Author: Newsdesk

As the international community has accepted the fait accompli on J&K, Pakistan’s misinformation campaign on Kashmir is faltering very fast. Paid Kashmiri NGOs lack the motivation, trust, and public support needed to sustain the propaganda on Kashmir. Consequently, internal fault lines are becoming increasingly visible as ‘Kashmir-only’ groups rapidly lose relevance and face greater international scrutiny

Pakistan-backed international Kashmiri groups are fighting among themselves over the biased treatment from the Pakistani security establishment. According to sources, the United Kingdom-based Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR) has recently expressed concerns regarding a reported visit of a Kashmir American Council (KAC) delegation to Pakistan in May.

It is noteworthy that Ghulam Nabi Fai is the president of the United States-based KAC. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice had charged Fai with participating in a long-term conspiracy to act as an agent of the Pakistani government in the U.S. “without disclosing their affiliation with the Pakistani government as required by law.” Since then, several Kashmiri separatist groups have sidelined Fai and his organization to safeguard their anti-India propaganda. Moreover, JKCHR and similar groups have accused Fai of jeopardizing the so-called Kashmir movement by allegedly assisting U.S. security agencies during his indictment to secure an early release from prison.

Some Kashmiri separatists even claim that the information shared by Fai ultimately helped India abrogate Jammu and Kashmir’s ‘special status’ under Articles 370 and 35A in August 2019. Pakistan has been financially supporting groups like KAC and JKCHR to keep the Kashmir issue alive in international organizations such as the United Nations and the Human Rights Council. However, it has become increasingly difficult for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to manage these groups after India’s decision on J&K in August 2019 and financial constraints in Pakistan. While there have always been differences among Kashmiri separatist groups, or so-called Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), over control of the international narrative on Kashmir and financial matters, these divisions have now become more pronounced. Consequently, reports of JKCHR’s open rebellion against Fai’s group have further exacerbated tensions among foreign-based Kashmiri groups, weakening the ISI’s control over their activities.

To make matters worse for Pakistan, ongoing mass protests in Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), including Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), have deepened the mistrust between Kashmiris and Pakistan’s military establishment. Locals in PoJK are increasingly aware of positive economic and political developments in Jammu and Kashmir and feel helpless over the exploitation of their resources and their treatment as “outsiders” by Pakistani state authorities. Additionally, reports of differences between the two main ISI-funded Kashmiri groups have further raised doubts among people in PoJK, who were led to believe that KAC and JKCHR were fighting for the so-called ‘Kashmir cause’. According to sources, JKCHR president Syed Nazir Gilani has even labelled Fai as an “enemy within” the Kashmir movement.

It has also been reported that several Kashmiri groups were unhappy with Fai’s organization after it removed the ‘right to self-determination’ from the final declaration at a Kashmir conference in 2006. Therefore, it is surprising that despite Fai’s indictment in 2011, his compromise for a reduced sentence and negative image among Kashmiris, the ISI continues to financially back KAC and had even opened the ‘Kashmir Centres’ in different countries. This made other Kashmiri groups insecure, ignored and led to the criticism of these Centres as a tourist place for regular visitors fromIndia, Pakistan, PoJK, and other parts of the world. People like Fai and Gilani have used the Kashmir issue as a means to make a fortune for themselves. There has been a tough competition among these groups to curry maximum favor from Pakistan’s military establishment after the externally supported Islamist insurgency broke out in J&K.

Furthermore, reports indicate that despite being a convicted criminal, Fai has been actively involved in anti-India lobbying in the US. He has been appearing on various audio-visual platforms across the country to spread misinformation about the Kashmir issue and alleged atrocities against minority communities in India. Fai is now the secretary-general of the Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF), which is led by Ghulam Nabi Mir, the president of the organization. WKAF is among the most aggressive anti-India voices in the US and openly calls for Kashmir’s secession from India. Unlike other groups such as JKCHR, which has sometimes been accused of taking independent stances on the Kashmir issue, Fai’s role as a paid propagandist for the ISI extends beyond Kashmir. These reports also suggest a growing mistrust between the Pakistani security establishment and its paid actors concerning Kashmir.

