Opinion | Pakistan’s Phony Sympathy exposed in Kashmir

Pakistan can’t be seen as sympathetic anymore because Kashmir has suffered for thirty years from their so-called sympathy, facing destruction, loss of lives, and economic hardship. Kashmir rejoices as a day of celebration is cut short. It’s time to focus on reclaiming our illegally occupied Kashmir from Pakistan. Let’s fight for the rights of our people who want to be part of India. Protests, killings, and disappearances plague Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), but the international community, including India, seems indifferent. It’s time to demand PoK back from Pakistan.

Pakistan should focus on celebrating their own crises, economic breakdowns, human rights violations, and insecurity instead of pretending to sympathize with Kashmir. Kashmir is no longer their concern. If Pakistan truly cares about Kashmir, they should embrace peace, development, and prosperity. We shouldn’t pay attention to Pakistan’s celebrations; instead, we should focus on the dire situation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The leaders of PoK are treated like puppets, forced to report to military commanders and ISI officials in Rawalpindi. Any shortcomings are met with reprimand, leaving the PM and President of PoK in a humiliating position of spying on their own people.

The abrogation of Article 370, the elimination of terrorism, and the crackdown on Pakistan’s stooges have rendered Pakistan and its puppets irrelevant. Peace and prosperity in Kashmir have further diminished the significance of Pakistan’s celebrations, both in Pakistan and in Kashmir.

Since the abrogation, various confusions of the common Kashmiri have been cleared as they witness the results and confront the realities of a violence-free environment, progress, and development in all sectors. It was necessary to lock down the shops where radicalization, terrorism, and provocation were manufactured in Kashmir. Kashmiri people have witnessed Pakistan’s sympathy over the last two decades, and for us, solidarity day celebrations mean the commemoration of countless dead bodies that Pakistan has gifted to Kashmir. Of course, this day serves as a reminder of the death of their existence because people in Kashmir have experienced Pakistan’s instability, enforced military rule, and sympathy towards radicalization, which have resulted in the deaths of countless innocents in Kashmir. This situation has led to economic stagnation and the demise of tourism. Pakistan has reaped what it sowed, and Kashmiri people have witnessed all of this, growing weary of the terrorism factory manufactured and peddled by Pakistan to the world. In contrast, Kashmir is experiencing peace and development.

What does Pakistan have to celebrate when they themselves are beggars? Their provocations and infiltrations into Kashmir have opened the eyes of the common Kashmiri, who will not tolerate it and will one day rise against it. This will expose Pakistan to the world’s scrutiny, revealing its true nature.

Ethically, Pakistan has no right to occupy our part of Kashmir. It’s imperative to evaluate the condition of our territory, which has been illegally seized by Pakistan. Kashmiris have firsthand experience of Pakistan’s role and are well aware of their hypocrisy. As Kashmiris living in the largest democracy in the world, India, we must acknowledge that the land occupied by Pakistan, known as Azad Kashmir, is a region where deprivation is the unfortunate reality for its people.

Before every Kashmiri, we have a very straightforward and plain argument: the part of Jammu and Kashmir which Pakistan calls Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and the northern areas are the worst-hit by human rights violations, military rule, and the production of terrorism.

Realization is essential when assessing the roles and characters of leaders and countries. Pakistan’s role has been particularly detrimental, with common Kashmiris bearing the brunt humanely, socially, and economically. Their government setup is unstable, insecure, and vulnerable, compounded by undemocratic executions by the Pakistani army. Every Kashmiri witness Pakistan’s action with their own people, which is nothing short of pathetic. Pakistan’s progress report card is stained with bloodshed, as they continue to kill innocent people. The realization dawns upon every Kashmiri that embracing India post-abrogation dissolves all confusion among the minds of common Kashmiri people, as they become fully integrated with the rest of the country.

AJK’s youth is dissatisfied with Pakistan’s political role, which they feel is oppressive. Seventy years have lapsed down, but they still feel unidentified.  Pakistan’s constitution neither recognizes them as sovereign in status nor does Pakistan confer upon them provincial stature in the country’s national constitution. I’m quoting Mr Waqas Ali’s Research Paper titled ‘The Impact of Conflict on Young People in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) published by the Centre for Peace, Development and Reforms (CPDR), supported by Conciliation Resources, UK, as reference here.
“Young people (of AJK) have serious concerns about Pakistan’s unnecessary domination over the political and administrative setup of AJK, yet simultaneously laud its unflinching support and commitment to the issues of Kashmir. Young people question the uneven and off-centered constitutional relationship between AJK and Pakistan. The AJK interim Constitution Act of 1974 drew criticism—youth strongly believe it excludes the people of AJK from decision-making because the “Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council” acts as a supra-constitutional and paramount authority.
The fact is that the PoK’s people are under oppression. They and their institutions are under despotic surveillance of ISI and Pakistan’s army. Even their print, electronic, and social media are under severe vigilance. If anyone is found opening his mouth against the tyrannous Army or ISI, unknown faces carry him off as he was never born on the earth. Inflicting brutality and barbarism upon those who dare open their lips is the barbaric law there. So, then, we need to seriously think and take action against Pakistani military rule over our part of Kashmir.
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