Page 8 - Pakistan Link - July 30, 2021

P8 – PAKISTAN LINK – JULY 30, 2021 OPINION
n By Abdul Jabbar Memon The War on Kashmir’s Identity consistent support of China, Turkey, Malaysia
Consul General of Pakistan and the OIC has reaffirmed Pakistan’s position
Los Angeles, CA on Jammu & Kashmir.
Owing to this almost universal interna-
ifth August 2021 will be 730 days since tional condemnation for its illegal and unilater-
India stripped Kashmiris of the last ves- al actions of August 5, India has felt increasing-
Ftige of their distinct identity. It marks ly isolated, both diplomatically and politically.
24 months of arbitrary curfews, arrests and Furthermore, the UN Secretary General in his
detentions and media black- statement of 8 August 2019 reaffirmed Paki-
outs intended to hold 8 mil- stan’s legal position that Jammu & Kashmir is
lion Kashmiris hostage in governed by the Charter of the United Nations
their own land. and applicable Security Council Resolutions.
India however has been Encouraging as these successes maybe,
violating the fundamental hu- they are clearly not enough. Indian occupa-
man rights of Kashmiris for tion forces continue to exert a vice like grip
seven decades. Owing to the denial by India over IIOJK. The Kashmiri people continue to
of their right to self-determination, which is live under constant fear of their lives and their
recognized by numerous United Nations Secu- honor, treated as aliens in their own land with
rity Council (UNSC) Resolutions, the innocent the constant threat of violence and vengeance
people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & around the corner.
Kashmir (IIOJK) have had to render immense International humanitarian and intergov-
sacrifices in the face of illegal Indian occupa- ernmental organizations have condemned the
tion. Indian Government’s oppression of the Kash-
During this struggle, 100,000 innocent miri people and raised voices against it, but
Kashmiri civilians have been martyred, more in the absence of actions these words are in
than 22,000 women have been widowed, fake ‘encounters.’ This is a manifestation of In- United Nations Office of the High Commis- danger of being construed as little more than
108,000 children have been orphaned and over dian state-terrorism against innocent Kashmiri sioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) has pub- ‘lip service’ given the gravity of the situation
12,000 Kashmiri women have been raped or civilians. lished two reports in June 2018 and July 2019 on ground. India’s perceived economic poten-
gangraped by Indian occupation forces. In this premeditated pogrom, since 5 Au- that have been instrumental in international- tial continues to be a more important consid-
However, what made India’s illegal and gust 2019, almost 400 innocent Kashmiri civil- izing the Jammu & Kashmir dispute. eration for international players than moral
unilateral actions of August 5, 2019 and sub- ians have been martyred by the Indian Occu- Regular engagement with international scruples.
sequent steps even more reprehensible was that pation Forces. During 2021 alone, the Indian media has been effective in generating and This is why the international community
this was the first time the Indian Government Occupation Forces have extra-judicially killed keeping alive the momentum of international needs to work together to ensure not only jus-
tried to obliterate the very identity of the Kash- more than 80 innocent Kashmiris, including tice for the innocent Kashmiri men, women
miri people and the very essence of ‘Kashmiri- young boys and women; arbitrarily arrested The untiring efforts of Pakistan’s and children but also an equitable solution to
yat’. and detained over 500 people; and destroyed Foreign Office have led to multiple this long-standing dispute.
Through enactment of a series of illegal more than 30 houses belonging to Kashmiri A single nation, no matter how economi-
domicile laws in IIOJK, the Indian Govern- families. United Nations Security Council cally relevant cannot be allowed to blatantly
ment has tried to change the very demographic Thankfully, the world has taken notice. deliberations on the Jammu & flout international law and the global order in
structure of occupied Kashmir. It has actively For the first time, India has been exposed be- Kashmir dispute since 5 August pursuit of its own vested interests. This would
tried to undermine the exercise by the Kash- fore the international community as a serial vi- be tantamount to giving up on the very idea of
miri people of their right to self-determination olator of fundamental human rights and basic 2019. The United Nations Office of an international community, a complete dis-
through a free and impartial plebiscite as per freedoms. Its façade of democracy and secular- the High Commissioner on Human avowal of any semblance of justice and moral-
the relevant UNSC Resolutions by trying to ism has been exposed for what it is, barefaced Rights (OHCHR) has published ity, even fundamental human decency.
change the Muslim majority of the region into totalitarianism with a thin veneer or political For the sake of our future generations and
a minority. correctness. If any Kashmiri supported India two reports in June 2018 and July for the sake of our children, it is our collective
These illegal steps are in clear violation of before August 5, 2019, now no one does. 2019 that have been instrumental responsibility, to never allow this to happen.
the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions Pakistan has succeeded in highlighting in internationalizing the Jammu & The international community has the re-
and international law including the 4th Geneva atrocities being perpetrated against the Kash- sponsibility to put pressure on India to ensure
Convention as well as bilateral agreements be- miri people in an unprecedently effective man- Kashmir dispute the implementation of the UNSC resolutions,
tween Pakistan and India which categorically ner. The international community, especially enabling the people of IIOJK to exercise their
prohibit any type of demographic change in the the media and human rights organizations, condemnation of India for its unabated abuse right to self-determination for a peaceful reso-
disputed territory. have been near unanimous in their condem- of human rights and clampdown on funda- lution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute.
