Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, World Forum for Peace & Justice was speaking during the 50th Annual Convention of Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) on the topic of ‘The Struggle of Kashmir: Justice and Freedom of a Forgotten People.’ More than 35,000 people attend the convention who came from all America. There were delegation from many countries including Australia, United Kingdom, South Africa, etc..
Dr. Fai said that the international policy making experts and agencies have always warned that the Kashmir dispute is known to have the potential of large-scale international conflict with the possibility of nuclear confrontation. They have cautioned that Kashmir has produced two wars between India and Pakistan and a third cannot be ruled out unless a resolution is sought to the satisfaction of all parties concerned.
Dr. Fai emphasized that recent nuclear tension between India and Pakistan is a proof that although paused so that sanity shall prevail, but it has not ended altogether. The timely intervention by President Donald J. Trump persuaded both India and Pakistan to have an immediate ceasefire, otherwise the world would have witnessed the dangerous war games between two nuclear armed countries with devastating consequences and tens of millions of people would have been absorbed and destroyed by war and coming generations would have suffered from the ramifications of nuclear disaster.
“Global initiative, like the one initiated by President Trump in Kashmir will not only end the bloodshed and suffering in Kashmir, but also have a direct positive effect on international security by eliminating regional fighting, and national tensions. It is in everyone’s interest to settle the Kashmir conflict peacefully without further delay,” Fai added.
Fai remarked that there is a threat to fundamental human rights in Kashmir including freedom of expression and freedom of opinion. If you dare to speak out against Indian army in Kashmir, you will be immediately put behind the bars or even eliminated. One prime example is that of Khurram Parvez, Chairperson of Philippines-based ‘Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances” who documented 550 pages report on The Structure of Violence in Kashmir, (TSOV).
Khurram delivered the hard copies of the report to the office of ‘UN High Commissioner on Human Rights’ Office of the ‘UN Secretary General’, many international NGO’s and various dignitaries.
Although Khurram Parvez was recognized as one of the 100 most influential people of the world by US-based Time Magazine in 2022 but he can no longer present this report to anybody anymore because he was arrested by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) of India on November 21, 2021, under terror law, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defender tweeted: ‘Khurram Parvez is not a terrorist. He is a Human Rights Defender.’
Another example is that of Mohammad Yasin Malik, one of the most recognizable leaders of Kashmiri political resistance movement who was arrested on August 8, 2024. The plan and intentions of the current fascist regime are more sinister when it comes to the case of Yasin Malik. The international community must take cognizance of the historical behavior of India. By eliminating peace-loving leaders like Yasin Malik, the Indian regime is closing any avenues of peace in the region and pushing the youth of Kashmir towards actions that can be detrimental to the peaceful resolution of Kashmir conflict.
What is the crime of Yasin Malik. He has said is at the hearing at Delhi High Court that “If seeking Azadi (Freedom) is a crime, then I am ready to accept this crime and its consequences.”
“Under a bizarre and illegal ‘Jammu & Kashmir Reorganization Order, 2020’, the citizens of India will now be able to get Domicile Certificate and by virtue of this certificate they will be able to settle in Kashmir, own the property there and compete for jobs in the disputed territory of Jammu & Kashmir. Khurram Parvez, has highlighted that “By virtue of this order, outsiders are… going to be the claimants of jobs in Jammu and Kashmir, which already has a huge unemployment problem. This is an act against the interests of unemployed youth.”
“The situation in Kashmir is a living proof that the people of Kashmir will not compromise, far less abandon, their demand for self-determination which is their birthright and for which they have paid a price unparalleled in the history of South Asia,” Dr. Fai concluded.
Sardar Zarif Khan, Advisor to the President of Azad Kashmir, Sardar Shoaib Irshad, General Secretary, Kashmir American Welfare Association (KAWA), Sardar Zeeshan Khan, young human rights activist, and a delegation of Kashmiri Americans from Boston, including, Choudhary Irfan Ul Hassan, Choudhary Ejaz Ul Hassan, Choudhary Imran Ul Hassan, Hamza Irfan Choudhary traveled from long distances to attend the session.
Dr. Fai is also the Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness Forum. He can be reached at: WhatsApp: 1-202-607-6435 or gnfai2003@yahoo.com
www.Kashmirawareness.org
Baltimore, Maryland, USA. 25 May 2025