The road to peace in Afghanistan goes through Kashmir: Barrister Sultan

By: Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai

Over 100,000 Kashmiris have lost their lives in the past 23 years. 8,000 to 10,000 people have disappeared.  2,700 mass graves have been discovered in the town of Kupwara alone.  It is well documented that hundreds of thousands of Indian armed forces have made Kashmir the largest occupation on earth.  The conditions in our homeland have become so ugly with rapes, beatings, shootings and other crimes inflicted by the occupation that we are condemned as a lot in the eyes of the world to be ignored and forgotten because, aside from any intentional bias in the press, no one wants to think about it. Kashmir has almost become a forgotten land, a forgotten people.   

Dear all,

Words cannot express the feelings of the absence of my friends and family who have given me their love and sympathy during the past so many years. They have kept me in their prayers during these tough times. I am hopeful that their warmth and generosity will continue in days to come.

November 29, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. June 27, 2012 (APP): Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory and has never been an integral part of India, a veteran Kashmiri leader said.

“I want to debunk this myth created by India that Kashmir is an integral part of India —- this is a matter of historical record that India occupied the region on October 27, 1947 when the very first Indian soldier set foot on the soil of Kashmir —- the highest diplomatic forums including the United Nations and the United States have recognized the disputed nature of the region,” Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai told a forum of journalists in Springfield, Virginia.

The Kashmiri-American activist said in the post-9/11 world, New Delhi has tried to weave a smokescreen with some unfounded myths, which seek to discredit the genuine struggle of the people. But these ploys will never be able to cover up the reality and sufferings of people in the Occupied Kashmir, he added.

“India has failingly tried to equate Kashmiri people with terrorists — how can a people, who believe in the UN-mandated right to self-determination and then hold demonstrations to go to the UN office in Srinagar to remind the international community of its pledge, be terrorists? Terrorists don’t believe in the UN system or any other global forum.

“Also, how can an entire population of millions be dubbed as terrorists when they hold peaceful demonstrations for their promised rights?” he questioned.

Dr. Fai also said that India would like you to believe that Kashmir is an issue of fundamentalism. He explained that “the term fundamentalism is quite inapplicable to the Kashmiri society. One of the proud distinctions of Kashmir has been the sustained tradition of tolerance and amity between the members of different religious communities. It has a long tradition of moderation and non-violence. Its culture does not generate extremism or fundamentalism. The fact is that Kashmir conflict was never a fight between Hindus and Muslims. It was never a struggle between theocracy and secularism. Nor was it a border dispute between India and Pakistan. It has always been about the hopes and future of 17 million people of Kashmir, be they Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs or Buddhists.”

Washington, D.C. June 5, 2012. The Kashmiri-American community in the Washington metropolitan area has vowed to continue their struggle for right to self-determination. At an impressive gathering at Bombay Tandoor, Tysons Corner, members of the community including academics, political activists and friends of Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, pledged to carry forward his work during the period of his incarceration.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Fai said there is no restriction on him to continue his work for a universally acknowledged cause. He clarified to his well-wishers that the prosecution had withdrawn charges initially leveled against him to be the agent of a foreign government.

Judge Liam O’Grady, while announcing the verdict for two-year imprisonment earlier this year, had made it clear that “it’s (sentencing) necessary, even though you have done some very moving things on behalf of the Kashmir people and that your cause is a wonderful cause,” Fai told the gathering.

Dr. Fai urged the community members to continue to support the cause of Kashmir. He quoted again Judge O’Grady who said, “I sincerely hope that while you’re at a minimal security facility like Cumberland, that I see no reason why you can’t continue to advocate on behalf of the Kashmiri people and to write. I know that the KAC is dormant, I guess is the word for it at this stage, but there may be an opportunity to arrange conferences through other people in the future, and I hope that cause continues to be identified as an important international matter. And good luck to you.”

“No solution to the 65‑year‑old Kashmir conflict that does not command a consensus among the 17 million Kashmiri people can endure, Dr. Fai stressed, just as no solution to East Timor held a chance of success until the East Timorese leadership was consulted and a referendum on independence from Indonesia was held.”