Kashmir solidarity day & youth’s uprising

Courtesy:- Farhat Iqbal 


Ever since 9/11 terrorists’ attack on American soil, the nature of the Kashmiri uprising changed from a phenomenal support to a primarily domestic driven movement - “Youth Uprising”. 

Despite a paradigm shift in Pakistan’s policy, the Indian government continued to deploy large numbers of troops in Kashmir for cracking down on civil liberties. India still maintains 500,000 troops that comprise its regular army, the Border Security Force and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Kashmir has been in the throes of an uprising since 1989. The suffering of the Kashmiri people has been very painful and distressing. Many thousands of them have been killed, wounded and permanently disabled by the Indian occupation forces over the past several years. The latest round of protests erupted after the June 11, 2010 killing by Indian police of three Kashmiri youth. The humiliation, the memories of victimization and of those who have lost their lives fuels collective hatred that led to the escalation and spiraling of violence. Years of injustice beyond physical and emotional levels had established social dimension of revenge.


Who could be behind the Kashmir movement, the insurgents or internal dynamics? Arun Dhati Roy, a well-respected journalist from India, portrays Kashmir uprising in these words: “Not surprisingly, the voice that the government of India has tried so hard to silence in Kashmir has massed into a deafening roar. Raised in a playground of army camps, checkpoints, and bunkers, with screams from torture chambers for a soundtrack, the young generation has suddenly discovered the power of mass protest, and above all, the dignity of being able to straighten their shoulders and speak for themselves, represent themselves.” The Kashmir dispute primarily involves the lives and futures of thirteen million people. It impacts on the relations between India and Pakistan, which directly affects the peace and stability of the South Asian sub-continent, a region that contains one-fifth of the world population. The Kashmiri claim to self-determination is rooted in the United Nations’ definition of the Right to Self Determination as described in Article 1 of both the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru’s government took the Kashmir issue to the United Nations, saying that the people of Kashmir be given the chance to decide their future under the supervision of the United Nations. 

Against these solemn words and relentless struggle of the people of Kashmir, New Delhi today has two lame excuses: (1) The pledges and the UN resolutions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir have become outdated; (2) What is going on in the Kashmir valley is not a people’s revolt but the result of ‘cross-border terrorism’. Both arguments are self-serving as the time cannot abrogate moral values nor invalidate the international community’s right to intervene in flash points of conflict arising from denial of freedom and involving tyranny and persecution. For Kashmir, all United Nations resolutions and the Indian leaders’ own pledges remain unfulfilled but valid because they are based on the time-honoured values of freedom and sacredness of basic human rights.

From a Kashmiri perspective, the leaders of both India and Pakistan should be encouraged to continue with the good-will initiatives (CBMs) they have started some time ago. 

However, any meaningful dialogue regarding Jammu and Kashmir cannot be restricted to bilateral negotiations. The discussions must be tri-lateral, that is, they must include representatives of the Kashmiri people. Kashmir issue should be resolved through dialogue between Pakistan and India. 

Talks are the only way to address all issues and remove misunderstandings between the neighbouring countries. 

The people of the trouble-torn valley have associated high hopes that Barack Obama will intervene in solving the long pending dispute. 

Pakistan observes Kashmir Solidarity Day every year on 5th February to demonstrate their unequivocal support for the valiant struggle of the Kashmiri people in achieving their legitimate right to self-determination. The day would help raise awareness among the new generation about the struggle of the Kashmir people for their right to self-determination. Ever since the partition of the sub-continent in 1947, Kashmir Solidarity Day is being observed as a regular feature throughout Pakistan and Azad Kashmir to express solidarity with Kashmiri brethren fighting against the tyranny of Indian occupation forces in the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK). It’s on record that India had occupied Kashmir by landing its troops in utter insolence for the Indian partition plan and in the absence of any accession document. The observance of the Kashmir Solidarity Day on 5th February every year is a clear manifestation that Indian rulers shall have to bow before the unequivocal will of the gallant people of the Jammu and Kashmir, who are struggling to achieve their right of self-determination, in line with the United Nations resolutions. 

This year also, the Solidarity Day is once again being observed in a befitting manner to reiterate Pakistan’s abiding moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir struggling for their freedom. 

Let us resolve this February 5 that before the next Solidarity Day for the Kashmiris, we would see an end to their misery, rape and torture and the right to self-determination of the Kashmiris would be exercised and they would stand justified and take their rightful place in the comity of nations.