Speaking at an event in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, veteran Kashmiri leader Farooq Abdullah has lauded Pakistan's support for Kashmiris' rights. “They (Indian leaders in Delhi) are silent today because there is noise in the world, and our neighbor (Pakistan) is constantly behind this. Everywhere they say, ‘the decision regarding Kashmir has not been made’. That is what is saving us. Otherwise, their intentions are not good", he said. He warned that Kashmiris risked losing their identity if they failed to stand up for themselves. “If you don’t keep it, you will be erased. Even our trace and identity will disappear. Nothing will be left,” he said. Abdullah's remarks here are a reference to the Modi government's attempts to erase Kashmiris' distinct identity through the abrogation of articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution which recognize Kashmir's special status.
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| Kashmiri Leader Farooq Abdullah |
On August 5, 2019, India's Hindu Nationalist government revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status and dissolved Article 35A, which previously empowered the local legislature to define "permanent residents" and restrict land ownership to locals. Critics and organizations like the All Parties Hurriyat Conference argue that lifting these protections opens the region to demographic engineering, land acquisition by outsiders, and the dilution of the indigenous Muslim-majority character, leading to settler colonialism.
On Kashmiris perception of Pakistani support for their cause, the Crisis Group reported as follows:
“These (2025) clashes were traumatic for many Indians, particularly in regions which endured missile and drone strikes for the first time. Many Kashmiris experienced it differently, however. Seeing Pakistani drones in their skies, hovering above and firing upon Indian military installations in the region, seems to have made an impression on local people. The display of Pakistan's military capabilities on the first day of the conflict, when it allegedly shot down several Indian fighter jets, likewise had a notable effect on local public opinion. ‘The May conflict countered post-2019 hopelessness that Pakistan is not interested in Kashmir,’ a Srinagar resident observed.”
“For many Kashmiris, the fact that the clampdown was the work of a government led by the ... BJP gave it an unmistakable hue of religious discrimination”, the report added. “New Delhi’s uncompromising measures have fueled anger in Kashmir while seemingly failing to eradicate [militant] groups”.
Here's India's JNU Professor speaking about illegal Indian occupation of Kashmir, Manipur and Nagaland:
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7 comments:
Coming from the Abdullah family, this needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Ras: „Coming from the Abdullah family, this needs to be taken with a pinch of salt”
I think the BJP’s relentless efforts to erase Kashmiri identity has forced Farooq Abdullah’s reassessment of the situation. It’s an extension of the BJP’s actions to erase India’s Islamic history, to which Abdullah also refers in his remarks.
- "Militant resistance to such brutal force was mislabeled as 'cross-border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan'."
So you still wish to believe that LeT, JeM, TRF and other jihadist groups that operated in Kashmir are native, grassroot resistance groups that developed organically and received no funding, training and arms from across the LoC, while India is actively supporting militant groups in Balochistan and KP despite not sharing a land border with either? Fair enough. :)
- "The report highlights India's failed attempt to engineer peace by cracking down heavily on Kashmiri resistance.."
To give credit where it's due, Modi govt does seem to have succeeded in engineering a 'relative calm' in Kashmir during the last few years after sustained counter-insurgency operations, improved counter-infiltration mechanisms and cutting off funding to the separatist leadership. Militant attacks in the valley are probably lowest it has been in several decades, barring occasional high-profile attacks like at Pulwama in 2019 and Pahalgam in 2025. Whether this relative peace is sustainable in the long term without some kind of political settlement is another question, however.
As for Farooq Abdullah's recent remarks, it can at best be seen as a pressure tactic to get Indian govt to return statehood to J&K. As of now, Modi govt seems to be in no mood to give them that beyond verbal assurances they made to Indian Supreme Court that they would return statehood when security situation permits it. Kashmiri politicians are seemingly facing a wall at present and there is understandable frustration among them.
Which brings us to the situation in the "liberated" Kashmir on the other side of the border. In case you happened to miss the news headlines from a few months back, there were some violent clashes between protestors and Pakistani security forces in the "liberated" Kashmir, subsequent clampdown on media (including restriction on reporting by international outlets) which was followed by a contentious election.
But perhaps such violent events in the "liberated" Kashmir isn't quite as interesting or worthy of a writeup as a remark by a politician in "occupied" Kashmir?
"Thousands march in Pakistan-administered Kashmir as clashes kill at least 15"
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxdyn5716xo
"Why have so many people died in the run-up to an election in Pakistan-administered Kashmir?"
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxekn33d5wo
"Pakistan restricts international media reporting"
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0n9w95n70o
"Pakistan imposes sweeping curbs on foreign media amid poll violence in its Kashmir territory"
https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/south-asia/pakistan-al-jazeera-pok-azad-kashmir-protest-b3027822.html
Article 370 to highway hostility | Kashmir’s integration paradox
Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/article-370-to-highway-hostility-kashmirs-integration-paradox-4199330#google_vignette
Within 48 hours, two passenger buses travelling from Delhi to Srinagar were attacked — one stone-pelted at a dhaba in Haryana on October 17, the driver alleging the attackers shouted “Atankwadi gaadi nikal yahan se (Remove this vehicle belonging to t...
In June, the NHRC registered a case on a complaint by the J&K Students Association documenting a pattern of assault, threats, communal profiling, and forced displacement of Kashmiri shawl sellers and students across Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
Article 370 to highway hostility | Kashmir’s integration paradox
Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/article-370-to-highway-hostility-kashmirs-integration-paradox-4199330#google_vignette
Within 48 hours, two passenger buses travelling from Delhi to Srinagar were attacked — one stone-pelted at a dhaba in Haryana on October 17, the driver alleging the attackers shouted “Atankwadi gaadi nikal yahan se (Remove this vehicle belonging to terrorists). And, the following night, another bus pelted in Punjab.
In June, the NHRC registered a case on a complaint by the J&K Students Association documenting a pattern of assault, threats, communal profiling, and forced displacement of Kashmiri shawl sellers and students across Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
Pak support for Kashmir has given the Kashmiris what?
Shams: “Pak support for Kashmir has given the Kashmiris what?”
Ask Farooq Abdullah.
Contrary to the best hopes and fervent wishes of Modi and his Hindutva gang, the Kashmir issue is not dead, and the Kashmiri identity lives, thanks to Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts.
Read the following:
“They (Indian leaders in Delhi) are silent today because there is noise in the world, and our neighbor (Pakistan) is constantly behind this. Everywhere they say, ‘the decision regarding Kashmir has not been made’. That is what is saving us. Otherwise, their intentions are not good", he said. He warned that Kashmiris risked losing their identity if they failed to stand up for themselves. “If you don’t keep it, you will be erased. Even our trace and identity will disappear. Nothing will be left,” he said. Abdullah's remarks here are a reference to the Modi government's attempts to erase Kashmiris' distinct identity through the abrogation of articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution which recognize Kashmir's special status.
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