Kashmiris denied UN-backed self-determination despite decades-long struggle
Modi regime staging operations to divert attention from declining popularity
Srinagar: Political observers have said that Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council for over seven decades, yet the Kashmiri people have been denied their UN-mandated right to self-determination.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the ongoing freedom struggle in the territory, they added, is purely indigenous, rooted in the Kashmiri people’s historic quest to safeguard their identity, liberty and fundamental human rights. Indian authorities, in a bid to suppress this struggle, have resorted to grave human rights abuses, including fake encounters, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, illegal detentions and massive crackdowns aimed at silencing the population through fear and repression.
The observers said, nearly one million Indian troops are stationed in the Valley, but despite this massive military presence, neither peace has been restored nor public resistance crushed—an open testimony to the failure of New Delhi’s policies. The abrogation of Article 370, the incarceration of local leadership, and the paralysis of political activity have further destabilized the territory, they added.
Observers note that the Modi regime, facing declining popularity, humiliation in the recent four-day conflict with Pakistan, and a tariff dispute with the United States, is pushing military commanders into staging operations for political mileage. The recent Kulgam operation, in which soldiers reportedly remained hungry and thirsty for 12 days in hostile conditions, is seen as part of this diversionary tactic. The observers referred to The Wire report, which quoting the families of the two soldiers identified as Pritpal Singh and Harminder Singh as having disclosed that they were forced to eat dirt before being killed during the operation.
The observers said the criminal silence of the international community is emboldening India to continue its repression.
