ISSI launches new book challenging India’s post August 2019 narrative on Kashmir
Islamabad: The India Study Centre at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) has launched its latest edited volume, titled “The Kashmir Question in a Changing World – Beyond August 2019”, highlighting the evolving dynamics of the Kashmir dispute since BJP-led Indian government’s illegal and unilateral action of August 05, 2019.
According to Kashmir Media Service, featuring 12 chapters contributed by renowned academics and scholars from Pakistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and abroad, the book focuses on various dimensions of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and challenges the narratives advanced by India on the subject. Prominent Kashmiri leader Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai attended the book launch as Guest of Honour. Other speakers included Dr. Waleed Rasool, Assistant Professor, Riphah International University; Altaf Hussain Wani, Chairman, Kashmir Institute of International Relations, Islamabad; and Ambassador Babar Amin.
Dr. Fai commended the ISSI’s efforts in publishing the book, noting that most of the books available in the market were either written by Indian authors or foreign scholars, with many tending to lean more towards the Indian narrative. They completely ignore the suffering and pain of the Kashmiri people. He further stressed that the Kashmir dispute is fundamentally about the aspirations of millions of Kashmiri people, not a territorial issue. He also underlined that the world recognises the international legitimacy of the Kashmir case and has empathy for the Kashmir cause, adding it was important to channelise these assets through strong advocacy and diplomatic moves. He expressed profound gratitude for the all-out support and solidarity extended by the Pakistani nation throughout the Kashmiri struggle.
Director General ISSI Ambassador Sohail Mahmood said that the book serves as a lens through which the lived reality of the Kashmiri people could be viewed. He said the book illustrates a pattern of systematic denial of rights, human rights violations, political manipulation, and demographic engineering aimed at implementing a settler-colonial project in IIOJK. He added that from Pakistan’s perspective, dialogue is the only way forward to resolve not just the Kashmir dispute but all other issues that have held the South Asian region hostage to instability, mistrust and animosity. However, dialogue cannot proceed under coercive preconditions.
Director India Study Centre, Dr. Khurram Abbas, said that this book is a humble attempt to bring forth various aspects of the Kashmir dispute in its true perspective.
Dr. Waleed Rasool termed the book as a welcome addition to the existing literature on Kashmir. He also highlighted the moral, political and diplomatic support being extended by Pakistan to its Kashmiri brethren. Without this support, Jammu and Kashmir under Indian occupation would have been another Gaza, he said.
Altaf Husain Wani said that the book deals with the questions that cannot be set aside. He highlighted the importance of countering the Indian narrative on the subject, which can only be done by producing more research-based academic material backed by authentic sources.
Ambassador Babar Amin described the book as an important milestone, noting it not only documents the political and legal dimensions of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, but also captures its profound human cost, international reactions, and the ongoing implications for peace, justice and human dignity in the region. He emphasized that the book reaffirms the legal and moral claims recognised by the international community and renews the commitment to ensuring that the voices, aspirations, and sacrifices of the Kashmiri people are heard.
Chairman Board of Governors ISSI, Ambassador Khalid Mahmood, said that the book is on a subject that is vital to Pakistan and all freedom-loving people across the world. He said the right to self-determination has been acknowledged as a fundamental human right by the UN and expressed his belief that the struggle of the people of Jammu and Kashmir will prevail sooner rather than later, as it is rooted in justice.
