| News Details |
| The Weaknesses in the POJK Revolution | | 
By Sehrish Kashmiri and Fatima Baloch
At present, in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK), under the leadership of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), the Kashmiri nation is fighting for its constitutional and legal rights, as well as for national freedom. In this so-called peaceful struggle, the people of POJK have been suffering from state brutality, killings, and shortages of food and medicines. The greatest weakness of this movement is our own hypocrisy and cowardice as Kashmiris. Kashmiris in POJK claim that they are running a peaceful movement, whereas peaceful movements have never succeeded in Pakistan. If peaceful movements had succeeded in Pakistan, then the Bengalis in 1971, PTI, TLP, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), and the Baloch nation would not have suffered such oppression and brutality, and their peaceful movements would have succeeded. The silence of top Kashmiri leadership, such as Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Mehbooba Mufti, and Shabir Ahmad Shah, regarding the plight of people in POJK is also a reflection of hypocrisy. Meanwhile, leaders from the BJP and INC have been raising their voices and expressing concerns over what Pakistan is acommitting in terms of human rights violations in POJK.
Moreover, the Pakistani state itself has turned the JAAC-led peaceful movement into a violent one. Pakistan has labeled the leaders of JAAC as RAW agents and terrorists, arrested and beaten them, banned the party, and unjustly martyred hundreds of Kashmiris during the peaceful public movement. Therefore, this so-called peaceful movement has now become a betrayal. If Kashmiris can, under Pakistan's misleading influence, wage a violent movement against India, the world's largest democracy, then why not against Pakistan?
Remember that when Pakistan was committing genocide against the Bengalis in 1971, we Kashmiris also remained silent. Kashmiris should not betray the blood of their martyrs.
Rather, they should carry out a movement like those of the recent Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka and make sacrifices like the Baloch nation. It is necessary for the Kashmiri nation to carry out such a movement; otherwise, the JAAC leadership will be betraying the blood of their martyrs.
Besides this, some Kashmiris become hopeless and discouraged, saying that there are traitors among us and that, therefore, a violent movement or our struggle for independence cannot succeed. Despair is a sin. Kashmiris should abandon fear and cowardice and study history. During 1970–71, the Pakistani state also created collaborators such as Al-Shams and the Razakars among the Bengali nation, who fought directly against the Bengali freedom fighters. Are there no traitors among the Baloch and Pashtun nations? Traitors exist in every national movement and every war of freedom. In addition, some Kashmiris on social media address the Baloch nation by saying, "Come, today we, the oppressed Kashmiris and Baloch, should unite and fight together against the oppressive rulers."
These Kashmiris should know that ever since Pakistan occupied Balochistan on 27 March 1948, from Prince Abdul Karim in 1948, Babu Nowroz Zehri in 1956, Khair Bakhsh Marri and Ataullah Mengal in 1973, to today's long and violent war that was started in 2003 by Martyr Akbar Bugti and Martyr Balach Marri, and the command of the national armed struggle shifted into the hands of Baloch youth, the Baloch nation has continuously fought against Pakistan and made sacrifices for its national freedom. The Baloch are a Kurdish-origin nation that was not part of British India. After the creation of Pakistan, Balochistan remained an independent country for nine months. The Parliament of Balochistan in the city of Kalat still exists. The people of POJK are only now awakening because Pakistan has begun oppressing the Kashmiris.
It is unfortunate that even today many Kashmiris consider Pakistan their sympathizer and friend. Some Kashmiris even consider Kashmir to be a part of Pakistan. All this is because Pakistan is an Islamic country. The truth is that Pakistan massacred its own Bengalis in 1971, while Balochistan has faced continuous oppression since 1948. Pakistan has always been an ally of the United States and NATO and has damaged the Pashtuns and Afghanistan. For dollars, it participated in the Yemen war and contributed to the destruction of Muslims in various regions.
Whereas Pakistan is also an opponent of Kashmiri interests. Pakistan handed over 15 percent, approximately 43,180 square kilometers, of the Kashmiri regions of Aksai Chin and Shaksgam to China. In other words, it further divided the land of Kashmir. The extent of the contradiction can be seen in the fact that Pakistan calls the part of Kashmir under its control "Azad Kashmir" and even has a Prime Minister there, but that Prime Minister is not allowed to visit other countries or meet the presidents and prime ministers of other nations. Azad Kashmir is not allowed to have its own foreign minister, independent army, currency, or even its own international cricket or football team. For 75 years, Pakistan has frightened Kashmiris by claiming that India will attack POJK and kill Kashmiris. For 75 years, Pakistan has claimed that it will liberate Kashmir from India and create an independent Kashmir. In other words, for 75 years, Pakistan has been frightening, exploiting, humiliating, and pressuring Kashmiris.
It is unfortunate that Kashmiris are unable to understand the real issue, and many fail to examine historical facts in order to identify the actual obstacles. After the establishment of Pakistan through the partition of British India on 14 August 1947, Jammu and Kashmir remained an independent state for approximately three months. The reality is that Pakistan's tribal forces, with the support of the Pakistani Army, attacked Kashmir on 22 October 1947 with the objective of annexing it to Pakistan, without the consent of the Kashmiri people or its ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh.
