By: Bakhtawar Naveed
Today, in IIOJK, efforts are being made by the Modi-led Indian government to silence the genuine leadership of the Kashmiri people and muzzle the media. Harassment of innocent people, arbitrary detentions, and the so-called cordon and search operations have become routine. To express unflinching solidarity with Kashmiris, the people and government of Pakistan have been observing Youm-e-Istehsal-e-Kashmir on August 5 since 2019 — the date marking the forced and illegitimate occupation of Jammu & Kashmir by India under Articles 370 and 35A. This somber occasion reminds us of the grave consequences of India’s illegal actions on 5 August 2019 in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK). On that day, India took a series of illegitimate steps to consolidate its illegal occupation of IIOJK.
Since August 5, 2019, IIOJK has been transformed into the largest open-air prison in the world. India’s actions demonstrate a complete disregard for international law, the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, and the United Nations Security Council resolutions. India will not succeed in suppressing the just struggle of the people of IIOJK through domestic legislation and judicial verdicts. There is no doubt that sustainable peace and stability in South Asia can only be achieved through a peaceful resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute, in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people. Despite all of India’s coercive tactics, it has not been able to extinguish their yearning for freedom. India has been trampling upon the rights and aspirations of the Kashmiri people through machinations and intrigue for over seven decades.
Despite decades of Indian occupation, the resolve of Kashmiris and their immutable bonds with Pakistan remain strong. India is employing the tactics of settler colonialism and undertaking steps to erase the political, religious, and cultural identity of the Kashmiri people in order to deprive them of their right to self-determination — similar to what Israel is doing in Palestine. For more than seventy years, the Kashmiris have waited for the United Nations to fulfill its solemn commitments. It is crucial that the international community urges India to end its human rights violations in IIOJK and implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. The Indian actions of August 5, 2019, are part of a broader agenda to bring about political and demographic changes in IIOJK, just as brutal and savage Israel continues in Palestine.
In 2019, the then Prime Minister Imran Khan renamed Kashmir Highway, which runs through Islamabad, as Srinagar Highway. This unjustified, unwise, and cosmetic name change is widely opposed by the people of Pakistan. The name should be reversed to its original — Kashmir Highway — as Kashmir is internationally recognized.
The Government of Pakistan has released an updated political map which includes Pakistan’s territorial claims on Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, the Siachen Glacier, the eastern banks of Sir Creek, as well as Junagadh and Manavadar in India’s Gujarat region. The map also annotates Ladakh’s boundary with China as “frontier undefined,” stating that its status would be formalized by “the sovereign authorities concerned after the settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.” This map has been adopted for official use throughout Pakistan.
The great Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Geelani firmly opposed the application of the Indian constitution to the region, viewing India’s presence as an illegal occupation. He believed that the only just resolution lay in granting the Kashmiri people their UN-recognized right to self-determination—one that, in his view, would ultimately lead to Kashmir’s rightful place with Pakistan, given its Muslim-majority character and deep historical ties. The iconic slogan of the late Syed Ali Shah Geelani, “Hum Pakistani hain, Pakistan hamara hai,” continues to resonate powerfully across Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), symbolizing the enduring aspirations of the Kashmiri people. A towering figure in the Kashmiri resistance, Syed Ali Shah Geelani dedicated his life to advocating for Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan. He consistently rejected any form of integration with India, framing the Kashmir issue as both political and humanitarian.
Pakistan stands with the brave Kashmiri people in their historic struggle to realize their dream of acceding to Pakistan, despite facing brutal atrocities, discrimination, and injustice at the hands of Indian occupying forces. The international community must urge India to halt its egregious human rights violations in IIOJK; reverse its unilateral and illegal actions of August 5, 2019; repeal its draconian laws; and implement the UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan will continue to extend strong moral, political, and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people until the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination. Despite having fought three wars with India, Pakistan maintains its stance on a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute in line with UNSC resolutions. Pakistan actively raises the Kashmir issue at the UN, OIC, EU, and other international forums and will continue to do so until the Kashmiris are granted their right to self-determination.
The writer is an anthropologist and expert in international affairs based in Islamabad.
She can be reached at bakhtawarnaveed23@gmail.com.
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