Archive for category CURRENT EVENTS

Leaders Stabbed the Nation

To Fellow Pakistanis,    – URGENT Our country and all of its mainstream lifelines are mismanaged, systematically corrupted and its essential energies drained out by the few neo-colonial families; the nation-building was ignored and more thugs, indicted criminals called politicians have undermined its futuristic sustainability. I have a bigger view of our national affairs from North America.  You know for years that as a scholar in global affairs, I am truthful, honest and do not subscribe to any political affiliation in Pakistan. Therefore, you must understand the exceptional urgency of affairs and do your best to raise your voices of REASON for the best of our nation and its future-making. It seems that few mindless Generals once again are indulging in a monstrous scheme of things to undermine our national freedom, security and nationhood. They HAVE NO UNDERSTANDING OF TIME AND HISTORY AND CRITICAL CHALLENGES WE FACE AS A NATION. They could surrender again as they did before without any accountability. Therefore, this sadistic authoritarian MARCH must be stopped and our country must be returned to responsible and  a legitimate system of political governance.  OUR ENEMIES HAVE READY MADE PLANS TO HIT US AND MAKE US REDUNDANT – BE AWARE THAT I AM TELLING YOU THE TRUTH AS A RESPONSIBLE FELLOW PAKISTANI. There must be  an elected legitimate govt in place in our country at the earliest. Every second counts, and any intentional delay will undermine our security, our national freedom and a sustainable future. A govt overwhelmingly operated by few egoistic Generals is evidence of the failure of our political governance, national freedom and sustainable future.  It is a completely disdained culture of failure in all parts of the body.  Some of you have served the nation with devotion and sincerity. As a fellow informed Pakistani, I ask you – I request you to please realize the urgency of TIME  in our history and make your presence known in public that you support a fair election by all genuine political parties including the PTI, and that Imran Khan must be set free immediately to participate in a fair national election. Your indifference could harm our national freedom- it is that important under the challenging circumstances. Please WAKE-UP and be heard to realize that our national freedom and Pakistan’s future must be protected by the new young, educated and intelligent generations of people, NOT the old neo-colonial guards subservient to foreign masters. A navigational change appears challenging under the circumstances but is logically possible.Mahboob A. Khawaja The Author

                 Monday, August 14, 2023 6:47:51 AM

The Times

Mon Aug 14

Pakistan: How Neo-Colonial

Leaders Stabbed the Nation

• Written by Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

The Nation Lost its Credibility and Strategic Direction

Pakistan’s Neo-colonial elite continued to ruthlessly purge any public dissent against the most hated and most feared ones. The British Raj debacles are hidden in the new freedom of the few against many. Reflecting on the current political fault lines originating from Pakistan, one could pinpoint the unrestrained egoistic political drive to domination as the major source of evil. Rationally speaking, honesty, piety, evil and moral values are not the ingredients of the Nature of Things but essentially shapes, forms and practices of human behavior. Pakistan and all other Asian and African nations colonized by the British, French and other Europeans remain colonized in thoughts, systems and institutions. The British by design failed to deliver the truth of national freedom to Pakistan and India in a universal spirit of political responsibility. Pakistan fell victim to political conspiracies and military interventions losing its ideological originality and intellectual capacity for nation-building, new system of political governance and independent future-making. Lacking truth and trust in their plans and policies, the Pakistani neocolonial elite arrested Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister and jailed him on fictitious political charges aimed at depriving the nation from a free and fair election. Within one year there are reported to be 150 political geared cases registered against Imran Khan. Their actions represent desperate political absolutism submerging Pakistan into a highly uncivilized and destabilized nation of the few former landlords patronized by foreign Masters.

Violent assumptions of freedom plagued with tyranny and corruption reassure the foreign Masters continuing financial and military support to the Army, the Civil Service and systems of political governance for their allegiance to British imperialism now replaced by American political hegemony, US-AID and military domination. This institutionalized betrayal and deception is nothing new to the cause of national freedom. The Europeans subjugated the masses to “divide and rule” and viewed the ‘subjects’ as unequal less than human beings at the ballot box or to stand beside the colonial Masters.