As the international community has accepted the fait accompli on J&K, Pakistan’s misinformation campaign on Kashmir is faltering very fast. Paid Kashmiri NGOs lack the motivation, trust, and public support needed to sustain the propaganda on Kashmir. Consequently, internal fault lines are becoming increasingly visible as ‘Kashmir-only’ groups rapidly lose relevance and face greater international scrutiny. ISI-backed operatives like Fai have expanded their agendas beyond the Kashmir issue. The importance of individuals like Fai to Pakistan regarding Kashmir can be gauged from an October 2016 report prepared by a 13-member committee of the Pakistan Senate. This report recommended the formation of a Media Coordination Committee (MCC), comprising journalists as well as representatives from the Foreign Office of Pakistan, Ministry of Information, Parliament, and intelligence agencies, to develop a counter-propaganda campaign against India and design a media strategy to continuously highlight the Kashmir issue. As Pakistan attempts to internationalize the Kashmir issue, its internal faultlines are now coming out in open with different Kashmirigroups are casting aspersions on each other. With the growing anti-Pakistan sentiments in PoJK, these faultlines will become more visible in the coming months.

People in Occupied Kashmir worried China will annexe Gilgit – Baltistan. They want to join India … A special report by Dr Sakariya Kareem

seems no coincidence that the protests in Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK) against inflated power bills that people of PoK have to meet has come at a time when Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Mohammad Ishaq Dar was visiting Beijing to discuss plans for the realignment of the strategic Karakoram Highway, acceleration of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, upgrade of the Karachi-Peshawar railway project, and improvement of the Gwadar Port managed by a Chinese firm.

Going by their past experiences, people of PoK know that the intensification of CPEC projects will mean a bigger exploitation of resources of PoK by China and even more inflated power bills for the people of PoK. There have been periodic protests in PoK against inflated power bills to consumers. There was one such protest in February this year too, and one in September last.

People of PoK are against CPEC projects. They have protested against the forcible acquisition of their land without compensation for the construction of projects such as roads and hydro-electric power stations; projects that do not benefit the people of the region. The Pakistan government and the Pakistan army have been acquiring the ancestral land of the people of Gilgit – Baltistan. Activists in PoK and local people are also concerned that the CPEC projects will create a major ecological imbalance.

About a year ago, the European Union and India had jointly warned that the construction of the CPEC passing through PoK was a glaring instance of high-handed behaviour of Beijing. China has been executing the CPEC projects in gross violation of Indian sovereignty rights over PoK. According to analysts, people in PoK are worried that once China gets a foothold in Pak-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) they will never vacate the area. China will like to control the strategically located PoGB. China has been using Belt and Road Initiative projects in different countries to gain control of assets located in strategic areas once the recipient countries of BRI loans fail to repay the debt. China also wants to take control of Gilgit-Baltistan to eliminate the Uighur people living there. The Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister, in his Beijing visit, has vetted the Chinese policy of violation of human rights of the Uighur people in Xinjiang, bordering Gilgit – Baltistan.

 Islamabad is not averse to the idea of allowing China to take control of Pak-occupied Gilgit Baltistan as PoGB is a Shia majority area which wants to secede from Pakistan. But the people of PoGB want to merge with India. Chairman of Balawaristan National Front Abdul Hamid Khan has said residents of PoGB want to secede from Pakistan and merge with India. “The Pakistani administration has made efforts to alter the demographic profile of PoGB, reducing the indigenous people to a minority,” he has stated. “In the Gilgit and Skardu areas, large tracts of land have been allotted to non-locals.”

The roads that are being set up under CPEC are used to wheel away resources of PoK to the prosperous provinces of Pakistan like Punjab and Sindh. The power generated in PoK goes to meet the demand in these provinces and the Chinese firms engaged in these projects take home a large share of the profit. Power plants are being funded through foreign direct investment by Chinese firms and commercial loans at the rate of six to seven percent from Chinese banks. A probe conducted by the previous Imran Khan government into the anomalies of CPEC had concluded that six China-funded CPEC power projects have yielded huge profits for Chinese firms, setting up projects through over-invoicing and tariff charges compared to the market rates.

