Kashmir Under Siege: Sherry Rehman condemns India’s demographic invasion

Liaquat Ali

Islamabad: Speaking at the diaspora conference titled “United Voices: Kashmiri and Pakistani Diaspora Confronting Oppression in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK),” organized by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and the Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR), Vice President PPP Senator Sherry Rehman delivered a powerful message of solidarity and urgency, calling for an unflinching commitment from global communities to highlight and resist the ongoing atrocities in Kashmir.

“This is not just a regional issue. It is a crisis of global order,” said Senator Rehman, condemning the systematic erasure of Kashmiri identity through active acts of forgetting and institutional ethnic cleansing. “There is a deliberate, heinous strategy at play—a demographic invasion sanctioned by the Hindutva-driven Modi government. The revocation of Articles 370 and 35A, the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025, and settlement of non-Kashmiris are all part of this forced assimilation.”

Senator Rehman underscored the alarming scale of human rights violations in the region, she drew attention to the blinding of over 1,000 Kashmiris through pellet guns, the widowing of more than 22,000 women, and the rape or molestation of more than 11,000 women. “The Valley has been turned into the world’s largest open-air prison, under the siege of nearly 1.5 million Indian security forces,” Senator Rehman added.

Senator Rehman paid tribute to the legacy of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto for their unwavering support for the Kashmiri cause. “Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s iconic speech at the United Nations and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s commitment through commemorating February 5 as Kashmir Solidarity Day stand as defining moments in our diplomatic history. The PPP’s voice has never faltered—President Asif Ali Zardari and Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari have always raised this issue on every national and international forum,” she stated.

Calling out the global silence and selective outrage, Senator Rehman remarked, “The plight of the Kashmiris is being shoved aside on many international platforms. Powerful lobbies ensure it is kept off the agenda, while the rivers of blood in Kashmir continue to flow. Why is there such resistance to bringing their pain to the forefront?”

Senator Rehman emphasized the intersectionality of global injustices, drawing parallels between Kashmir and Gaza. “Whether it is Gaza or Kashmir, Muslims are being persecuted in ways that the world has not seen anywhere else, in violation of international laws, on genocide as well as humanitarian norms . This is a collective stain on our conscience. The rules-based order we speak of is now in disarray ,becoming dangerously selective, and that too at the cost of the oppressed.”

Senator Rehman urged the diaspora to continue playing a pivotal role in advocacy. “The diaspora is our strength. They have a key role to play in keeping the story of Kashmir alive. If there is any help they need, PPP and Pakistan will always stand ready to support.”

Senator Rehman concluded with a message of unity and hope. “Today is a call to action. There are no two opinions about it—Kashmiris are our friends, our family, and we will never be separated. We want peace, always, but never at the cost of justice. The PPP stands united with Kashmir in every effort, at every forum.”