Acting AmbassadorDr Fareha Bugti (center)
Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai
Colonel (retired) Wesley Martin
Embassy of Pakistan Commemorates Youm-e-Istehsal
By Elaine Pasquini
Photos by Phil Pasquini
Washington: On August 5, 2024, the Embassy of Pakistan held a commemoration for “Youm-e-Istehsal,” the day in 2019 when the Indian government repealed Articles 370 and 35A of India’s Constitution, thereby revoking the right to self-determination of Kashmiris living in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
A diverse group of individuals, including academics, human rights activists, civil society representatives, diplomats, think-tank members, Pakistani Americans, and members of the media, attended the evening event, which included a delicious buffet of Pakistani cuisine.
Special messages from Pakistan’s president and prime minister were read while video messages of the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of the country were also played. Their messages reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering diplomatic, political and moral support for the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination.
Dr Fareha Bugti, Chargé d’ Affaires and Acting Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, highlighted Pakistan’s unwavering support for the Kashmiri people’s inalienable right to self-determination. Condemning India’s illegal actions in Jammu and Kashmir, she called for the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions in order to enable Kashmiris to determine their own future.
In a video message, peace and human rights advocate Mushaal Hussein Mullick urged the international community to raise their voices in support of the Kashmiris.
Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, secretary general of the Kashmir Awareness Forum, spoke virtually from New York City, where a large rally for Kashmiris was held the day before. Fai compared the plight of Kashmiris to that of the Palestinians and noted the International Court of Justice’s recent opinion against Israel for its illegal occupation of the West Bank. He also compared the exodus of some 750,000 Palestinians from their homes in 1947 to the estimated 1.5 million Kashmiris who left their homeland the same year.
As Israel allows Jewish settlers to unlawfully take possession of Palestinian homes in the illegally occupied West Bank, the Indian government, he pointed out, was taking steps to change the demography of Kashmir and Jammu in the same manner.
Dr Mohsin Ansari, president of the Islamic Circle of North America, noted the Kashmir issue was not just about Kashmir, but was a “Muslim issue.” He urged the audience members to talk about Kashmir with their family and friends, particularly the youth, to bring attention to the Kashmiris’ suffering which is ignored by major media, especially in the United States. “This is our responsibility,” he stated.
US Army Col (ret) Wesley Martin, a security and defense analyst and strong voice for Kashmiris, pointed out that Americans take for granted their constitutional rights of freedom of expression, worship and the freedom from fear. “Unfortunately, the people of Kashmir do not have these same basic rights as we think of them in America. Instead, on a daily basis, on an hourly basis they live in tyranny, and they live in fear.”
“The soldiers of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi feel they can do anything they want,” he continued, “and the sad truth is, no matter how hideous they act and how brutal they are to the defenseless people, they get away with it.”
In 2019, thousands of people were killed, 8,000 disappeared and several thousand were arrested, detained and tortured. These human rights violations by the Modi government have been reported by the United Nations, yet “they are not being held accountable,” Martin said. UN Secretary-General António Guterres is “a good man, but there is so much more that he could be doing, that he should be doing.” And “meanwhile, the assassinations, killings, arrests, torture, rape and murder including children and elderly people, and restrictions of movement, continue.”
Dr Imtiaz Hussain from George Washington University passionately described the torture committed against the women, children and elderly in Kashmir and the Indian soldiers’ ongoing “reign of terror.” Kashmiris, he explained, have no freedom of expression and suffer dire consequences for even discussing independence for their region.
Oussama Jammal, secretary general of the US Council of Muslim Organizations, stated: “On this day we remember the unilateral illegal annexation of Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian government in blatant disregard for United Nations resolutions and in violation of international law. This unjust move not only suppressed the aspirations of the Kashmiri people but also provoked instability in the already fragile region. We stand on solidarity with the brave people of Kashmir in their ongoing struggle for independence and sovereignty.”
London-based Kashmiri youth leader Muzzamil Ayub Thakur and Zahid Bukhari, executive director of the Centre for Islam and Public Policy, expressed solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir and urged India to cease committing human rights violations. They reiterated the need to resolve the longstanding illegal occupation by implementing United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Each of the evening’s speakers also stressed the need to educate Americans on the plight of the residents of Jammu and Kashmir living under illegal Indian occupation.
In closing, Acting Ambassador Bugti emphasized that “Pakistan has no doubt that the Kashmiris will succeed. Pakistan stands with and for our brothers and sisters in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.”
(Elaine Pasquini is a freelance journalist. Her reports appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Nuze.Ink.)
