ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that India’s controversial, unilateral and illegal decision to revoke Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was a desperate attempt to suppress the Kashmiris’ movement for independence.
On the occasion of the Youm-e-Istehsal (Kashmir Siege Day) being observed on August 5 to protest against the illegal merger of Occupied Kashmir into Indian territory, the PPP Chairman said that the Modi-regime’s actions weren’t only an attack on the occupied valley and its peaceful people, but also a blatant attack on the legitimacy and writ of International law, the will of the global population as expressed in the UN Resolutions, and on the principles and philosophy of coexistence, democratic values, and humanity.
“The siege of Occupied Kashmir by occupying Indian forces will always be remembered as a dark chapter in human history”, he added.
Bilawal said that the RSS-driven Hindutva ideology of apartheid and division being pursued by the fascistic Modi would not succeed and the issue of Kashmir would only be resolved through a plebiscite. He further said that after the changing situation in Afghanistan, it is imperative to resolve the Kashmir issue to save the region from falling to the flames of anarchy. “The global community should wake up and smell the coffee”, he added.
Chairman PPP said that his party would neither remain silent on Indian atrocities, nor would keep silence over the criminal negligence of the Selected Prime Minister in the case of the Kashmir cause. “I can’t even begin to think of retreat. The promise and word of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is a promise I intend to keep. The will of the people of Kashmir will decide their future. There can be no compromise on that”, he said.
Bilawal said that the people of the occupied valley have been waiting for the entire leadership of Pakistan to stand united on the Kashmir issue. “Since the selected government has come into power, personal ego and interests have taken precedence over actual national policy,” he added.
He assured the people of Kashmir that despite the failed foreign policy, and incompetence of the selected Prime Minister Imran Khan, the people of Pakistan and their democratic and constitutional institutions stand united behind the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people.
Bilawal pledged to continue to be an advocate for the Kashmiri people, who continue to experience violence and brutality at the hands of Indian occupied forces every day, and said that he would continue to fight for their basic and universal right to freedom. “The world must rouse from its slumber on the Kashmir issue, and I won’t stop until it does.”
Meanwhile, PPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman said the resolution of the Kashmir dispute is essentially a political choice that the powers that be in the international community have yet to make despite the unacceptable and bloody colonisation of illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
“It is a fundamental right of the Kashmiri people to decide who governs them and how, and this inalienable right is being denied to them.”
Speaking on an international webinar on Kashmir’s Youm-e-Istehsal, a day of solidarity observed across Pakistan to mark the second anniversary of the revocation of the autonomous status of Illegally occupied Kashmir, Pakistan People’s Party Vice President and Chair Foreign Affairs Senate Standing Committee, Senator Sherry Rehman said, “Since 5th August 2019, the Modi government has wreaked havoc with singularity of purpose while the world watched, and it is now attempting to change the demography of the Muslim majority valley by deploying troops to intimidate and arrest critics, while trying to force a military solution on the dispute.”
The human rights violations, she said, were a chilling example of state terrorism being given dangerous impunity as well, and no one is able to do anything to change that because international observers are denied access.
To date, thousands of innocent Kashmiris are still languishing in prisons and torture chambers, while equal amounts have disappeared in mass graves. Detentions, draconian laws, and unlawful actions of the Modi government have made survival difficult in a atmosphere of constant fear for Kashmiris who are actually living in the world’s largest open prison but the Hindutva regime is focusing on muddling dissent and contain the story, she said.
“The gross human rights violations in Kashmir by the BJP government should not be lost upon us. This is an apartheid regime, but the international community, with a few honourable exceptions selectively chooses to ignore the suffering. Had it been another country, it would have been under sanctions by now. It is extremely important for us to be strategizing together on what we can do but also, highlighting and amplifying our voices,” she added.
Sherry Rehman said Pakistan must not let the world forget about the atrocities taking place in Kashmir and speak about it on all local and international forums.
“Kashmir should always be a priority on our agendas. As Parliamentarians it is our responsibility to highlight the stories of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters. It is shocking that despite being one of the most persecuted communities in the world, there is complete silence when it comes to the rights of Kashmiris. This is not India’s internal matter and the international community must play its role,” she added.
For Pakistan, she said, “Kashmir is a national issue and evokes widespread sentiment across the country . All political parties stand against India’s forcible annexation of Kashmir against the will of its people and the PPP especially will always stand by them.