Pakistan suffers from a major power crisis and draws its electricity mostly from Gilgit – Baltistan, while the people of Baltistan are deprived of the royalties from these projects. People in PoK do not even get employment in these projects. Chinese engineers and workers are engaged in them. The presence of Chinese workers in the region has left the people of PoK without jobs.

Director Gilgit Baltistan National Congress Senge H. Sering has been quoted: “When Pakistan army was constructing Karakoram Highway along with China, no compensation was given to the affected people. No loss assessment was made. Now the land acquisition for the CPEC project is being done forcibly. The ancestral land of the people cannot be acquired without paying them compensation and earning their consent.”

Now that a part of the Karakoram Highway has got submerged in Attabad Lake at Hunza, there is a plan for realignment of the road which the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan has finalized in his Beijing visit. Under Karakoram Highway Phase 2 project, the 470-km long section of the highway between Hasan Abdal and Rajkot is sought to be upgraded in the next many years. People of PoGB are afraid that there will be a need for more land acquisition which will be done forcibly, and without compensation.

Two of the highly controversial hydro power projects in PoK are Azad Pattan and Kohala Dam. Azad Pattan, with a capacity of 700 MW, is being sponsored by China Gezhouba Group which owns 80 percent stake. The Kohala hydro power project, with a capacity of over 1,100 MW, is being built by China International Water and Electric Corp, a subsidiary of China Three Gorges Corporation; jointly with Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority. Residents of Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK, had protested against the setting up of both the Azad Pattan and the Kohala Dam projects.

In September last, there was the call in PoK for a total boycott of exorbitant power bills that were putting an unusual strain on the budget of families. Significantly, the electricity bills have gone up in PoK even as the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has allowed power producers in Pakistan to charge consumers through tariff one percent of the cost of 19 power projects worth over $15 billion under CPEC for 20 to 30 years on account of security cost, as reported by Dawn, the Pakistani newspaper.

Article 10 of the CPEC Agreement provides that “the Pakistani party shall take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and projects.” A special division of the armed forces has been raised to ensure security of CPEC projects. “Since this cost is specific to the CPEC projects, it is more appropriate to charge this cost to the respective project,” NEPRA has ruled.

During his visit to Beijing, the Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister was asked by China to take more effective security measures “and make all-out efforts to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan,” said the Joint Communique by the two sides issued after the visit. The Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, too stressed on the “need for more effective security measures to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and companies in Pakistan.”

In the past few years, there have been a number of attacks on Chinese engineers and workers engaged in CPEC projects in Pakistan; leading to deaths and injuries. The attacks have been carried out by militant groups unhappy with Chinese presence in Pakistan. In July 2021, nine Chinese engineers were killed in an explosion in a bus at Dasu hydropower plant. In March 2024, five Chinese engineers engaged again killed at the Dasu plant in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Pakistan in a suicide bomb attack. The Baloch Liberation Army has given an ultimatum that its attacks on Chinese citizens in Pakistan will escalate in future unless China withdraws its personnel and dismantles economic projects in Balochistan.

Around 50 million in Pakistan are suffering from mental issues such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic disorder, eating disorder and schizophrenia, which often lead to suicide. However, Pakistan has just 500 psychiatrists, translating it into just 0.19 psychiatrists per 100,000 people … writes Dr Sakariya Kareem

One in every four people in Pakistan is suffering from mental issues, which is forcing about 50–55 individuals to commit suicide every day. The suicide rate in Pakistan has reached an alarming level, ranking it thirds after Somalia and Djibouti. It was 9.8 percent in 2023. Yet, the mental issues are mostly shrouded in shame and silence in Pakistan thanks to bureaucratic apathy.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Pakistan witnessed 19,331 suicidal deaths in 2019 with the rate of 8.9 percent.mAccording to the WHO, about 130,000 to 270,000 people in Pakistan attempt to kill themselves every year. Poverty, academic pressure, unemployment, societal expectations, and economic uncertainties are considered major factors for suicidal ideation.

