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Baltimore, May 28, 2023 (PPI-OT): An informative and educational session on “Countering and dismantling Islamophobia, locally and globally” was organized during 48th Annual ICNA-MAS Convention, held at Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Maryland. The topic included Kashmir, Palestine, and Islamophobia. Dr Hatem Bazian, a well-known scholar on globalization and international relations spoke on, ‘Palestine: Century of settler colonialism; Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness Forum, spoke on the ‘Situation in Kashmir’ Joram Van laveren, Dutch politician and author of ‘Apostate: From Christianity to Islam in times of secularization and terror’ spoke on ‘The rise of the far right in Europe’ and Edward Mitchell, Deputy Director of ‘Council on American Islamic Relations’ spoke on ‘The ripple effect of Islamophobia.’
Dr Ghulam Nabi said ending the suffering of the people of Kashmir was vital and urgent. He wondered why such actions were forthcoming in Namibia, East Timor, Southern Sudan, etc. and not in Kashmir. Was the suffering of the people of Kashmir any less than that of East Timorese? He pointed out that Kashmir has been under military occupation for more than 76 years. He said there is a phenomenon of unstopped and unpunished barbarities that is being witnessed in Kashmir. The irony, he said, is that the impunity that is thus being granted to the violator of human rights – India – is not in the context of a new dispute, or a civil war where the status, the positions and the actions of the parties remain obscure for some time and international response lags behind in the situation.
He said it is being done in a territory known to be disputed for 76 years. There is no alibi for the international communities’ inaction except that India with its major power pretensions maintains violent occupation of the territory, he added. Furthermore, the dispute is known to have the potential of large-scale international conflict with the possibility of nuclear confrontation. It 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.
The United States, he said, holds unique powers of moral suasion and it also has the capability of coming up with material and economic assistance to help Kashmir’s search for an enlightened solution. After all, the United States has made such efforts in other international conflicts. How was Kashmir any different, he asked? Dr. Fai announced with immense pain and anguish the news that the Modi administration is asking Delhi High Court for a death sentence of a popular leader of Kashmiri political resistance movement in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir – Mohammad Yasin Malik.
“Global initiative 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 maintained.
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