World silence on Kashmir deafening.

Byline: Ikram Sehgal

Addressing a large number of people forming the 'human chain' from D.Chowk to Radio Pakistan Chowk in Islamabad on Friday Oct 11, 2019 to express solidarity with the plight of Kashmiris under Indian occupation, PM Imran Khan expressed deep disappointment over the blanket coverage of Hong Kong protests by the international media while keeping silence over gross human rights violations in India-occupied Kashmir. He rightly pointed out the double standards inherent in this attitude. The Hong Kong riots are clearly as an integral part of hybrid warfare under the false flag of a 'pro-democracy' opposition movement instigated to create trouble for China in ruling this part of their country.

The Western countries and especially Europe have distanced themselves to a certain degree because ultimately it hurts their own interests if China cracks down to restore order as it well might. This is even more so because Europe has its own peculiar problems with new super power China in the matter of trade, the Belt Road Initiative may even make Hong Kong ultimately irrelevant. On the other hand, Europe and the West have no stakes in Kashmir.

A far-away place, most don't know (or refuse to acknowledge) the historical background of the Kashmir conflict and they are not interested in learning about unless impressed upon. Human rights of Kashmiris, yes, very sad, but let's face it: India is a much larger market and has a much better image than Pakistan.

Therefore US official Alice Wells recent testimony in the US Senate criticising Indian repression in Indian Occupied Kashmir and urging restraint was very much needed. She diplomatically hedged it by talking about press freedom in Pakistan, what about any Press freedom in Kashmir, indeed what about media freedom being selective even in India? Does that mean that creating an understanding and empathy if not sympathy in the West for the Kashmir cause is impossible? Certainly it is not but it needs extra efforts to carry the message across. Because apart from the political establishment and the big business in Europe and the West there are people there who do care for others and who are ready to help when help is needed. Just remember the wave of help for the refugees overrunning Europe. But things have to be explained to them in a proper way.

PM Imran Khan's speech in New York at the UNGA was a tremendous extra effort that got the message across. But the public there was limited and the speech...