Since the Hindu fascist regime led by Narendra Modi in India abrogated Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in August 2019, the Kashmiris’ plight has turned grim. While they are struggling to survive on a day-to-day basis, Hindu settler colonialists are flooding the state to take over.
India’s settler-colonial project in Jammu and Kashmir continues apace with the pandemic making life even more miserable for the oppressed Kashmiri people. The Hindu extremist regime in Delhi is involved in land-grab and changing the demography of the state.
For Pakistan, Kashmir is of vital importance yet it has received little support from the Saudi-dominated OIC. Fed up with Saudi foot-dragging, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi demanded that the Saudis either act or Pakistan will go elsewhere for support.
August 5 will mark one year since India’s illegal abrogation of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. Aware that the Kashmiris reject this, the occupation forces have intensified their terrorist acts against the Kashmiris. The pandemic has only made life worse.
India’s colonization of Kashmir is not only illegal, it is also fraught with grave danger. Kashmiris of all political persuasions have denounced India’s latest moves to colonize the state and bring in Hindu settlers to take over the land.
India is not only guilty of perpetrating genocide in Kashmir, it has also embarked on a policy of demographic change, taking a leaf from the Zionist policy book in Occupied Palestine.
With Indian occupied Kashmir in complete lockdown since August 2019, India is desperate to give an impression of a semblance of normalcy. This, however, is not possible because politicians of all stripes are in jail or house arrest. India has found new politicians that it has bought with offers of rewards and money to do its dirty work.
Pakistan’s kow-towing to the Saudis is becoming increasingly untenable. The Saudis have just stabbed Pakistan in the back over Kashmir, that is the most important issue for Pakistan, in fact for its very survival. It is time for Islamabad to rethink its policy vis-à-vis the Saudis.
February 5 has for decades been observed as Kashmir Solidarity Day. This year, it assumed added significance because of India's total lockdown in Indian Occupied Kashmir since August 5, 2019. Tens of thousands of Kashmiri youth have been arrested and imprisoned in unknown locations. There are grave fears for their safety and security.
Eight million Kashmiris live under Indian occupation where India impose a total lockdown last August while four million live in Azad (Free) Kashmir (AJK) on the Pakistani side. There are also 40,000 Kashmiri refugees in AJK that had fled Indian military terror in 1989-1990. They have not seen loved ones ever since.