Islamabad, September 06, 2021 (PPI-OT):Speakers at a report-launching ceremony organised by Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) in Islamabad on Monday, expressing grave concerns over Indian government’s neo-colonial and imperialistic policies towards Kashmir, said that the BJP was hell bent on changing politico-religious landscape of the occupied territory through political maneuverings and administrative machinations.

The ceremony was attended and addressed by former foreign secretary, Ms Tehmeena Janjua, KIIR Chairman, Altaf Hussain Wani, Centre for Peace, Development and Reforms (CPDR) chief, Ershad Mehmud, Sabur Ali Sayyid and others.

Referring to the salient features of the report, the speakers said that the report was a perfect reference book that brings to the fore the Indian nefarious designs in the region and its game plan to change the politico-religious landscape of Kashmir through political maneuverings, administrative machinations and social and cultural aggression.

Lauding the KIIR’s contribution in exposing Indian government’s neo-colonial and imperialistic policies towards Kashmir, they said that the report would go a long way to help understand the Indian government’s settler colonialism framework that seeks to strengthen New Delhi’s control over the territory, take advantage of its resources, replace the native population with an invasive settler society, control space, resources and people by occupying their lands, change the political nature of the Kashmir dispute and deprive its people of the right to self-determination promised to them by the international community.

“Though the settler colonialism process in Indian-occupied-Kashmir has been under-way since 1947 but it gathered impetus after the Indian government revoked article 370 and 35-A of the Indian Constitution that besides guaranteeing a special status to the region had granted exclusive rights to the state-subjects relating to employment, scholarships and other privileges.

Voicing their grave concerns over the forcible annexation and Indianization of Kashmir they said that the Modi-led fascist regime was hell bent on changing the entire political and religious landscape of Kashmir. Regarding the abrogation of the constitutional status of Kashmir the report said that it was not a random occurrence but a part of a well-designed plan to recreate ground realities in the held-State for its Indianization in the shortest possible span of time.

“It was not a sudden or surprising move by India at all, as Hindu nationalists such Shama Prashad MukharJee, founder of Bhartiya Jhan Sangh now BJP, had stood for the complete integration of Kashmir into India. “, the report said, adding that after the downgrading of the constitutional status of J and K on Aug. 5, 2019 India has introduced around 200 laws to reshape the occupied State at a horrendous speed.

After the introduction of new domicile law, the report further said, “India is all set to alter the demography of Indian occupied Kashmir by paving the way for the settlement of two million outsiders in J and K”. The report also mentioned the BJP government’s nefarious designs to dispose and dispossess native Kashmiris of their lands under the cover of newly introduced amendments in the state’s land laws and revenue acts.

Paying eulogizing tributes to towering Kashmiri liberation leader and former Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Syed Ali Gilani for his life long struggle for the cause of Kashmir, the speakers said that Gilani was an epitome of courage, perseverance and dedication.

While highlighting the immense sacrifices of the deceased leader, the KIIR Chairman Altaf Hussain Wani said that Gilani was a fearless Kashmiri leader who championed the Kashmiris’ cause of right to self-determination with great conviction and consistency.

Referring to his lifelong untiring struggle Mr. Wani said that Gilani was an iconic leader who left behind a proud legacy that will continue to inspire Kashmiris upcoming generations. He was a fearless fighter who spearheaded the movement with courage, bravery and consistency. He was one of the proud sons of the soil who never compromised his ideals, never changed his stance and did not budge even an inch from his principled stand on the Kashmir dispute.

History, he said, would remember him as a warrior of truth and justice. He is no longer with us but his legacy is something that will continue to inspire and mobilise freedom-lovers until they liberate their motherland from Indian occupation. Terming Gilani’s demise as a national loss, the speakers said that the revered leader’s death had created a void in the political sphere of Kashmir that could not be filed so easily but the flame of freedom that he lit would continue to burn brighter.

The speakers also paid rich tributes to the Executive Director of Kashmir Media Service (KMS), Shaikh Tajammul-ul-Islam, who passed away in Islamabad after a brief illness. Lauding his peerless contribution to the Kashmir cause, they said that Shaikh Tajammul-ul-Islam was one of the pioneers of the freedom struggle, who rendered his services for the noble cause while working on political, diplomatic and journalistic fronts.

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