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'We're not alone': Besieged Kashmiris hail Imran Khan's UN speech
Kashmiris facing a crippling 55-day lockdown imposed by India welcome Pakistani PM's statements at UN General Assembly.
by Rifat Fareed
3 hours ago
Demonstrators at a 'Stand with Kashmir' protest outside the UN headquarters in New York on Friday [Shannon Stapleton/Reuters]
MORE ON KASHMIR
In his UN General Assembly address to the world leaders, the Pakistani leader said he feared there could be a "bloodbath" in Kashmir when the security lockdown in place since early last month is lifted.
In his 45-minute address, Khan invoked the spectre of a potential nuclear war between India and Pakistan over the disputed Himalayan region if the UN and the international community did not act soon.
READ MORE
Pakistan PM warns of 'bloodbath' in Kashmir, India's Modi silent
"What's he going to do when he lifts the curfew? Does he think the people of Kashmir are quietly going to accept the status quo?" asked Khan, referring to his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi.
On August 5, Modi's Hindu nationalist government abrogated Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which granted the Kashmir region it rules a degree of autonomy, pushing India's only Muslim-majority state into its worst political crisis in 70 years.
Both India and Pakistan claim the Kashmir territory in its entirety, but rule over parts of it. Most Kashmiris demand either a merger with Pakistan or an independent state.
"What is going to happen when the curfew is lifted will be a bloodbath," said Khan. "They will be out in the streets. And what will the [Indian] soldiers do? They will shoot them ... Kashmiris will be further radicalised."
Pakistan PM Imran Khan addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York [Lucas Jackson/Reuters]
Khan's aggressive and apparently extemporaneous speech touched a chord with many Kashmiris reeling under the unprecedented communications blackout and travel restrictions in place since August 5.
'We are not alone'
"I felt a solace in my heart when he [Khan] talked at the UN," said Abdul Majid, a retired government official in Srinagar.
READ MORE
Kashmir under lockdown: All the latest updates
"It felt like there is someone to watch our back. It felt that someone is talking for us, that we are not alone."
On Saturday, a day after Khan's speech which most Kashmiris watched live on TV, Indian authorities tightened restrictions in several parts of the valley, including in the neighbourhoods of Srinagar, where concertina wires were rolled out on the roads.
While the reasons for the renewed restrictions were not immediately known, they appeared to have been sparked by Khan's UN speech, which came almost an hour after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the world leaders.
In his 17-minute speech, Modi did not touch upon the Kashmir issue, an evasion which has angered the residents in the region, who said it was "unexpected" from the Indian leader.
"When these leaders are in India, they say Kashmir is an internal matter. When they go to global forums, they say it is a bilateral issue. But they are continuously playing with the lives of people here, pushing millions to the wall," said Muhammad Mustafa.
Throughout the Kashmir valley on Saturday, Khan's speech was the talking point. Residents said they felt buoyed by his words, which appeared to have given an impetus to their protests against the Indian rule.
Kashmiris have kept their businesses and other institutions shut during the day despite the Indian government claiming the disputed region is limping back to "normalcy".
READ MORE
Kashmir lockdown limits people's access to mental healthcare
Dozens of residents in Srinagar came out to demonstrate in support of Khan on Friday night after his UN speech. Some burst firecrackers, while others raised slogans for independence and against Indian rule.
Residents said Islamic prayers blared through loudspeakers in some mosques through Friday night.
"People now have a reason to continue their resistance as they feel Pakistan is willing to take a risk for Kashmir," said Adil Ahmad.
India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir.
The two arch-rivals come close to another war in February this year when India carried out air attacks deep inside Pakistan in response to a suicide bombing that killed 40 Indian soldiers in Kashmir.
"We want a solution," said Manzoor Ahmad, 45, as he frantically attended to the customers at his department store in Srinagar's Lal Chowk area before their daytime protest begins at 9 am.
Hopes from the UN
Residents fear there will be an increase in armed rebellion in Kashmir if India and Pakistan do not resume their dialogue soon or the world community does not act.
OPINION
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by Hamid Dabashi
"There will be a lot of rebel activity if nothing comes out of these world bodies," said Mohammad Amin, a resident from a frontier district of north Kashmir. "The situation will worsen."
While Khan has impressed many in Kashmir, there are others who feel he has failed in mobilising the world's opinion or in putting more pressure on the Indian government.
Danish Ahmad, a baker in Srinagar, said Khan is fighting it alone for Kashmir. "What he did is impressive but that more can he do, he has no one at his back," he said.
The abrogation of Kashmir's special status was accompanied by the detention of hundreds of political leaders and activists, including pro-India politicians, from the region, as well as those who had been resisting the Indian rule politically.
The crackdown against their leaders has made the Kashmiris look towards the UN, which, they hope, will undo India's move.
The separatist movement in Kashmir, which either calls for a merger with Pakistan or political independence, is pivoted around a resolution passed by the UN in 1948.
READ MORE
US President Trump reiterates offer to mediate Kashmir crisis
The resolution promised a plebiscite in Kashmir, which became the bedrock of the region's politics against the Indian rule.
The resolution has not been implemented in the past seven decades since India rejects any third-party mediation on the Kashmir question, a call repeatedly made by US president Donald Trump in recent weeks.