When the US occupied Afghanistan in 2001, Pakistani Generals according to the NY Times (May 18, 2007), were paid by the US to act on its behalf – abduction and killing of thousands of Pakistani and Afghani nationals to fill Guantanamo Bay Prison. Nobody knows why Musharraf now dead enthroned 200 new Generals; why he put the Chief Justice under house arrest; why Dr. Afia Siddiqi was sold to the US and how he and 12 others spent alleged 2B bribe dollars given by George W. Bush for help to bomb and destroy Afghanistan. Please see “Pakistan: Politics of Betrayal and Deception.” Uncommon Thought Journal: 4/12/2022. “Pakistan, Planned Political Chaos: Imran Khan a Victim of Hope for the Future”, Global Research: 11/06/2022; “British Colonialism and How India and Pakistan Lost Freedom” https://www.globalresearch.ca/british-colonialism-how-india-pakistan-lost-freedom/5765810 and https://ms-my.facebook.com/Uncommon-Thought-Journal-161860380533165/photos/4916004181785404/ Uncommon Thought Journal: 1/01/2022; and “Pakistan in Search of Freedom and Security”, Uncommon Thought Journal and Global Research:

Why was Imran Khan arrested again and Jailed?

Evil has its power and evil mongers expose their frustration, tyranny and repression by haunting Khan and his supporters. Imran Khan is the leading democratic party leader favored by the people. In April 2022, in a coup-like political game changer operation at the Assembly, few of the Generals led by Bajwa installed highly controversial and criminally indicted figures like Shahbaz Sharif, Bhutto, and others to please the US and its vested strategic interest in South West Asia. Imran Khan, a new generation educated person, wanted to opt for political changes in Pakistan’s external relations and reshape Pakistan’s exclusive reliance on the US towards a more balanced relationship with Russia, China and other Middle Eastern nations. His PTI party alleges American intervention in the political coup against him and removal from office. Strangely enough, Khan often spoke of political changes but missed the reality in policies and practices. Was Khan so naive about his own plans and weak political and intellectual strength to be removed from office undemocratically by his opponents? Few of the Generals and Sharif brothers feared that Imran Khan could return to power and hold them responsible for corruption, looting of the treasury and egoistic political belligerency. If Imran Khan was conscientious and acted diligently, he could have called an early election to undo the political conspiracy. Was he misinformed by some of his own dubious party stakeholders?

In “Pakistan Leaders or Criminals”, you will discover how Bhuttos, Zardari, Sharifs and General Musharaf – these thugs stole billions and billions to own properties in the UK, France and Spain. The Thinking People of the New Generation view them as the most corrupt, crime riddled monsters who will never come to terms with reason and honesty to reflect on their own wrongdoings. They never imagined–how the present and future generations will remember them? Comparatively, Imran Khan had about four years of uncorrupted politics. He did not kill anybody nor rob any banks and was keen to have legal accountability for the stolen wealth and political killings. But political governance was infested with corrupt figures of the past. He needed educated people of new ideas and ideals to devise strategic action plans for political change. Perhaps Imran Khan had the vision for a new Pakistan but he failed to materialize its manifestations.

If an individual has the natural gift of Faith, Reason and Reality, he/she can counteract the false force of exploitation and intellectual subjugation and rediscover the individual consciousness of human spirit and body to be an important force of change and reconstruction of the societal hubs. While political cynicism is endemic, Pakistani masses view Imran Khan – an outsider of corrupt politics with great deal of optimism and integrity, and hope for a new beginning, free of political corruption paving opportunities for sustainable change. Khan and his PTI supporters allege that few Generals and Shahbaz Sharif were involved in his assassination attempt during a march to Islamabad.

For Nation-building, Few Generals, Sharifs and the Masses live in Conflicting Time Zones

The Generals, Sharif brothers and Bhuttos were not part of the Pakistan freedom movement, they have no relationship to the imperatives of Islam, ideology of Pakistan or its future-making. They are fast becoming a liability on the conscience of the educated and intelligent new generation of Pakistanis for change and adaptability to a sustainable future. The nation-building needs people of new ideas and honesty and proactive vision, not the Generals, not the Sharifs or Zaradri – the indicted criminals and known thugs.

Pakistan is fast becoming a dead-ended entity of moral, political and intellectual landscape. Truth telling is maligned and persecuted by the ruling elite. The British changed the sub-continent in 90 years, but Pakistan after 75 years has no viable system of political governance. Its home-grown enemies and traitors like ZA Bhutto, Ms. Bhutto, General Yahya Khan, Zardari, Sharifs and General Musharraf were more harmful than foreign enemies. These impostors are seen as scum floating on a torrent. Pakistan lives in limbo with a missing legitimate system of political governance and accountability and system of law and justice.

