By Sardar Khan Niazi
Oppression by Indian troops in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) is continuing shamelessly. The Indian forces are carrying out cordon and search operations in different parts of Rajouri, Poonch, and Reasi districts, harassing the local population.
In a disturbing event, the Indian troops killed two Kashmiri youths in a fake encounter in Budgam district after dislodging them from a vehicle. A family in Kunan village of Kupwara has been desperately looking for the whereabouts of their son and brother Abdul Rashid Dar for the last month.
Similarly, a truck driver went missing on 15 December after Army soldiers from 41 Rashtriya Rifles unit whisked him away. The case of Abdul Rashid Dar is not unique, as over the last three decades, hundreds have gone missing while in the custody of Indian forces. According to credible counts, some 8000 persons have gone missing in IIOJK since 1989.
Realizing that any war between India and Pakistan, which possess nuclear bombs, could be devastating for the entire region and beyond Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked his Indian counterpart to sit down and have serious and sincere talks over burning issues including Kashmir.
Pakistani leadership has always called on India to pause its inhumane human rights violations in the valley and work toward a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute through dialogue and negotiations. However, Indian leaders never reciprocated such pleas with positive gestures and always tried to mislead the global community through fake accusations and baseless propaganda.
The Narendra Modi-led BJP government is adamant to engineer the demography of Kashmir Valley, which has around 97 percent Muslim population. The long-term objectives include abolishing the Muslim identity of the state; manipulating the results of the plebiscite in favor of India.
Short-term objectives include inflicting damages to the local economy, depriving the Kashmiris of all basic human rights, and crushing the indigenous voice for freedom from Indian occupation.
The Kashmir dispute has been the core issue between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India over the past seven decades. Islamabad and New Delhi have fought four deadly wars over Kashmir and the Armies of both nations always remain at high alert on their highly inflamed and dangerous border commonly known as the Line of Control (LoC).
Historically, the Kashmir issue flickered after frequent intervals and led to mass military mobilizations, clashes, and full-scale wars between the two rivals in the past. Kashmiri people have rendered unmatchable sacrifices to get their inalienable right to self-determination conferred upon them by the United Nations Organization (UNO) seven decades ago.
On the other hand, the Indian government vehemently abused UN Security Council resolutions and used repression as a tool to prolong its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir over the past decades.
The illegal and unilateral actions of the rogue Narendra Modi-led BJP government on August 5, 2019, and thereafter have changed the valley into an open prison and heavily militarized zone in the world exposing the rancorous face of India through blatant violation of the UN Security Council, and international law, and utter negation of the commitments of its past leaders.
After clearing legal restrictions, the Modi regime swiftly adopted multiple legislations and altered administrative and political regulations to change the demography of the Muslim-majority territory through the construction of Hindu settlements, allotment of Kashmiri lands to Indian soldiers, and illegal delimitations of electoral constituencies to support Indian puppets in the fake elections.
A war between nuclear India and Pakistan could be devastating not only for the two neighboring countries but also for the entire region and beyond. Given the Modi regime’s history, PM Shehbaz Sharif’s offer to his Indian counterpart to have a dialogue over burning issues including Kashmir may not prove fruitful.