In response, India cites an agreement with Pakistan signed in 1972, called the Simla Agreement, which resolved to solve the Kashmir dispute mutually between the two arch-rivals.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kashmiris facing a crippling 55-day lockdown imposed by India welcome Pakistani PM's statements at UN General Assembly.
by Rifat Fareed
3 hours ago
Demonstrators at a 'Stand with Kashmir' protest outside the UN headquarters in New York on Friday [Shannon Stapleton/Reuters]
MORE ON KASHMIR
- Kashmir under lockdown: All the latest updatestoday
- Pakistan PM warns of 'bloodbath' in Kashmir, India's Modi silentyesterday
- Imran Khan: What will Modi do when Kashmir curfew is lifted?yesterday
- Kashmir lockdown limits people's access to mental healthcareyesterday
In his UN General Assembly address to the world leaders, the Pakistani leader said he feared there could be a "bloodbath" in Kashmir when the security lockdown in place since early last month is lifted.
In his 45-minute address, Khan invoked the spectre of a potential nuclear war between India and Pakistan over the disputed Himalayan region if the UN and the international community did not act soon.
READ MORE
Pakistan PM warns of 'bloodbath' in Kashmir, India's Modi silent
"What's he going to do when he lifts the curfew? Does he think the people of Kashmir are quietly going to accept the status quo?" asked Khan, referring to his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi.
On August 5, Modi's Hindu nationalist government abrogated Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which granted the Kashmir region it rules a degree of autonomy, pushing India's only Muslim-majority state into its worst political crisis in 70 years.
Both India and Pakistan claim the Kashmir territory in its entirety, but rule over parts of it. Most Kashmiris demand either a merger with Pakistan or an independent state.
"What is going to happen when the curfew is lifted will be a bloodbath," said Khan. "They will be out in the streets. And what will the [Indian] soldiers do? They will shoot them ... Kashmiris will be further radicalised."
Pakistan PM Imran Khan addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York [Lucas Jackson/Reuters]
Khan's aggressive and apparently extemporaneous speech touched a chord with many Kashmiris reeling under the unprecedented communications blackout and travel restrictions in place since August 5.
'We are not alone'
"I felt a solace in my heart when he [Khan] talked at the UN," said Abdul Majid, a retired government official in Srinagar.
READ MORE
Kashmir under lockdown: All the latest updates
"It felt like there is someone to watch our back. It felt that someone is talking for us, that we are not alone."
On Saturday, a day after Khan's speech which most Kashmiris watched live on TV, Indian authorities tightened restrictions in several parts of the valley, including in the neighbourhoods of Srinagar, where concertina wires were rolled out on the roads.
While the reasons for the renewed restrictions were not immediately known, they appeared to have been sparked by Khan's UN speech, which came almost an hour after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the world leaders.
In his 17-minute speech, Modi did not touch upon the Kashmir issue, an evasion which has angered the residents in the region, who said it was "unexpected" from the Indian leader.
"When these leaders are in India, they say Kashmir is an internal matter. When they go to global forums, they say it is a bilateral issue. But they are continuously playing with the lives of people here, pushing millions to the wall," said Muhammad Mustafa.
Throughout the Kashmir valley on Saturday, Khan's speech was the talking point. Residents said they felt buoyed by his words, which appeared to have given an impetus to their protests against the Indian rule.
Kashmiris have kept their businesses and other institutions shut during the day despite the Indian government claiming the disputed region is limping back to "normalcy".
READ MORE
Kashmir lockdown limits people's access to mental healthcare
Dozens of residents in Srinagar came out to demonstrate in support of Khan on Friday night after his UN speech. Some burst firecrackers, while others raised slogans for independence and against Indian rule.
Residents said Islamic prayers blared through loudspeakers in some mosques through Friday night.
"People now have a reason to continue their resistance as they feel Pakistan is willing to take a risk for Kashmir," said Adil Ahmad.
India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir.
The two arch-rivals come close to another war in February this year when India carried out air attacks deep inside Pakistan in response to a suicide bombing that killed 40 Indian soldiers in Kashmir.
"We want a solution," said Manzoor Ahmad, 45, as he frantically attended to the customers at his department store in Srinagar's Lal Chowk area before their daytime protest begins at 9 am.
Hopes from the UN
Residents fear there will be an increase in armed rebellion in Kashmir if India and Pakistan do not resume their dialogue soon or the world community does not act.
OPINION
by Hamid Dabashi
"There will be a lot of rebel activity if nothing comes out of these world bodies," said Mohammad Amin, a resident from a frontier district of north Kashmir. "The situation will worsen."
While Khan has impressed many in Kashmir, there are others who feel he has failed in mobilising the world's opinion or in putting more pressure on the Indian government.
Danish Ahmad, a baker in Srinagar, said Khan is fighting it alone for Kashmir. "What he did is impressive but that more can he do, he has no one at his back," he said.
The abrogation of Kashmir's special status was accompanied by the detention of hundreds of political leaders and activists, including pro-India politicians, from the region, as well as those who had been resisting the Indian rule politically.
The crackdown against their leaders has made the Kashmiris look towards the UN, which, they hope, will undo India's move.
The separatist movement in Kashmir, which either calls for a merger with Pakistan or political independence, is pivoted around a resolution passed by the UN in 1948.
READ MORE
US President Trump reiterates offer to mediate Kashmir crisis
The resolution promised a plebiscite in Kashmir, which became the bedrock of the region's politics against the Indian rule.
The resolution has not been implemented in the past seven decades since India rejects any third-party mediation on the Kashmir question, a call repeatedly made by US president Donald Trump in recent weeks.
In response, India cites an agreement with Pakistan signed in 1972, called the Simla Agreement, which resolved to solve the Kashmir dispute mutually between the two arch-rivals.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