Pakistan lost its natural capacity for change and progress under the military dictators and continuous martial laws with missing public institutions of knowledge and participation, hope for a navigational change and democratic values ruptured forever. Nations cease to exist when educated people of new generations who could have replaced the old and redundant guards leave the country and never return to build the nation. Young educated generations embark on migrating to Europe or America and never come back. It is an irresistible necessity of time and truth that those in power must be warned and listen to voices of reason and political necessity for change and truth for restraint and civilized behavior. You may find ideas and ideals in“How to Change Political Culture of Corruption and Rebuild the Future?” 2/16/2019: Pressenza, NY. (https://www.pressenza.com/2019/02/pakistan-how-to-change-political-culture-of-corruption-and-rebuild-the-future/). Tyranny of any kind is always powerless and transitory and it must end for the beleaguered masses of Pakistan. At the moment, few Generals and their accomplice Sharif brothers and Zardari are bent upon destroying public thoughts and vision for political change, reformation and organizing free and fair elections. They have acted dogmatically and vengefully to imprison Imran Khan. The masses and history will haunt them for an inescapable accountability. If the Generals and their accomplice thugs and indicted criminals do not listen to the voices of reason for a free election and continue to perpetuate classical military control, We, the People and history will judge them by their actions, not by their claims.

Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. Lambert Academic Publications, Germany, 12/2019.

Burning Inferno of Gaza

By Brig (Retd) Asif Haroon Raja

Part-1

Background History of Creation of Israel

The Christian Zionists had emerged in 1890 and grew in London. In 1905, Arthur James Balfour promulgated the 1905 Aliens Act to stop the immigration to Britain of the Jewish refugees fleeing anti-Semitism in Russia. Theodor Herzl was the founder of the Zionist movement. He floated the idea of a Jewish state for the wandering Jews in Europe suffering at the hands of Christian anti-Semites. The latter wanted to get rid of the Jews. The Zionist movement and the British anti-Semites jointly pursued the project of sending all Jews to Palestine.   

The Balfour Declaration of Nov 6, 1917 was inked at the behest of Zionist Rothchild with a view to provide a homeland for the Jews. After the 2^nd world war, Palestine became the colony of Britain, which considered it a fit place for a Jewish State.

Palestine

Palestine, where the great majority was of the Arab Muslims extended from River Jordan in the East to the Mediterranean in the West, and from Ras Al Naqarush in the North to Umm Al-Rashrash in the South. It was a prosperous state where all the communities lived in harmony without any discrimination.

At the start of the 20^th century, the Jewish population in Palestine was less than 5%. After 1920, it swelled to over 30% due to manipulated immigration from Europe. From 1945 onwards the intensity of immigration of Jews to Palestine intensified and the UK helped the Jews to buy lands and properties and to settle down.

In 1947-48, the militant gangs of the Zionist Jews resorted to terrorism and systematically demolished 531 Palestinian villages. In 1947, the UK proposed division of Palestine, which was executed by the UN to carve out a state for the Jews in May 1948. Almost half of Palestine was awarded to Israel.  Before the 1948 Arab-Israeli war in May 1948, 200 villages were destroyed.

It gave birth to the Arab-Israeli conflict and led to the 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973 wars. The combined armies of Egypt, Syria and Iraq supported by other Arab countries were roundly defeated by the IDF in all the wars.

Displacement of Palestinians

In 1948, two forcible displacements of 250,000 and 350,000 Palestinians took place They were expelled from their homes. In May 1948, another 750,000 were displaced/expelled and forced to live as refugees in several Arab States, West Bank (WB), and Gaza Strip which is just 365 Sq area, 41 KM long and 6 KM wide. It now has about 2.5 million people.

During the 2^nd Intifada, about 5000 homes were demolished and 50,000 Palestinians were displaced. From 2009 to 2023, 9000 homes were destroyed and 1,50,000 Palestinians killed/injured.

In the current war in Gaza, 1.4 million Gazans have been displaced.

Settlement of Jews

During the Partition plan, the Jews owned 7% of the land in Palestine and its population was 55%. In 1947, the Jewish possessions in Palestine were 9-12% of cultivable land, which increased to 81% in 1977.

From 1967 to May 1977, Israel established 133 settlements in occupied territories of WB, Golan Heights, Gaza Strip and Sinai. Since 1979, settlers in WB have risen from 3200 to 17,400. In East Jerusalem, the number of settlers has risen to 80,000.

