By Mashal Khan

India took a condemnable step three years ago by revoking the special status of Indian held Kashmir. The Indian establishment tried to brush the issue of Kashmir under the carpet with its constitutional meddling. The attempt however failed to break the commitment and zeal of Kashmiri people for their struggle of freedom.

Pakistan’s ex-foreign minister wrote to the UNSC to remind it the stalemate in IIOJ&K and the denial of freedom rights to the people of the occupied region by the BJP government. The former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also wrote that “Abrogation of Article 370 and 35A on Aug 5, 2019 is violations of International law, including the UNSC resolutions”. He added that “New Delhi continues to keep a massive military presence in the disputed region. Moreover, thousands of Kashmiris have been held in detention, while others have been killed extrajudicially.”

The General Secretary of Communist Party of India D Raja after this malicious step, the Indian facist regime declared it undemocratic and an assault on democracy. He asserted that similar fate could befall other states. The General Secretary on Abrogation of article 370 further added; “Abrogation of Article 370 was undemocratic and an assault on democracy. Downgrading the state to Union Territory (bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh) is nothing but a sinister attempt to push through the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) agenda. Narendra Modi government is controlled by RSS”. Discussing the situation of Jammu and Kashmir he said, “Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. The issue has become international and now third parties are coming forward to mediate which we totally condemn it. We demand certain efforts to win the hearts and minds of the people. They are our people and we should reach out to them. Curfew in Jammu and Kashmir must be removed. Where is democracy? Where is the normalcy?”.

With this step the Indian government tried to bury the freedom struggle of Kashmir with a demographic change. According to the findings of a September 2019 study by the New Delhi-based Concerned Citizen Group (CCG); “the abrogation of Article 370 will necessarily bring outsiders to the Valley, because they will be packaged as development projects. The third strategy, the locals believe the government may use for demographic change is to create settlement enclaves for Kashmiri Pandits and ex-servicemen (Sainik Colonies).”

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International both have criticized the barbaric steps taken by the Indian establishment against IIOJ&K. Moreover, the members of the EU parliament have also urged the EU to take note of human rights abuses in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir. Three years have passed since the Indians abrogated article 370 and 35A, the situation is worsening with every other day. The international community must stand together to support the legitimate struggle of Kashmiris and prevent India from any demographic change in the disputed territory.