Yet another Kashmir Solidarity Day to commemorate the Kashmiris’ sacrifices. As usual a public holiday, the Prime Minister to address a public gathering in AJK , one-minute silence at 10 am across the country, and solidarity walks in Islamabad, Muzaffarabad, Gilgit and four provincial headquarters. Is one a day in a year sufficient to help the Kashmir cause?
Meanwhile barbarities continue in the Indian occupied Kashmir.
The lockdown enforced in the Valley after the revocation of Article 370 shut off entire communities as well as their communication to the outside world. Kashmiris in the Valley were deprived of political rights, and of that modern means of communications, the Internet. Thousands of political workers were arrested and packed off to jails in far-off Indian states The numbers of army and the paramilitary forces were boosted. The condition of the people worsened during the covid-19 pandemic. Health workers going to attend cases were frequently harassed, even thrashed.
Staged encounters still continue. Several militant leaders have also been killed and their mortal remains interred in far-off areas because the Indian government fears large public participation and anti-India slogans at funerals. Protest has been contained but could not be throttled despite the free use of the Indian state’s coercive power. Sparks continue to fly off from what look like ashes. In June, killings of nine militants led to protests and clashes as hundreds of residents tried to march to the site of the encounter. Chanting slogans demanding an end to India’s occupation of Kashmir, demonstrators threw stones at police and paramilitary soldiers, who fired shotgun pellets and tear gas.
The revocation of Article 370, the lockdown of the valley and subsequent Indian atrocities received ample coverage in international media, putting India on the defensive. This also led a number of US Senators and British MPs to show concern over rights abuses in Occupied Kashmir. This was the time for the PTI government to launch a worldwide diplomatic offensive to expose India and seek the support of the international community for the Kashmir cause. As in other spheres, here too the government’s performance was marked by incompetence. There is a need now for the PM to heed to the recommendations made at the National Kashmir Conference on Tuesday.