From 1949 to 1967, Israel gobbled up 78% of Palestinian lands, and thereafter continued to nibble more territory, reducing the territory held by the Palestinians to only 8%.

The Western world and the UN legitimized Israel’s robbery of land and wanton barbarities against the victims under the plea of right to self-defense.

Peace Efforts

PLO was created in 1964 by Yasser Arafat, which started an armed resistance movement in the late 1960s after Israel launched its policy of settling Jews in Palestinian lands.  

The Madrid Conference in 1991 jointly chaired by George Bush senior and Gorbachev was the first attempt to bring the Arabs and Israelis on a negotiating table. 

Oslo Accords was signed by Israel under Yitzhak Rabin and PLO in 1993. Yasser Arafat agreed to recognize Israel in return for peace and a two-state solution. He earned the animosity of hawkish members in PLO, he fell ill and died in Paris hospital. Many speculated that he was slow-poisoned to death.

In pursuance of the peace agreement, Israel withdrew from Gaza Strip and agreed to hand over 97% of WB territory. It agreed to recognize Palestine as an independent State comprising Gaza, WB and East Jerusalem as its capital, for which the PLA was created.  

Camp David summit hosted by Bill Clinton for the final settlement in 2000 proved inconclusive, because of disagreements on territory, refugees and the status of Jerusalem.

The next phase of resistance put up by the PLO was in the form of unarmed Intifada in 2001, in which children threw stones on the occupying Israeli forces. Their sole demand was to return their occupied lands and grant them the right to exist independently.

Road map for peace formulated in 2003 met a similar fate due to Israel’s obduracy and boycott by Hamas. Same happened with the Annapolis Conference hosted by George Bush junior in 2007.  

Another effort was made by John Kerry to revive peace talks in 2013-14, but Hamas rejected the talks for being tilted in favor of Israel.

Trump played a role in brokering Abraham Accords in 2020 which led to the normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab States. Israel declared Jerusalem as its capital and the USA hastened to shift its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.  

Not only did Israel violate the peace deal, it launched a vigorous forward settlement program to further encroach into the Palestinian territory and to change the demography of Gaza, WB and East Jerusalem that were illegally annexed in 1967.

Number of illegal settlers rose from 200,000 in 2008 to over 700,000 in 2023. It laid to rest the two-state solution.

Rise of Hamas

Mehmood Abbas who succeeded Arafat after the death of Arafat as the head of PLA, made compromises with Israel, which defanged the resistance movement and made him unpopular. His unpopularity gave space to a new political party ‘Hamas’ under Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza.

Hamas was elected with a big majority in 2006 elections in which the non-performing PLA under Abbas was defeated. The latter, egged on by Israel, refused to accept the results and formed its own government in the WB in 2007.

Hamas govt was democratically elected, but it was not accepted by Tel Aviv and its chief patron USA, and was declared a terrorist group. Israel and the USA played a role in creating misgivings and pitting the PLA against Hamas to weaken the Palestine cause.

Hamas bettered the lives of the Gazans through good governance and honesty and won their hearts which was not to the liking of Israel. The IDF carried out ruthless ground and air offensives against Gaza from 2008 to 2020, killing and injuring 120,286 innocent people and destroying their infrastructure and livelihoods. Deaths and injuries of Israelis were 5887. Al-Aqsa Mosque was repeatedly desecrated even when the Palestinians were praying.  

This was done in a bid to topple Hamas Govt, or to compel the Gazans to detach themselves from Hamas, but they didn’t, and have braved the barbarism of Israel. Despite friendship with Abbas, Israel kept encroaching into WB and killing the Palestinians and established over one hundred new settlements.

Israel’s aggressive policies forced Hamas to create a militant wing for the defence of Gaza.

Role of the USA

The US has been protecting and safeguarding the interests of Israel since its creation in 1948. It helped Israel to become a nuclear power and the strongest power in the ME, and its airspace, border and coastline was made impregnable. The militarily and economically strong Arab States were neutralized and tamed.  The US and Europe justified Israel’s sins against humanity by arguing that it is a victim of aggression and has the right of self-defense. Ignoring the extreme pains of the Palestinians and their legitimate resistance movement, who were deprived of their lands and homes, they are accused of unprovoked cruel aggression against Jews.

