Why Kashmir matters.

Byline: Arif Alvi

This year, Aug 5 will mark two years since India unilaterally and illegally stripped Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) of its special status. These two years have been a somber reminder that our Kashmiri brothers and sisters remain under a brutal military occupation - one of a handful left in the modern era. It is also a reminder that the valiant spirit of freedom, imbued in the people of Kashmir by their forefathers through their epic struggle against Dogra rule, remains undiminished. Despite seven decades of occupation and the denial of their right to self-determination, the Kashmiris continue their steadfast demand for the right to choose their future. No amount of brutal oppression and atrocities have dented their resolve. Pakistan and its people are united in their hearts and in their minds with our Kashmiri brothers and sisters. We have always stood for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute according to the aspirations of the people of Kashmir and in keeping with the principles of UNSC resolutions.

Despite the ebb and flow of global politics, Pakistan always has, and will continue to remain committed to this cause until the Kashmiris are given this right to self-determination and therefore, their freedom. The government continues to take steps to highlight the Kashmir cause and Indian human rights violations on the world stage. For the first time in decades, the Kashmir issue has been discussed at the UNSC. Several leaders across the world and international journalists have called out India for its human rights violations in IIOJK. The prime minister, his cabinet, and our parliament have raised serious concerns about brutal Indian actions in IIOJK since Aug 5, 2019. I share those concerns. The situation on the ground and the unilateral and illegal actions of the occupying Indian forces demonstrate that a project to erase the Kashmiri identity is underway in IIOJK. This includes forced demographic change through arbitrary alterations in a century old domicile law.

This practice, wherever it has been used, increases bitterness in the local population against the occupier's activities and intentions. Kashmiris are no strangers to the demographic designs of their occupiers. India first employed this strategy during the time of partition. In November 1947, close to 300,000 Kashmiri Muslims were brutally exterminated in Jammu by the maharaja's state-sponsored Dogra paramilitaries and RSS-inspired...