Climate of impunity

Indian security forces have been using ruthless force to suppress the freedom struggle of the people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) for decades now. It was in 1989 that Kashmiris, frustrated by Indian intransigence to grant them the right to self–determination, launched an armed freedom movement.

According to reports compiled by various human rights organisations and other authentic sources, over 95,000 Kashmiris have been martyred, more than 12,000 women have been gang-raped and around 100,000 have been destroyed since them.

The history of this freedom struggle is replete with innumerable incidents of indescribable atrocities committed by Indian security forces. However, none of them can be compared to the brutality and callousness exhibited by them on January 21, 1990 when they resorted to indiscriminate firing on demonstrators in Srinagar, who were protesting against the sexual assault and rape of Kashmiri women at the hands of Indian security personnel, killing 55 people and injuring dozens of them.

The incident revived the memories of the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy and justifiably caused severe outrage and resentment in Occupied Kashmir, Pakistan and among the Kashmir community the world over. A complete strike was observed in Pakistan on February 5, 1990 to protest against this dastardly act of the Indian troops. Since then, February 5 is observed as Kashmir Solidarity Day in Pakistan and by Kashmiri diaspora around the world.

The observance reassures the people of Kashmir that Pakistan has an abiding and unswerving commitment to support their cause and stand by them under all circumstances. It also aims at reminding the UN and the world community of their obligations towards Kashmir and to reiterate the fact that their apathy to their suffering could have disastrous consequences on regional and world peace. Another objective is to send a clear message to Indians that no amount of oppression and persecution can keep the people of Kashmir under subjugation for long and prevent the inevitable.

The day has assumed greater significance in the backdrop of the Indian move to change the special status of Kashmir; its bifurcation into two regions and declaring them part of the Indian union territory, virtually nullifying the UN resolutions. Reportedly, more than 400 Kashmiris have been killed since August 5, 2019 – 22 were martyred just during January 2022.

India is in the grip of the proponents of the supremacist philosophy of ‘Hindutva’ headed by Narendra Modi who, by revoking the special status of Kashmir and making it part of the Indian union, has created a dangerous situation which poses a grave threat to peace and security in the region. He has not only ended the special status of Occupied Kashmir but also adopted a belligerent posture towards Pakistan, which nearly brought the two nuclear powers on the brink of a war in 2019.

Modi is a callous enemy who can go to any extent to achieve his nefarious designs based on the RSS ideology of ‘Hindutva’. The leaked WhatsApp chat of Indian journalist Arnab Goswami, which celebrated the Pulwama incident in which 40 Indian soldiers were killed as a major win for India exposed Modi’s cynical fascism that would use such an attack just to win elections and find an excuse to take action against Pakistan. Following the incident, Modi did send his planes to hit imaginary terrorist camps in Balakot, in February 2019 – that incident ended in a lot of embarrassment for his government which cost it two planes and the capture of a pilot. The situation could have led to a full-fledged war between the two countries, but the restrain shown by Pakistan and the intervention of friendly countries defused the situation.

Regrettably, India continues to persist with its belligerent posture towards Pakistan, and there are fears that due to the tremendous internal stress, it may execute another false-flag operation against Pakistan – a possibility about which Pakistan has been warning the world community.

Any such eventuality would be disastrous for the entire region as any miscalculation on either side could easily trigger nuclear war between the two countries. Pakistan has shown tremendous restraint over Indian provocations despite the fact that it was fully capable of giving an appropriate response to any act of aggression against it as it proved in February 2019.

The continuation of tensions and the possibility of a Pakistan-India war cannot go away until the Kashmir dispute is resolved in consonance with the UN resolutions. The world community, the powers which can help in having those resolutions implemented and pressurising India to end the persecution of the people of Occupied Kashmir, must abandon their indifference to the plight of the people of Kashmir who are fighting for their right to self-determination.

The people of Kashmir, undeterred by Indian atrocities, are continuing their struggle for freedom. Their resistance and freedom movement continue regardless of the brutalities perpetrated on them by Indian security forces. Indian machinations have not been able to subdue their urge for independence, and they would not relent until they are allowed to decide their fate as per the UN resolutions.

India is ruling over Kashmir against the will of its people and its stance on the issue has no moral or legal basis. History is a witness to the fact that freedom struggles cannot be subdued with the barrel of the gun. Pakistan, which is party to the Kashmir dispute, will not allow India to get away with its illegal occupation of Kashmir and its annexation to the Indian union in defiance of the UN resolutions.

India, which is spilling the blood of Kashmiris and has crossed all limits of persecution, must realise that it cannot keep carrying out such actions indefinitely. By continuing the persecution of Kashmiris and maintaining an aggressive posture towards Pakistan, it is not only endangering peace in the region but also jeopardising the security and economic well-being of its people.

The writer is a freelance contributor. He can be reached at: ashpak10@gmail.com