In response to this aggression, the angered Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession with India on 28 October 1947 and requested military assistance from India to defend the state against the invading forces. The conflict continued, and the United Nations became involved in the Kashmir dispute. Under the United Nations resolutions, Pakistan was declared the aggressor, and as the first step, Pakistan was required to withdraw its armed forces and its citizens from the areas under its control. In the second stage, India was required to reduce its military presence to the minimum level necessary to maintain law and order. Finally, under appropriate international supervision, a plebiscite was proposed to determine the wishes of the people of Kashmir.
Even today, Pakistan is not prepared to implement the first step, which represents a major injustice and deception against the Kashmiris. Until Pakistan withdraws its forces from the areas under its control in accordance with the first step, the conditions outlined in the United Nations framework cannot be fully implemented. Consequently, the process established through the United Nations resolutions cannot move forward because Pakistan has yet to fulfill the initial requirement.
Some Kashmiris, who have fallen victim to Pakistani narratives and propaganda, claim that Pakistan is a thousand times better than India because India martyred their children. In reality, Pakistan itself was responsible for pushing those people into conflict. Until 1980, Indian-administered Kashmir was largely a peaceful commercial and tourist region. After the Afghan Jihad, Pakistan encouraged Kashmiri militants to fight with the promise that, "You wage jihad, we are coming behind you with support," but later Pakistan repeatedly remained absent. India did not kill innocent Kashmiris; rather, it targeted militants who were part of Pakistan's proxy war strategy. Some Kashmiris say, "We have no dispute with Pakistan; the Pakistani people are with us!" But which Pakistani people? Those silent citizens who did not come out even for Imran Khan? Those who never protested against corrupt politicians, participation in American wars, or the suffering of the Bengali, Pashtun, and Baloch nations?
Today, Kashmiris should free themselves from Pakistani lies, propaganda, and deception, carefully study history, and learn from it by observing how Pakistan treated the Bengali nation, the very people who created Pakistan, during 1970–71, and what it has been doing to the Baloch and Pashtun nations for decades. The fundamental obstacle to implementing the United Nations resolutions is Pakistan's failure to fulfill the first condition of withdrawing its forces from the areas under its control. Therefore, Kashmiris should study history objectively and decide for themselves who is preventing the process envisioned for resolving the Kashmir issue.
Finally, we would say that today Kashmiris should carefully study history. What benefit did the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent gain from the creation of Pakistan? Muslims were divided repeatedly. The Kashmiri nation should read Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and what he said about Pakistan. Did the creation of Pakistan not weaken the Muslims of the subcontinent? If Pakistan did not spare the Bengalis who created it, then how will it show mercy to Kashmiris? Pakistan will inflict such oppression upon the Kashmiri nation that history may forget the suffering inflicted upon the Bengalis and the Baloch. Kashmiris remain unaware that the Bengalis, who created Pakistan, became so exhausted by oppression and tyranny that they were forced into a war for independence.
Pakistan oppressed the Bengalis over the Bengali language in 1952. It could not accept the Bengalis' victory in the 1970 elections. The oppression inflicted upon the Bengalis and the Baloch is well known. Now, according to this argument, it is the turn of the Kashmiri nation. Therefore, demand freedom from Pakistan before Pakistan forces you, like the Bengalis and the Baloch, to demand independence. Along with Gilgit, Kashmir will either become a completely independent country or become part of India, because if two parties fight over a house or property, the owner is the one who possesses the legal papers and documents of that property. What legal documents does Pakistan have? While India claims to hold the legal documents and considers the entire Kashmir region an integral part of India according to its constitution.
Moreover, Kashmir has historically been part of the Indian subcontinent. Under the Two-Nation Theory, only two countries were to emerge from the partition of India: Pakistan and India. Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession with India. Now, the people of POJK should stand together with the Kashmiris of Srinagar. India supported the Bengalis against Pakistan's oppression in 1971. If the Kashmiri nation shows courage against Pakistan, India will not delay in protecting its Kashmiri citizens, but first, Kashmiris must demonstrate determination like the Baloch. End hypocrisy, fear, and cowardice. Do not betray the blood of your martyrs by merely continuing a sit-in in Rawalakot for such a long time. Either, like Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, block roads, government offices, and streets. March toward Muzaffarabad and bring about change. For your freedom, first struggle against Pakistan, and India will always stand for the people of POJK.
Long live India and Kashmir.
Fatima Baloch is a senior geopolitical and regional affairs analyst who writes extensively on Afghanistan, Balochistan, and India, with a focus on regional security dynamics, insurgency movements, and South Asian strategic affairs.
(Disclaimer: The views, observations and opinions expressed in above write up of Scoop News are strictly author's own. Scoop News does not take any onus or liability for the veracity, accuracy, validity, completeness, suitability of any of information in the above given write up. The information, facts or figures appearing in the write up in no way manifest the position, standpoint or stance of Scoop News and the Scoop News does not assume any encumbrance or answerability of the same. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent Courts and Forums in Jammu City Only)
Editor
Scoop News,(scoopnews.in)..
... |
| |
|
|
Share this Story |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|