Malala Issues Meaningless Statement on Kashmir Conflict
As large-scale violence is expected against the Indian government’s unilateral decision, authorities have suspended Internet, mobile services and banned public gatherings in Srinagar area of Kashmir.
By Rakesh Raman
While Kashmir is suffering under the repression of the Indian security forces, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai today issued a reckless statement which has no meaning at all.
She tweeted that the people of Kashmir have lived in conflict since she was a child and since her parents were children. Without suggesting any specific solution, Ms. Yousafzai randomly urged the authorities to resolve the seven-decade-old conflict in Kashmir.
When she knows that the people of Kashmir have been facing the wrath of the Indian government headed by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, Ms. Yousafzai did not have the courage to call a spade a spade.
Instead of unambiguously blaming the Modi government for the trouble in Kashmir, she appealed to some “unknown” authorities to come and save the innocent people of the troubled valley.
The people of Kashmir have lived in conflict since I was a child, since my mother and father were children, since my grandparents were young. pic.twitter.com/Qdq0j2hyN9
— Malala (@Malala) August 8, 2019
Earlier, on August 5, the Modi government had revoked Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). With this move, the Indian government is trying to forcibly make people of Kashmir the Indian citizens while local Kashmiris want freedom from India.
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As large-scale violence is expected against the Indian government’s unilateral decision, authorities have suspended Internet, mobile services and banned public gatherings in Srinagar area of Kashmir. In Srinagar city, there is said to be a total communications blackout. Plus, the Indian government has arrested a slew of local leaders who oppose the Indian government.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi, has urged the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “play his due role in the crisis sparked by India’s unlawful action in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.”
Earlier, Pakistan Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan said that a nuclear war with the enemy nation India cannot be ruled out. He was addressing the Joint Session of Parliament in Islamabad and expressed his displeasure over India’s unilateral decision on Monday to change the constitutional status of Kashmir, which is a disputed territory between India and Pakistan.
Imran Khan said that the Modi government is suppressing the voice of Kashmiris (most of whom are Muslims) who want independence from India.
Of late, the U.S. President Donald Trump has also expressed his desire to resolve the burning Kashmir issue as he said that PM Modi wants him to intervene, although India’s Ministry of External Affairs has denied the claim made by the U.S. President about Modi’s request.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications on different subjects.
Photo courtesy: Maleeha Lodhi / Twitter
