ISLAMABAD - The outgoing year of 2023 witnessed high waves of repression and brutality against innocent people of Indian occupied Kashmir at the hands of barbaric Indian security forces. In the Indian occupied territory of Jammu & Kashmir, over a hundred thousand Kashmiris have been martyred since the beginning of freedom struggle in 1989 and countless others continue to endure unlawful imprisonment, with more than 23,000 widows and over a hundred thousand orphaned children due to the unprecedented Indian atrocities. In February 2023, former Chief Minister Mehbuba Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir faced inhuman violence, marking a distressing turn of events in the occupied valley. On February 2, 2023, freedom advocate Judge Yaser’s home and shops were ruthlessly vandalized, and demolished adding to the grim atmosphere. Only in 2023, 27 Kashmiris lost their lives in 9 staged encounters by Indian security forces in different parts of IIOJK.
Omer Abdullah and Congress leader Rahul Ghandhi have called for the restoration of political autonomy in occupied Kashmir. The revocation of Kashmir’s special status was under scrutiny in the Indian Supreme Court on July 8, 2023. On August 7, 2023, Kashmiri freedom fighter Yasin Malik’s daughter, Razia Sultana, through a letter had appealed to the UN Secretary-General to spare her father from the death penalty.
Students at the University of East Anglia organized global seminars on August 7, advocating for the freedom of Kashmir, which got global media attention.
India was jolted when multiple global human rights organizations jointly appealed to the G20 nations on August 24, urging them to address human rights violations in Kashmir.
On September 23, freedom leader Mir Waiz Omar Farooq was released from prison but still not allowed political activities. The drama of the Indian government scholarship scheme unfolded on October 12, met with rejection by Kashmiri students. Massive protests against India erupted in Kargil and Ladakh on November 13. December 11 witnessed social media branding criticism against the Indian oppression in Kashmir as an act of cruelty.