Over the course of the past two years, nation of India’s naked aggression and its rank mental freedoms in IIOJK. Reputed interna- Pakistan, of course, should continue pro-
thousands of Kashmiris have been arbitrarily despotism. tional publications continue to carry our op- viding all possible support to the Kashmiri
detained. Kashmiri youth have been particu- The untiring efforts of Pakistan’s Foreign eds and stories on Jammu & Kashmir. More people until they achieve their legitimate right
larly targeted through abductions, incarcera- Office have led to multiple United Nations than 1,000 articles/ op-eds/ news reports on to self-determination as recognized by the rel-
tion at undisclosed locations, indiscriminate Security Council deliberations on the Jammu the situation in IIOJK have appeared in inter- evant resolutions of the United Nations Secu-
use of pellet guns, and extra-judicial killings in & Kashmir dispute since 5 August 2019. The national media since 5 August 2019 while the rity Council.
n By Dr Syed Amir Allama Ibn Khaldun in the 21st Century However, forced by palace intrigues,
Bethesda, MD he left Granada and returned to
North Africa after just two years.
n May 19, 2006, Queen Lauded as the greatest schol- The next phase represented the
Sofia and King Juan Carlos ar, philosopher, historian and so- most productive phase of his life.
Oof Spain opened an exhi- cial scientist who ever lived, Abd In 1377, when he was 47 years old,
bition in Seville’s Alcazar, show- ar-Rahmān ibn Muhammad ibn he secluded himself in the castle of
casing the work of Khaldūn al-hadramī, popularly Ibn Salamah in eastern Algeria to
Ibn Khaldun on his known as Ibn Khaldun, was born in concentrate on writing and con-
600th death anni- 1332 in Tunis and traced his ancestry solidate his thoughts, drawn from
versary. (King Car- to South Yemen. He descended from long and wide-ranging experiences
los retired in 2014 a string of scholars and his father was of life. He deliberated for four years
in favor of his son, a jurist of Maliki Fiqh. His family and produced his revolutionary and
King Felipe VI). members originally arrived in Spain landmark creation, the Muqaddima,
Many dignitaries, including kings with the conquering Muslim armies (prolegomenon) or introduction to
and prime ministers attended the and settled in Ishbilia (Seville). They his more detailed work on the his-
celebration held in the royal pal- served in high offices but, as Muslim tory of North Africa, named Kitab
ace. The exhibition had on dis- power waned in Spain, were forced al-Ibar (book of lessons). The Muqa-
play some precious hand-written in 1248 to emigrate to North Africa, ddima, however, is considered his
scholarly manuscripts and objects one of many Andalusian emigres. opus magnus in which he developed
loaned from countries in North Ibn Khaldun died in 1406 in Cairo his brilliant and original theory to
Africa, dating back to the period and is buried there. rulers of North African states were Granada to serve in his court where explain the rise and fall of human
when Ibn Khaldun lived there. The political situation in North changing with unusual frequency, another scholar of great standing, civilizations. Ibn Khaldun singularly
The majestic Alcazar, one of the Africa in the 14th century was par- resulting from tribal wars and dynas- his friend Ibn al-Khatib, a polymath, placed his trust in his own observa-
most beautiful monuments in the ticularly turbulent. After ravag- tic realignments. Consequently, Ibn poet, and historian served as the tions, ignoring anecdotal material
world, served as the official residence ing Europe and the Middle East, Khaldun had to lead a peripatetic vizier. The new position promised which he claimed earlier historians
of Castilian kings for centuries af- the plague, often referred to as the existence, always searching for sta- stability. A year later, Ibn Khaldun had failed to do.
ter Sultan Muhammad al-Mu’tamid Black Death, had reached there. A bility in his life. These upheavals in was sent by the Sultan on a diplo- He argued that history was not
(1069–1091) was forced out of his demographic catastrophe, it wiped and around him, greatly influenced matic mission to the court of King just a compendium of events that
kingdom. Interestingly, its stately out almost one-third of the popula- his thinking and informed his ideas Pedro of Castile. It is reported that happen haphazardly overtime. There
corridors and magnificent audience tion, including Ibn Khaldun’s parents about the genesis of historic changes the King was so impressed with the was a natural logic to how dynas-
chambers would be entirely familiar when he was sixteen years old. Some that influenced much of his subse- visiting scholar that he offered him a ties and kingdoms came into being,
to Ibn Khaldun since, in 1364, he other events unfolding at the time quent writings. high position and promised to return decayed and disappeared. He intro-
visited this palace on a diplomatic were also unsettling. The last Muslim Ibn Khaldun was probably all his ancestral lands that had been duced the term, asabiyah (group
mission from Sultan Muhammed V enclave of Granada in Spain was in much relieved when in 1363 he was confiscated earlier, only if he would solidarity) to emphasize the crucial
of Granada to King Pedro at Seville. its twilight period and the various invited by Sultan Muhammed V of convert to Christianity. He declined. ALLAMA, P26
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