Kashmir reactions.

DESPITE New Delhi's tough-looking posture regarding its activities in India-held Kashmir, it is quite apparent that international reactions to the Modi government's brutal tactics in the region are beginning to hurt.

For one, it is clear that India's ill-advised move of annexing occupied Kashmir by changing its constitutional status has not altered the status quo internationally; much of the world still considers Kashmir a disputed territory, exposing India's fiction that the troubles in IHK are an 'internal matter'.

The other day, US Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells reiterated Washington's position in a briefing giving to a Congressional panel, saying that the US considers the LoC 'a de facto line separating two parts of Kashmir'.

Elsewhere, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has stood by his criticism of India's tactics in IHK at the UN General Assembly in September. The veteran leader's forthright comments have drawn the ire of Indian trade bodies, with one concern calling for a ban on the import of Malaysian palm oil.

Moreover, Turkish President Recep Erdogan's raising of the Kashmir issue also at the UNGA has reportedly made Narendra Modi postpone a forthcoming visit to Ankara.

The fact is that due to India's size and economic potential, it has bullied smaller and less powerful states into toeing its line. However, now that stronger states are challenging its actions and calling out the atrocious human rights situation in IHK, New Delhi is showing visible discomfort.

Indeed, all the spin in the world cannot change the situation on the ground in occupied Kashmir.

The region's people have...