Islamabad, February 15, 2022 (PPI-OT):Speakers at a webinar on Kashmir conflict called for taking a fresh look at the strategy for highlighting the Kashmir dispute and the atrocities being perpetrated by Indian troops in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The webinar on ‘Historical, Humanitarian and Political Perspectives of Kashmir Issue’ was hosted by Strategic Vision Institute (SVI), a statement issued by the think tank on Tuesday said.

The participants of the discussion deliberated on various aspects of the dispute and proposed ideas for advocating the cause more effectively. There was generally a consensus among the speakers that the strategy for promoting the Kashmir cause needed to be rebooted in view of the recent Kashmir related developments and emerging challenges.

Lt. Gen. (retd) Masood Aslam, in his opening remarks, deplored that the world appeared indifferent to the aggravating plight of Kashmiris as no action had been taken to compel India to stop the atrocities it has been perpetrating in IIOJK. Gen. Aslam proposed the use of civil society and social media for exposing Indian war crimes in Kashmir, human rights abuses, and subjugation of the Muslims.

Former Caretaker Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Naeem Khalid Lodhi noted that Pakistan’s strategy on Kashmir was reactive and he cited the example of Delhi’s unilateral actions of August 05, 2019 about which little was done until they had been implemented though there were signs all along that it was about to happen.

He blamed “weak media” effort for the shortcoming of not having been able to connect with civil societies in other countries. Emphasizing the importance of civil society, he said, though foreign governments tend to overlook issues that do not align with their interests, but rights activists do take note of such things.

Gen Lodhi suggested that Pakistan should lobby with the international community for a census in both parts of Kashmir because of the demographic change that BJP is bringing about in IIOJK. Dr Salma Malik of Quaid-e-Azam University said India amplifies its narrative by employing political economy as well as diplomacy.

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