Pakistan’s government do not keep statistics on suicides in the country. So this makes understanding and addressing the problem difficult. “The lack of official epidemiological data from Pakistan and criminalisation of suicide also impairs the ability to understand the magnitude of the problem and then formulate targeted interventions,” reads a report by Pakistani researchers.

Shockingly, most of these suicides were committed by people under age 30, revealed another report by researchers from Islamabad-based Shifa International Hospital and Hong Kong University. Analysing police records showed their share was 89 percent while 13 percent were from the 10-18 age group.

The researchers picked holes in government preparedness and facilities. “Health services across Pakistan are ill-equipped to deal with self-harm and suicidal behaviours beyond physical management. Early identification and screening for suicidal risk are non-existent in both primary healthcare and private sectors,” they said in the report.

In its editorial, Pakistan’s reputed daily Dawn slammed the government for its inaction. “Sadly, such tragic incidents have become all too common in cities and towns across the country. However, there seems to be a notable lack of action, particularly on the part of the government,” it said.

Notably, the rising trend of suicide among teenagers was highlighted a decade ago. However, Islamabad failed in its duty to come up with measures to contain suicides. Interestingly, the rate of suicide is highest among married women in Pakistan, which is contrary to the general perception that marriage acts as a protective shield.

Unemployment is a crucial factor for young people to choose the path of killing themselves. The job situation became precarious after Covid-pandemic hit the country. Shahzeb Sahito was a daily wager. He ended his life because he could not find a job. “He tried very hard to find any work but failed. He was so depressed with his circumstances, that he set himself on fire,” said his brother. 

And now inflation is contributing to the problem heavily. A man killed his family members including an infant due to frustration over inflation. Similar events have become common in Pakistan nowadays. Karachi Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed Tariq carried out the autopsy of a kid whose entire family committed mass suicide due to unemployment and inflation.

“Cause given as joblessness and inability to make ends meet. Can’t even begin to imagine the helplessness of a family who sought refuge in death,” she tweeted.  

Islam region that is practiced widely in Pakistan terms suicides as a grave sin. It makes the ground realities about suicides and the factors responsible go unreported. Another reason for the underreporting is that suicide was treated as a crime in Pakistan until recently. It took 2022 for the state of Pakistan to decriminalise attempted suicide.

Around 50 million in Pakistan are suffering from mental issues such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic disorder, eating disorder and schizophrenia, which often lead to suicide. However, Pakistan has just 500 psychiatrists, translating it into just 0.19 psychiatrists per 100,000 people. It is among the lowest in the world, as per the WHO, thus leaving 90 percent of Pakistanis without access to mental illness treatments.

Pakistani health consultant Dr Mehreen Mujtaba blamed the bureaucratic apathy at all levels of government planning and implementation in relation to mental health problems. “Services to treat mental health in Pakistan are completely under-financed, without much budgetary allocation in public sector hospitals to developing robust outpatient and inpatient psychiatric units,” she said.

Images of the ensuing crackdown were nothing short of dystopian – cities blanketed in tear gas, bloodied protesters being ferried away, cutting of internet, armed personnel brutally restraining and arresting civilians … writes Dr Sakariya Kareem

The scenes of chaos and violence unfolding in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) over the past week have shattered the illusion of the territory being “Azad” or “Free” Kashmir. As protests over economic grievances swelled across the region, Pakistan’s security forces responded with unchecked brutality, killing at least one police officer, injuring over 100 others, and subjecting civilians to tear gas shelling, baton charges, and mass arrests.

The underlying issues that sparked the protests – soaring food and fuel inflation, lack of economic opportunities, unaffordable electricity rates in the midst of vast hydropower potential – are systemic problems plaguing Pakistan as a whole. However, the state’s draconian response underscored the hollowness of PoK’s constitutional designation as “Azad” Kashmir. There was nothing free about the unrestrained suppression of dissent on display.

