Zafar Khan warns of disastrous consequences of Modi’s Kashmir policy
LUTON: Modi government’s Kashmir policy would lead to the disintegration of the State and its civilisation that had been nurtured in the laps of Pamirs, the Karakorum and the Himalayas, said Zafar Khan, the Chairman of Diplomatic Bureau of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). He said the BJP government’s decision to abrogate Articles 370 and 35A on August 5, 2019 to annex and bifurcate Kashmir was illegal. It was designed to disintegrate Kashmir’s heritage, destroy its religious and cultural identity, and communalise centuries’ old harmony and tolerance in the State to further the objectives of BJP government’s Hindutva project, he added.
Zafar Khan, who is also an academic and has produced vast
academic work on Kashmir and ethnicity, said India’s policy was designed to
bring about demographic change.
He said since the illegal annexation of Kashmir, almost four
million domicile certificates had been issued to non-Kashmiris, adding it would
be used by the Modi’s ultra-nationalist BJP for the 2024 general election to
“heighten majoritarian extremism”.
Zafar Khan pointed out India’s illegal actions not only
betrayed the people of Kashmir but also defied the UN by showing utter contempt
for its numerous resolutions regarding Kashmir’s political status.
He hoped that Pakistan would not follow in India’s foot
steps to make similar changes in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.He
said to de-legitimise Kashmiris’ internationally-recognised right to
self-determination, India had projected their freedom struggle as a struggle
for Muslim religious rights.
Zafar Khan expressed disappointment towards world powers
over Kashmir. “Despite an unabated militarised violence, and the ongoing siege,
Britain and other major powers like the USA, and France, the three countries,
that are in the vanguard of the worldwide human rights advocacy, have shown no
interest in the effect of the siege in Kashmir.
“With the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of Kashmiris are under
double lockdown since March 2020, which is enforced by 900,000 Indian troops.
Human rights violations including the right to life itself, are all too
frequently disregarded by Indian forces, which operate with total impunity
under Armed Forces Special Powers Act AFSPA.”
He also highlighted the plight of Kashmiri political
prisoners and suffering of their families: “Pro-freedom politicians, dissenters
and activists, languish in prisons across India on charges, which are
concocted, vindictive and politically motivated.” He added: “Since the illegal
annexation on 5 August 2019, the economy and livelihood of the relatively well
of State has nose-dived drastically.”
He said Kashmiris wish to see their State become a crossroad
of peace to unlock prosperity, and amity in the region. All that is required is
to take the first step based on the inherent and inalienable sovereign right of
more than twenty two million Kashmiris in accordance with the UN Charter and
relevant resolutions of the UNSC, he added.
He said Britain, with its historic links in the region, was well placed to take that step. The PRC as the region’s major power, along with P5 nations, must encourage India and Pakistan towards a people-centric solution to the issue, he added.
Source: https://e.thenews.com.pk/detail?id=24931
