Kashmiris rise again

IT would seem India simply cannot get out of its hostile and accusatory mode towards Pakistan. Once again, in his Independence Day address, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh repeated the same jaded words of warning to Pakistan that unless Pakistan cracked down on militants, talks could not progress. Without giving any proof, India continues this worn-out mantra similar to the US do more refrain to sidestep the real issue of restoration of the composite dialogue. India knows only too well that if the composite dialogue is renewed, its obduracy on Kashmir and conflict resolution will stand exposed for all to see. That India does not want. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Qureshi has declared that he wants a result-oriented agenda for his India visit. Yet he knows full well that India is in no mood to give any results in the context of conflict resolution. If he had any doubts, the Manmohan Singh statement should have made things clearer to him. Under these circumstances, it makes no sense for him to visit India in the near future at least not until India changes its tune. The time is critical for Pakistan to send a strong message to India especially on Kashmir. Occupied Kashmir is up in flames again, this time the torch having been taken by a new youthful leadership. Indian security forces, despite continuous killing of these youth, have been unable to contain the new wave of indigenous uprising against Indian occupation. The new spirit of defiance and determination to seek freedom from the Indian yoke is so intense that a policeman hurled a shoe at the Indian Occupied Kashmirs chief minister Omar Abdullah as he was unfurling the Indian flag to mark Indias Independence Day. This is a day the Kashmiris traditionally observe as a Black Day just as they observe 14th August as Independence Day. The shoe aimed at Omar Abdullah was symbolic of being hurled at the Indian state and that too by a state official, a policeman, who then also raised cries of Azadi. Who can the Indian state rely on in terms of the Occupied States official apparatus? With women also coming out in the streets to support their youth, and the Indian security forces killing these unarmed protestors, the international community cannot continue to ignore the uprising of yet another generation of Kashmiris against Indian Occupation and in support of their right to self determination. As for Pakistan, this is not the time for its political leaders to visit New Delhi unless India calls off its security forces violence in Occupied Kashmir and agrees to resume the composite dialogue on Kashmir. Our support for the indigenous uprising needs to be more vocal and needs to be stepped up on the diplomatic front. Pakistan needs to expose the Indian state for what it is: a brutal occupation power which has continued to unleash violence and repression on the Kashmiris for over six decades as it has denied them their right to self determination.

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