Heavy military assistance to Israel by the USA is considered rightful, but humanitarian assistance to the Gazans is seen by the duplicitous West as illegal.

The certificate of terrorism given to the Palestinians by the US led West and unwavering support of the US encouraged Israel to constantly delegitimize, brutalize and dehumanize them, deprive them of their right of self-defense, or to seek basic human rights.

A stage came in 2020 during Donad Trump era, that the Arab States abandoned the cause of the Palestinians as well as the two-state solution and decided to recognize Israel. They took the plea that friendship with Israel would help in resolving the Palestinian dispute.

After several Arab States opened diplomatic and trade relations with Israel, the change of scenario emboldened an arrogant Netanyahu to boast that in near future there will be no Palestine on the map of the world.

Pressure was mounted on Pakistan to recognize Israel. The main argument of pro-Israel lobbies was that when the directly involved Arab nations had changed their policies, there was no earthly reason for Pakistan not to recognize Israel with which it doesn’t share border and there is no dispute between the two. They further argued that it was hypocritical to maintain friendly relations with the USA and hostility with Israel.

Ambitions of the Imperialist Powers

The Muslim leaders must understand the future ambitions of the three imperialist strategic partners – USA, ISRAEL and INDIA.

The US wants to control the global resources and monopolize the world after neo-colonizing the Middle East.

Israel’s quest is to create Greater Israel, which stretches from River Nile to Euphrates and includes parts of Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria.

India strives for Mahabharata, which envisages the whole of South Asia, Afghanistan, parts of Central Asia, Iran and Indonesia, and stretches up to the Gulf region.

Both Israel and India backed by the USA are pursuing uniform policies of genocide, rapes, destruction and change of demographic complexion of the occupied territories. 

Both have broken all records of tyranny, cruelty and human rights, but being the darlings of the West, all their sins are ignored. Instead of restraining them or punishing them, they are encouraged and further strengthened by their patrons.

To be continued

The author is a retired Brigadier General, a war veteran, a political and security analyst with a specialization in defense, an international columnist, and the author of five books. He holds an MSc in War Studies and has served as Directing Staff at Staff College Quetta, defense attaché in Egypt and Sudan, and Dean of the Corps of Military Attaches. He has held high staff and command appointments and, after retirement, was appointed Colonel of the Battalion he commanded. Additionally, he chaired the Thinkers Forum Pakistan for four years and regularly participates in TV talk shows. [email protected]

Condemning terrorism in all shades and manifestations by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai Chairman World Forum for Peace and Justice

October 7, 2023

The United Nations Sixth Committee held its seventy-eighth session on October 3, 2023, and stressed ‘National, Regional, International Efforts Crucial in Combating Global Threat Of Terrorism.’ Some delegates called attention towards addressing the underline ‘causes of terrorism and violent extremism.’ Chinese delegate said that the root cause of terrorism includes, “a slow economic recovery, lacklustre implementation of the 2020 Agenda, rising geopolitical tensions and intensification of regional conflicts.”

Ambassador Suriya Chindawongse (Thailand), Chair for the Sixth Committee described “the unique role of the Sixth Committee and the significance of international law for the achievement of the goals of the United Nations. Reminding delegates that the General Assembly has always relied on the diligent work and expertise of the Sixth Committee, he called for a spirit of cooperation and mutual understanding, striving to resolve all issues by consensus.”

Let us analyze the above statements dispassionately. The issue of terrorism and human rights has long been a concern of the United Nations human rights mechanism, but it has become more urgent following the September 11 tragedy that took place in the United States. Terrorism needs to be condemned in all its shades and manifestations, no ifs or buts.

While condemning terrorism unambiguously, Mr. Sergio De Melo, the then High Commissioner for Human Rights emphasized that human rights norms must be respected, even in states of emergency. He said that “the suggestion that human rights violations are permissible in certain circumstances is totally wrong.”

Former Secretary-General Kofi Annan remarked at a special meeting of the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee, on March 6, 2003, “Our responses to terrorism should uphold the human rights in all circumstances because that is exactly what terrorists would like to destroy.

In her report on “Human Rights” former High Commissioner for Human Rights, President Mary Robinson, reminded States that “an effective international strategy to counter terrorism should use human rights as its unifying framework”.

