Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

24 September 2024

2-minute read

Dr Mobeen Shah, ex-president of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry and current director of the Kashmir House in Turkey, has called for global economic sanctions against India.

With the upcoming 2024 Kashmiri elections taking place in Indian Kashmir, and not Azad Kashmir which was annexed by Pakistan, making the freedom of Kashmir a global Muslim subject as Palestine is, is the goal of the Kashmir Diaspora Coalition. As the senior vice-chairman of the Coalition, Dr Shah hopes to create the narrative of the Kashmiri people, putting Kashmiri’s themselves at the forefront of their struggle. He stated that there is a need to implement sanctions on India and “people need to boycott India economically”, in order to change the narrative.

Historically, nothing has come out of conferences and bilateral meetings regarding Kashmir, the result of which is that India is occupying Kashmir with their military might of approximately a million soldiers. India is not willing to implement UN resolutions for the Kashmiri people, thus making a “mockery of international law”. Although the government is not supportive of the people of Kashmir, the people themselves are supportive of those who are oppressed. Governments will eventually follow what the people want, and by acceding to the pressure of the people, the Kashmiri people can be released from occupation.

According to Dr Shah, most politicians are Indian collaborators. Even though India is taking 5 ambassadors to the Kashmir elections, to show the world that they are taking observers to the elections; this is just a “farce”. They are “fooling the world” as they have no intention of resolving the problems in Kashmir. People in Kashmir are against what the Indian government has done in 1990. While there is no significant increase in the number of people participating in the upcoming Kashmiri elections, it is a way for the people of Kashmir to show that they are against what the Indian government has done in the past.

The aspirations of the people of Kashmir have to become apparent in their right to self-determination. Kashmiris should decide for themselves if they are given the choice between Pakistan and independence, with a very small percentage wanting a merger with India. Whoever the Kashmiri people choose, it will result in the Kashmiris coming out of Indian occupation and making a better life for themselves with no further killings, rapes, and no human rights violations.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany and Dr Mobeen Shah on Sabahul Muslim.