Every year on February 5th, Kashmir Day is observed not only in Pakistan but across the world. This day is dedicated to expressing solidarity with the Kashmiri people, and it is important to educate the younger generation about its significance.
It is essential to inform the youth so they understand the struggles of their fellow Muslims who yearn for freedom. While we take a day off to rest on Kashmir Day, we must also remember our Kashmiri brothers and contribute in any way possible to their struggle for independence. In the 1990s, when an armed resistance began in Indian-occupied Kashmir and Kashmiri youth took up arms for their rights, the movement resonated across Pakistan.
Protests, rallies, and aid campaigns for Kashmiri fighters were launched across the country. This led to the realization that a dedicated day was needed for the entire Pakistani nation to stand united in support of Kashmiris, sending a message to Western nations, the UN, and the global community that Pakistan stands firmly with Kashmiris and urges the world to support their cause. Responding to the demand of religious and political parties, the government at the time declared February 5th as Kashmir Day, a tradition that continues and will persist until Kashmir attains freedom, God willing.
Kashmir Day serves as a wake-up call for the world to rise above self-interest and stand with the oppressed Kashmiris.
This day reminds us that our Kashmiri Muslim brothers are engaged in a struggle for freedom against Indian occupation and need our moral support. Additionally, it serves as a wake-up call for the world to rise above self-interest and stand with the oppressed Kashmiris. Oppression in Kashmir has persisted for decades, but it has intensified over the last six years since the Modi government revoked the region’s special status. Since then, Kashmiri people have faced extreme brutality.
Daily, Kashmiris are targeted by gunfire, and their lands are seized under new laws designed to establish Hindu settlements, resembling Israeli-style settlements. Nearly six years have passed since the abrogation of Kashmir’s special status, during which the Indian military has committed unspeakable atrocities, making it difficult even to put their suffering into words. During these years, countless mothers have been separated from their children, who were imprisoned; thousands of young men have been martyred under the pretext of militancy; and countless women have been widowed, while children have been orphaned.
India presents a secular face to the world, but if Western nations remove their bias, they will see the true face of the Modi government – one stained with the blood of martyrs, filled with the cries of Kashmiri mothers, and echoing with the call for freedom. Unfortunately, Western nations remain silent due to their economic interests with India. The right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of democracy, recognized globally, granting people the freedom to decide their future. However, despite being the largest democracy in South Asia, India has outright denied this right to Kashmiris, even though there are United Nations resolutions on the matter. This denial has fueled Kashmir’s freedom struggle, which continues to this day.
Since the demand for self-determination is brutally suppressed, local Kashmiris have also taken up arms against India’s illegal occupation. To deceive the world, India falsely labels this indigenous freedom struggle as terrorism. Despite enduring over seven decades of oppression under illegal Indian rule, the Kashmiri people remain steadfast in their demand for self-determination.
Pakistan stands unequivocally with the Kashmiri people in their struggle for freedom. However, despite UN guarantees, India has failed to conduct a free and fair plebiscite in Kashmir even after 77 years, a blatant violation of international law. Kashmiris demanding self-determination are subjected to brutal oppression by Indian forces, while the international community, particularly the UN, has failed to implement its own resolutions. Pakistan urges the global community to take a stand against Indian oppression and fulfill its promises to the Kashmiri people.
The only path to resolving disputes between Pakistan and India and ensuring lasting peace in the region is to grant the people of Kashmir the right to decide their own future, as guaranteed by UN resolutions-something India stubbornly refuses to accept. The international community, especially Western nations, must rise above their economic and strategic interests and pressure India to withdraw its illegal forces from Jammu and Kashmir, granting Kashmiris their right to self-determination. Only then can the Kashmiri people emerge as a free nation and exercise the civil rights that India has long denied them through force and oppression.
The writer is an old Aitchisonian who believes in freedom of expression, a freelance columnist, entrepreneur and social activist.