Dr. Kalliopi K. Koufa, an Emeritus Professor of Law of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and former ‘Special rapporteur on human rights and terrorism of the United Nations Sub-Commission on the promotion and protection of human rights’ said that ‘there is a disturbing tendency to categorize ordinary criminal activity as terrorism.’ The Special Rapporteur made the distinction between armed conflict and terrorism, particularly when the issue of self-determination is the part of the discussion.

The United Nations special rapporteurs and independent experts have expressed their concern that, under the pretext of combating terrorism, human rights defenders are threatened, particularly the ones who are engaged in the peaceful struggle to liberate their occupied homelands. Khurram Parvez, an internationally recognized human rights activists from Kashmir was arrested by Modi administration under a draconian law, ‘Unlawful Activity and Prevention Act (UAPA)’ and he was labelled as a terrorist. Although, Mary Lawlor, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defender said, “Khurram Parvez is not a terrorist. He is a human rights defender.” Amnesty International was concerned that the “war on terror” should not become an excuse to deny human rights.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recalls its Resolution 1271 (2002) and Recommendation 1550 (2002) on combating terrorism and respect for human rights and reaffirms that the fight against terrorism must not be used as a pretext to restrict the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed under the European Convention on Human Rights and related legal texts of the Council of Europe.

The global campaign against terrorism should not lead us into a campaign to defend the tyrant regimes and illegal military occupations. Many forces in the world are salivating at the prospect of United States power being used to prop up the brutal regimes they have foisted on peoples against the popular will. Yet, that is exactly what is happening. By supporting the U.S. in its campaign against global terrorism, many governments are misusing their support to crush the genuine freedom movements. A prime example is Kashmir where 900,000 Indian armed forces have brought Kashmir ‘to the brink of extinction’ as suggested by Dr. Gregory Stanton, Chairman, ‘Genocide Watch’. The world powers know that the struggle of the people of Kashmir for the restoration of their right to self-determination was accepted by the United Nations.

It is worth mentioning here that when the Kashmir dispute erupted in 1947-1948, the United States championed the stand that the future status of Kashmir must be ascertained in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of the territory. The United States was the principal sponsor of the resolution # 47 which was adopted by the Security Council on April 21, 1948, and which was based on that unchallenged principle. Following the resolution, the United States as a leading member of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP), adhered to that stand. The basic formula for settlement was incorporated in the resolutions of that Commission adopted on August 13, 1948, and January 5, 1949.

The voice of President Biden was loud and clear when he said that “We will lead not merely by the example of our power but by the power of our example,” then on September 19, 2023 during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, he declared “If we abandon the core principles of the UN charter to appease an aggressor, can any member state in this body feel confident that they are protected?” It is worth mentioning here that Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General has on multiple occasions stated clearly that the Kashmir issue has to be resolved under UN Charter. And this is the same UN Charter which President Biden wants to protect and India is defying.

It was astonishing that President Biden refused to take up the issue of genocide in Kashmir and human rights violations in India when he invited Prime Minster Modi to the White House on June 22, 20203, despite the fact that President Obama has sent the message to President Biden on CNN, “I do think that it is appropriate for the president of the United States, where he or she can, to uphold those principles and to challenge — whether behind closed doors or in public — trends that are troubling. And so, I’m less concerned about labels than I’m concerned about specific practices,” President Obama further added that “Part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility India at some point starts pulling apart. And we’ve seen what happens when you start getting those kinds of large internal conflicts.”

We are dismayed that the horrors of repression for which the people of Kashmir suffer have added two other circumstances, each cruelly adverse. One is the apathy of the world powers at large, including governments and organizations that otherwise are justly proud of their championship of democracy and human rights. The second is the fog of myths and evasive arguments currently surrounding India’s wrongful occupation of Kashmir. We were astonished that not a single member of the Sixth Committee rebuked Ms. Kajal Bhat, the Indian delegate on October 3, 2023, when she stated, “her country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable. The Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India,” which is not true.

The fact of the matter is that the Kashmir issue is simply this that under all international agreements which were agreed by both India and Pakistan, negotiated by the UN, and endorsed by the Security Council, the future of Kashmir shall be decided by its people through a free, fair and impartial referendum. Kashmir, today, does not belong to any member state of the United Nations. So, if Kashmir does not belong to any member state of the United Nations, then the claim that Kashmir is an integral part of India does not hold ground. Therefore, Kashmir cannot separate from a country, like India, to which it never acceded to in the first place.

Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai is the Chairman, World Forum for Peace and Justice.

He can be reached at: WhatsApp: 1-202-607-6435. Or [email protected]