Press Release
Kashmir is not an internal matter of India, it is an internationally recognized dispute and Pakistan will continue to stand with the Kashmiri people in their struggle for freedom
India’s actions from the revocation of Article 370 to demographic engineering in Kashmir, are part of a broader strategy to marginalize minorities and establish hegemonic control, said Ambassador Masood Khan speaking at a roundtable discussion organized by the Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS), Islamabad, titled “Revisiting the Kashmir Conflict under the Changing Indian Polity.” The session featured insights from Ambassador Masood Khan, former President of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K), Dr Muhammad Mujeeb Afzal, Associate Professor at Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, and Mr. Mobeen Jafar Mir, Research Officer at CISS.
Ambassador Masood Khan argued that the Hindutva agenda extends beyond Kashmir where India aims for the saffronization of the entire subcontinent. The Akhand Bharat map installed in the Indian Parliament is clear evidence of Indian expansionist ambitions. He stressed that Pakistan should maintain and strengthen its strategic deterrence without coming under pressure from any external force. The former President of AJ&K underscored the need for a national security approach rooted in Pakistan’s core interests, asserting that despite political divisions, certain red lines must remain inviolable and upheld by all segments of society.
Speaking at the roundtable, Dr Mujeeb Afzal challenged the notion of India as a secular state. He argued that the post-1947 governance structures of India have selectively applied secularism while systematically marginalized minorities. As a result, Muslims face institutional discrimination in politics, employment, and public life, reinforcing deep-seated biases. He pointed out that communal violence and religious polarization have long been used as political tools to secure electoral victories by most of the Indian political parties. This deliberate sharpening of religious fault lines has influenced voting patterns, further weakening minority representation in governament. In India, Hindu nationalism has evolved from a legal-political movement into a cultural and normative process, pressuring minorities to conform to dominant Hindu narratives. From dress codes to religious expressions, cultural markers are now being used to alienate minorities and further push them to the periphery of society.
Dr. Mujeeb further highlighted that key legislative measures including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the abrogation of Article 370 reflect a broader effort to restructure Indian democracy along communal lines. These policies have deepened the exclusion of Muslims and other minorities and restricted their political participation. India’s demographic and political re-engineering are part of a larger civilizational clash between Hindu revivalism and the historical Muslim identity of the region. The continuous marginalization of Kashmiri Muslims is not an isolated occurrence but a calculated strategy to reshape the region’s identity and alter its political landscape.
Mr Mobeen Jafar Mir stressed that India is taking a leaf out of the Israeli playbook to change the demography of Kashmir in direct violation of UN resolutions. He suggested that to keep the Kashmir issue at the forefront of international discourse, Pakistan should engage in diplomatic advocacy, increase engagements in international organizations, be involved in public diplomacy & media campaigns, take legal actions at regional and international forums and institutions, build alliances with like-minded countries, highlight human rights violations, and engage the Kashmiri diaspora among others
Concluding the roundtable, Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi, Executive Director CISS, stressed that countries like India or Israel would not come to the negotiable table because they are occupiers, but we should, through our efforts and international pressure, force them to the table to talk about human rights. Kashmir is not an internal matter of India. It is an internationally recognized dispute, and Pakistan will continue to stand with the Kashmiri people in their struggle for freedom. Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering diplomatic, political, and moral support for the Kashmiri cause and urges the global community to take concrete actions rather than issue mere statements.
