By Senator Sirajul Haq
The Kashmir issue has been a constant threat to the peace of South Asia for the past 74 years. The whole region is on the verge of destruction and just a spark can turn it into ashes within no time. But Modi, who worships fire considering it a god, is bent upon setting the whole region on fire.
As an inseparable part of Pakistan, the people of Kashmir are fighting for the stability and survival of the country for the past 74 years but there is complete silence in the corridors of power. Speeches are made. Tweets and letters are written but practically nothing has been done to resolve the issue.
The Pakistani nation stands with the oppressed Kashmiris and we will continue to support their freedom movement.
Quaid-i-Azam, the founder of Pakistan, declared Kashmir as the jugular vein of Pakistan but the puppet rulers have always disappointed the nation with their tall claims and false promises over the freedom of Kashmir for the past 74 years.
The Modi government abolished the constitutional status of Kashmir 17 months ago and there is a complete lockdown in Kashmir since then. A soldier with a gun is standing outside every door. Bazaars have been deserted and markets are closed. There is widespread fear and chaos all around. Educational institutions and hospitals have been occupied by the armed forces. Almost all the Kashmiri leaders have either been imprisoned or confined to their homes. The economy has collapsed. The fields and orchids have been destroyed. People are being forcefully picked up from their homes and suffer the worst kind of brutalities in military torture cells. Tens of thousands of Kashmiris have been martyred in their struggle for freedom.
The chastity and dignity of mothers, sisters and daughters is at stake. More than 18,000 Kashmiri youngsters have been transferred from military torture cells located in Kashmir to the jails in India. Tens of thousands of Hindus including the majority of goons from Shiv Sena, RSS and BJP are settling in Kashmir for changing the demography of the region. A notification has been issued to replace the Kashmiri language with Hindi for official communication.
India is damming the rivers originating from Kashmir which will cause Pakistani rivers to dry and ultimately turn the fertile lands into barren and parched patches. Despite all of this the Pakistani government is silent. Because of the negligence of the rulers, the human rights organisations and the United Nations have criminally turned blind eye to the ongoing brutalities in Kashmir.
Declaring Kashmir a part of India on August 5, 2019, Modi has made the life of Muslims miserable in Kashmir as well as in India.
The day nation realises that the rulers have renounced the cause of Kashmir, this will be the day people will pull them (the rulers) out from the assemblies by grabbing them from their necks.
Those who claim to fight until the last bullet and the last breath for the freedom of Kashmir, haven’t taken even a single step for the past 17 months. Every move of the government has become dubious. It was the government’s responsibility to take all the stakeholders in confidence against India’s August 5 move to chalk out a comprehensive line of action with all available options.
There is a need for high esteemed and courageous leadership to free Kashmir but these rulers were completely devoid of courage that made Mahmood Ghaznawi, Sultan Tipu and Muhamad Bin Qasim true Muslim leaders.
The prime minister of Azad Kashmir mourned in front of the prime minister of Pakistan that their youth and children were mercilessly being killed by the Indian army.
The president of Azad Kashmir is disappointed with the behaviour of the rulers. Had there been any feelings for the Kashmiri people in the hearts of those sitting in luxury mansions in Islamabad, the picture of a four-year innocent child with his grandfather would have made them feel ashamed.
Kashmiris are sacrificing their lives for the love of Pakistan and freedom. Youth are being massacred in front of their mothers and sisters are raped in front of their brothers. Modi fulfilled his two promises ie converting Babri Masjid into Ram Mandir and making Kashmir a part of India. And now he is talking about invading the Azad Kashmir whereas our leaders have fulfilled not even a single promise they made with the nation.
Four generations of the Kashmiri people have been exploited. Our rulers have backtracked on what they promised and made speeches instead of doing something practically.
We don’t want war but Indian brutalities have made Kashmir a warzone along with the Line of Control. Instead of highlighting these atrocities to the world, the rulers are hiding them like cowards. Whichever nation avoided jihad, Allah made them disgraced. Government just needs to announce a final step and all the nation will act upon it.
The prime minister does not want to speak the truth but the truth is that 220 million Pakistani people and one and 15 million Kashmiris have stood up for their rights and the time has come that this struggle movement becomes successful.
The nation has decided that despite the carelessness and detachment from the Kashmir issue by the rulers, the Kashmir freedom movement will continue.
We demand a conference of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad on a single-point agenda of Kashmir. Silence must be broken and the world needs to be informed about atrocities against the Kashmiri people.
You will always suffer losses as long as you consider your enemy as a friend. Resolutions are not an option now. The United Nations and Security Council have passed hundreds of resolutions that have not made India budge even an inch. Now the matter is beyond mere resolutions. These resolutions have proved to be a way of escape.
The government has wasted a lot of time and should not waste more because they don’t have any.
1. The government needs to call a conference of political leadership and announce a national action plan immediately for the solution of the Kashmir issue and give a roadmap to act on it practically. Delegations comprised of government and opposition members to be sent to foreign countries. The elected government of Kashmir to become a beneficiary of these delegations. Special foreign affairs deputy minister be appointed to highlight the Kashmir issue and Kashmir desks to be established in Pakistani foreign diplomatic offices.
2. A conference of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to be called on an urgent basis for making the voice of freedom of Kashmir a voice of the Muslim world.
3. The conference of OIC must call a UN conference on the Kashmir issue on an urgent basis.
4. There is no value of the Tashkent Agreement, the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration after the abolition of articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution so the people of Pakistan demand the government set aside these pacts. 5. The government must sever its diplomatic and trade relations with India, send back the Indian ambassador and close down the Pakistani airspace for Indian planes.
