Blood continues to spill in Kashmir

There are many events that throw special highlight on the issue of Kashmir during the month of July.

Every year the Kashmir Martyrs’ Day is commemorated on 13 July, in the memory of 21 Kashmiris who were killed outside the Srinagar Central Jail by the troops of Dogra Maharaja in 1931. This heinous incident took place on that fateful day when people had gathered to witness the court proceedings against Abdul Qadeer, who was charged for instigating the Kashmiris to defy the Dogra rule.

On July 19, Kashmiris in occupied Kashmir, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and across the world observe the ‘Accession to Pakistan Day’ when genuine representatives of majority of Kashmiris unanimously passed the resolution of Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan during a meeting of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference at the residence of Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan in Srinagar.

The historic resolution called for the Accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan “in view of its existing religious, geographical, cultural and economic proximity to Pakistan and aspirations of millions of Kashmiri Muslims.” The Muslim Conference of occupied Kashmir in a statement issued in Srinagar described the July 19, 1947 resolution a political and constitutional stance. The decision showed that the people of Kashmir had linked their future with Pakistan.

On July 8, 2016, Burhan Wani, the commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, was martyred by the Indian troops. His martyrdom brought the Kashmir Valley on its feet for its inalienable rights and since his death, blood has not stopped spilling in the valley.

The death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen commander, an iconic figure of the freedom movement, is observed on a large-scale in Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan and around the world. Since Wani’s martyrdom, violence and death are on the rise in the Valley, aggravated by Indian actions of August 5, 2019 that lack even a shred of legitimacy.

Meanwhile, the Modi government continues to blame Pakistan for the crisis perpetually that is getting graver by the day since the annexation of the Valley. The excessive force used by the Indian government against unarmed protesters has shamed the world’s so-called largest democracy.

The developments in the valley -- including attacks on Indian armed forces personnel, forced disappearances and kidnappings, excessive torture, wanton killings of political activists, waving of Pakistani flags, large number of arrests -- show the simmering hatred towards the brutal Indian rule.

Indians have claimed that their nation stood for unity, integrity, pluralism, democracy, religious tolerance, a government accountable to the people and dialogue to resolve differences.

While these have been mostly only claims that the Indians are fond of making, the annexation of the Valley and the later events show India has squarely failed the test. The farce of Indian occupation has become a human tragedy.