Daily Times

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has taken timely notice of the arrest and incarceration of independent Kashmiri journalist and media student Sajad Gul by Indian authorities for no bigger crime than uploading video footage of a protest against Indian rule in the occupied valley. He was promptly picked up by the Indian military and handed over to the police. Now, if he’s convicted, which is very likely considering what has been happening in Kashmir, he faces a life sentence or even the death penalty. CPJ is “deeply disturbed” and asked Indian authorities to “drop their investigation related to his journalistic work” at once.

This is just one more case that goes to show how regressive and oppressive he Indian choke-hold over the occupied valley really is. Yet if there is one faint silver lining on this very dark cloud, it is that the international community has finally started to take notice of the depth of Delhi’s depravity when it comes to Kashmir and Kashmiris. For the longest time everybody just conveniently looked the other way largely because of all the benefits that India’s huge consumer market gets them. Yet lately, when Hindu extremists began targeting Christians as well, things started to change. And now the west must also speak up about violence against Muslims if it is to appear fine and balanced.

The imprisonment of Sajad Gul goes to show just what lengths the Indians are willing to go to in order to keep a lid on even the faintest demand for rights in the area. It’s clear why journalists are hounded in this manner. India will do whatever it takes to keep the world the dark about what is really happening in Kashmir; while all the time it lobbies to keep the international spotlight on Pakistan and its alleged role in stoking tension in Kashmir. The fact is that Delhi now feels confident enough to initiate a demographic change in Kashmir by flooding it with Hindu extremists; something that even Mirwaiz Farooq, who heads the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), has spoken about. It is a shame that the world’s most powerful countries have so far remained silent about this miscarriage of justice. They are, therefore, complicit in the violence of human rights that take place there every day. *