At the forefront of the protests was the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a grassroots organization representing traders and citizens demanding affordable electricity rates linked to PoK’s hydropower generation, subsidized wheat to combat rising food prices, and an end to lavish privileges for the ruling elite class. Their demands highlighted the gaping disconnect between the government and the economic pain being endured by ordinary citizens. Rather than seek a peaceful resolution through negotiation and reforms, the Pakistani authorities chose an all-too-familiar strongarm approach. Police conducted overnight raids to detain around 70 JAAC activists in the lead-up, eliminating key voices from the equation. When the JAAC still proceeded with plans for a massive march on the PoK capital Muzaffarabad on May 11, the state dug trenches and erected barriers to seal off access to the city.

Images of the ensuing crackdown were nothing short of dystopian – cities blanketed in tear gas, bloodied protesters being ferried away, cutting of internet, armed personnel brutally restraining and arresting civilians.^[2] The violence reached a tragic nadir when a police sub-inspector named Adnan Qureshi was killed by gunfire amid the melees in Mirpur. While the exact circumstances remain unclear, his death exemplified the perpetual cost of Pakistan’s reflexive deployment of force as a crowd control tactic.^[3]

The hypocrisy is staggering – how can any state brutalize its own civilians and deny them basic political and economic rights, while proclaiming itself a champion for the self-determination of the same population? Pakistan’s rhetoric about being a torchbearer for Kashmir cause rings hollow when its iron fist falls on the very people it claims to represent in PoK.

As the crackdown intensified, pro-independence voices within PoK grew more vociferous in their condemnation of Pakistan. Activist Amjad Ayub Mirza declared “The whole of Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir has been shut down by peaceful protesters who are being beaten up and shot at by the Pakistan police, Punjab police, the so-called Azad Kashmir Police.” His words underscored a fundamental reality – that segments of PoK’s population no longer view Pakistan as a credible advocate for their aspirations, having witnessed its oppression firsthand. Mirza went so far as to call for external intervention “to help and facilitate the independence of this occupied territory, including Gilgit-Baltistan.” The extraordinary plea signaled the fading credibility of Pakistan’s position.

If Pakistan still harbors any credibility on the Kashmir issue, it must embark on an urgent course correction in how it governs PoK. An immediate de-escalation, release of all political prisoners, substantive engagement with groups like JAAC to address economic woes, and rolling back regressive policies that preference the elite are paramount. Mere cosmetic concessions will not solve the crisis. Pakistan needs to overhaul its entire system of governance in PoK to make it truly representative and inclusive of the population’s voices. Dissenting views and calls for greater rights must be accommodated through reforms, not met with violent suppression that betrays the territory’s nominal status of being “free.”

The current protests follow a well-trodden path in PoK of the state mobilizing force to crush any semblance of dissent as an existential threat.^[4] Hundreds have been subjected to enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture and mass intimidation by Pakistan’s military-intelligence apparatus for demanding self-governance or representation. For over 75 years, Pakistan has claimed to be a champion of the Kashmiri people’s rights to self-determination. Yet its actions in PoK over the past week, and throughout its occupation, have demonstrated that it remains the principal force subjugating the population it claims to liberate. 

By deploying violence to deny the JAAC’s basic economic demands, Pakistan has ceded what little moral high ground it had on the Kashmir issue. Images of its oppression in PoK have been broadcast globally, inviting the same degree of condemnation that any state would for violating human rights and civil liberties so brazenly. The path forward for Pakistan is clear – it must pursue substantive reforms to grant real rights and representation to PoK’s people. Restoring civil liberties, ensuring inclusive economic development, and allowing the territory’s population to have a voice in its governance and future are essential. 

Failing to course-correct will only further diminish Pakistan’s already declining credibility as a stakeholder in resolving the Kashmir dispute. The divided region has endured a multigenerational tragedy of lifetimes being stifled by violence, insecurity, and oppression from all sides. Inflicting more state brutality on the people of PoK is a disservice to the dreams of self-determination and azadi (freedom) that Kashmir has embodied globally. By doubling down on suppression in PoK, Pakistan will only reaffirm why global skepticism around its position on Kashmir continues to grow. Respecting the rights and aspirations of those under its occupation is not an option, but an imperative if Pakistan wants to have any legitimate stance on the issue going forward. The illusion of “Azad” Kashmir has been shattered – the path to restoring credibility must begin now.

