(Publish from Houston Texas USA)
(Zafar Chishti)
Kashmir Solidarity Day and the Question of Self-Determination
February 5, observed annually as Kashmir Solidarity Day, is not a ceremonial observance but a powerful reminder that the Kashmir dispute remains a living issue of human rights, international law, and denied self-determination. For Pakistanis and the oppressed people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the day symbolizes resistance against decades of injustice, political arrogance, and the systematic silencing of Kashmiri voices.
The Kashmir conflict is often reduced to a territorial dispute between two nuclear-armed states, but at its core, it is a question of justice for millions of Kashmiris whose fundamental right to decide their political future has been denied through military force, legal manipulation, and demographic engineering. India’s rigid and inflexible approach has not resolved the issue; instead, it has prolonged instability and mistrust across South Asia.
The roots of the Kashmir issue trace back to the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, which was based on the principle that Muslim-majority regions would join Pakistan. Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim-majority state, naturally aligned with Pakistan geographically, politically, and culturally. However, a controversial and disputed accession, backed by Indian military intervention, led to the occupation of the region and ignited a conflict that remains unresolved to this day.
Recognizing the disputed nature of Jammu and Kashmir, the United Nations passed several resolutions calling for a free and impartial plebiscite under international supervision. India’s continued refusal to implement these resolutions exposes a contradiction between its democratic claims and its conduct in Kashmir. While India insists that Kashmir is an internal matter, the heavy deployment of troops, prolonged curfews, and suspension of civil liberties reflect the reality of occupation rather than integration.
August 5, 2019 and the Escalation of Repression
The situation deteriorated further after August 5, 2019, when India unilaterally revoked Articles 370 and 35A, stripping Kashmir of its limited autonomy and placing it under direct central control. This move violated international law and UN resolutions and amounted to a direct assault on Kashmiri identity, land rights, and political existence. The subsequent lockdown, communication blackouts, mass arrests, and restrictions on movement turned the region into what many observers described as an open-air prison.
India justified these measures under the guise of security and development, yet the ground reality revealed deepening alienation, economic collapse, and a growing humanitarian crisis. Draconian laws such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act granted near-total impunity to security forces, leading to widespread reports of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, torture, and sexual violence. Pellet guns blinding thousands of young Kashmiris, mass graves, and the criminalization of dissent have become grim symbols of India’s Kashmir policy.
Despite attempts to suppress information, international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have documented these abuses, challenging India’s narrative at global forums. Kashmir Solidarity Day underscores that the Kashmiri struggle is not about terrorism, as often portrayed by India, but about the denial of a basic democratic right—the right to self-determination. The resistance movement is indigenous, rooted in decades of broken promises and systemic injustice.
India’s inflexibility has failed to bring peace or stability. Militarization cannot replace political dialogue, and repression cannot extinguish a legitimate freedom movement. Pakistan has consistently maintained that a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute, in accordance with UN resolutions, is essential for lasting peace in South Asia. Every February 5, Pakistan reiterates its moral, political, and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people, emphasizing that silence in the face of oppression amounts to complicity.
However, responsibility does not rest with Pakistan alone. The international community, despite its strong rhetoric on human rights and democratic values, has largely failed to translate concern into meaningful action. Strategic interests and geopolitical calculations have overshadowed the suffering of ordinary Kashmiris, raising serious questions about the credibility of the global human rights system.
India’s ambition to project itself as a global power and the world’s largest democracy stands in sharp contrast to its conduct in Kashmir, where dissent is criminalized and peaceful protest is met with brute force. The demographic changes being introduced through new domicile laws point to a long-term plan to alter the Muslim-majority character of the region, echoing colonial practices rather than democratic principles.
February 5, therefore, is not just a day of solidarity but a call for accountability. Unresolved conflicts do not disappear with time; they deepen and become more dangerous. Kashmir remains a nuclear flashpoint, and continued injustice only heightens the risk of regional confrontation. A just and lasting solution requires India to abandon coercion and engage in meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders, especially the Kashmiri people themselves.
Peace cannot be imposed through force. It can only emerge from justice, dignity, and respect for the will of the people. Until Kashmiris are allowed to decide their future freely and fairly, February 5 will continue to be observed not as a symbolic ritual, but as a testament to resistance, resilience, and the unbroken spirit of a people who refuse to surrender their right to freedom.
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