Firing by Indian troops with heavy weapons along the line of control (LOC) has gained momentum and is almost a daily occurrence. Civilian population in Azad Kashmir is targeted, resulting in human and material losses. Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, while visiting LOC on Wednesday, warned that Indian Army will get a befitting response to ceasefire violations. He said that atrocities that are being perpetrated by Indian forces on innocent Kashniris in the occupied Kashmir and deliberate targeting of civilian population in Azad Kashmir are unacceptable. The people of Indian held Kashmir are under complete lockdown for the past 9 months. The COAS said that escalation of tension on LOC poses threat to regional peace. He expressed firm resolve to protect to civilians along LOC, dignity and territorial integrity of the motherland.
After assuming power for the second tenure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has adopted two pronged anti-Muslim policy. The policy comprises ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Muslims in occupied Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, granting special status to Kashmir; Article 35-A of the Constitution of the State of Kashmir and marginalizing 200 Indian Muslims across India by enforcing Citizens Amendment Act 2019 and Citizens Registration Register.
Indian forces are using brute force and martyrs the Kashmiri youth, The provisions of new domicile law entitles non-Kashmiris for getting bonafide citizenship certificate by virtue of his or hers stay for few years in the Indian held Kashmir or has passed Matric examination from a school there. The law shall be used to change the demography of Kashmir by converting it into a Hindu majority state. Kashmiri leadership had rejected the new domicile law and is fully aware of ethnic cleansing of Muslim population.
In August last year, Chairman All Parties Hurriat Conference, Syed Ali Geelani had made SOS like tweets, asking Organisation of Islamic Countries to take notice of policy of “Ethnic Cleansing” of Kashmiris that New Delhi government is discreetly implementing. Painfully, he wrote on tweeter that if Muslims all over the world keep quiet over the atrocities and killings of Kashmiri Muslims, then they will be answerable to Allah, the Magnificent on the day of resurrection. But ironically, leaders of Islamic countries did not respond strongly and loudly to the call of Kashmiri leaders against the genocide of the Muslims in occupied Kashmir.
Central government of India has attributed the spread of coronavirus pandemic across the country to Tableeghi Ijtima held last month in Nizamuddin area of capital New Delhi, in which few participants from Indonesia had tested virus positive. The virus has spread across the country despite complete lockdown. Since then Muslims are being stigmatized. The hands of Muslims alone are stamped with purple ink by health workers, who have remained in Quarantine. They genuinely complain that health workers are being used to collect data on the community under the guise of containing Covid-19 pandemic and reduce them to second class citizens. Now Indian Muslims are deprived of getting ration of eatables during lockdown.
A 64 years old citizenship law was amended through Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, with the sole objective to marganilise 200 million Muslim minority of India. Protests across the country broke out against this draconian legislation. In West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Benerji led protest rallies. It was challenged in the Indian Supreme Court but the Apex Court did not grant stay against the operation of amended citizenship law. Few leaders of Islamic countries and United Nations (UN) had expressed concern over the discriminatory law targeting Muslims in India. Human Rights organisations have also expressed anguish and indignation over it.
Now Muslims in India are unfairly blamed for spreading Covid-19. Some Hindu Nationalist politicians have supported RSS vigilantes to spur the trending of topic “Corona Jihad” on the social media. It is now for the world powers and UN to exert pressure on Modi government to stop implantation of fascist agenda against Muslims. Once again the P M Imran Khan and foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qurashi have urged the international community to exert pressure on the ruling Indian leadership to prevent and stop the enforcement of RSS agenda in Kashmir and India.