The Pakistani establishment appears unwilling to listen to the voices of the oppressed Kashmiris. Instead of addressing the legitimate grievances of the people, it has chosen to flex its military muscle, in a futile attempt to crush the spirit of resistance … writes Dr Sakariya Kareem

Pakistan’s heavy-handed approach to stifling dissent and protests in the regions under its illegal occupation has once again come to the fore. Recent reports from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) paint a grim picture of a desperate administration resorting to militaristic tactics to quell legitimate protests by the oppressed populace. As tensions simmer in PoJK over the deteriorating economic situation and dismal living conditions, the Pakistani government has made the ominous decision to deploy troops from Punjab Province to the region. Personnel from the Frontier Corps, Rangers, and the Quick Response Force (QRF) of Punjab have taken to the streets, in a blatant show of force aimed at intimidating the protesters.

The protests, scheduled for May 11th, have been organised by the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), two prominent groups representing the aspirations of the people of PoJK. Their demands are not unreasonable – an end to unjustified taxation, relief from exorbitant electricity bills, measures to combat uncontrolled inflation, and ensuring adequate supplies of essentials like flour.

However, the Pakistani establishment appears unwilling to listen to the voices of the oppressed Kashmiris. Instead of addressing the legitimate grievances of the people, it has chosen to flex its military muscle, in a futile attempt to crush the spirit of resistance. The leaders of the UKPNP and JAAC have issued stern warnings to the Pakistani administration against the use of brutal force against peaceful protesters. They have made it clear that any such action will be met with international protests and demonstrations, drawing global attention to the plight of the people of PoJK.

The demands of the protesters go beyond mere economic concerns. They are seeking ownership of local land and water resources, as well as a fair share of the royalties from the hydroelectric power generated by dams located in PoJK and the neighbouring Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB) region. This underscores the deep-rooted sense of injustice and exploitation felt by the Kashmiri people, who have been systematically deprived of their rightful share in the natural resources of their homeland. Despite the billions of dollars in remittances sent annually by the Kashmiri diaspora for the development of PoJK and PoGB, the people of these regions continue to suffer from severe underdevelopment, as these funds are allegedly siphoned off to Pakistani banks.

The leaders of the UKPNP, including Chairman Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri and former JAAC spokesperson Sardar Nasir Aziz Khan, have highlighted the humanitarian crisis that has gripped PoJK for over four years, with the situation worsening with each passing month. The deployment of military forces is not a new tactic employed by Pakistan to suppress dissent in the occupied territories. According to PoJK activist Amjad Ayub Mirza, the administration had previously requested the deployment of 600 police personnel and six platoons of the Civil Armed Force (CAF) to maintain law and order and protect Chinese nationals following recent blasts involving Chinese citizens in April.

This heavy-handed approach not only violates the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people but also exposes the fragility of Pakistan’s control over the occupied territories. A regime that commands the genuine loyalty and support of its people would not need to resort to such draconian measures to maintain its grip on power. The international community cannot remain a silent spectator to the unfolding crisis in PoJK. The actions of the Pakistani government constitute a gross violation of human rights, including the rights to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and self-determination.

The United Nations and other global bodies must take cognizance of the situation and exert pressure on Pakistan to refrain from using force against peaceful protesters. The demands of the people of PoJK must be heard and addressed through dialogue and negotiation, not through the barrel of a gun. Furthermore, the international community should investigate the allegations of funds meant for the development of PoJK and PoGB being siphoned off to Pakistani banks. If proven true, this would constitute a grave injustice against the Kashmiri people, who have been denied the fruits of their own resources.

The road ahead for the people of PoJK is fraught with challenges, but their determination to fight for their rights is unwavering. The Pakistani government must recognize that its heavy-handed tactics will only serve to further alienate the Kashmiri populace and fuel the flames of resistance. It is time for Pakistan to abandon its policy of oppression and embrace a path of dialogue, respect for human rights, and genuine autonomy for the people of the occupied territories. Only then can the long-standing Kashmir dispute be resolved in a manner that upholds the principles of justice and self-determination, paving the way for lasting peace and stability in the region.