination. Since 1989, when the people of Kashmir intensified their liberation struggle, the unabated Indian state terrorism has resulted in the killing of nearly one lac innocent Kashmiris and disappearance of thousands in custody. This phenomenon of killing has rendered over twenty-five thousand women widowed and around a hundred and ten thousand children orphaned.
It is a truth that unabated Indian state terrorism has failed to subdue the liberation sentiment of Kashmiris. In 2008 and 2010, hundred of thousands of people took to the streets in Srinagar and other towns of occupied Kashmir with the demand of their right to self-determination. Instead of respecting the sentiments of these people, Indian troops and police personnel responded with bullets, teargas shells and batons. In 2010 alone, Indian forces killed over 120 innocent people including women and children besides injuring thousand others within a period of just a few months. The response of international community to the peaceful protests in occupied Kashmir and subsequent killings was also marginal, as it could not hold India responsible for the massacre of unarmed Kashmiris and not a single trooper or policeman was punished.
In view of the precarious nature of situation where two nuclear-armed neighbours are facing each other, the international community must take the situation seriously. Besides, the innocent lives and futures of millions of Kashmiris are at stake owing to stubborn and inflexible behaviour of India. 5th February is a reminder to the international stakeholders that they should employ reason and solve this dispute, which has human proportions. The supreme sacrifices of Kashmiris must not go unheard and waste. The resolutions of the UN should not be desecrated and the human rights violations of India should not be overlooked. 5th February is a reminder, a stark reminder!
