Islamabad:Renowned journalist Farrukh K Pitafi reprimanded India’s self-projection as a secular democracy, describing it as a state where caste, class and religious hierarchies continue to shape political and social structures.
Mr Pitafi was addressing a Seminar in commemoration of Human Rights Day organised here by Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) in collaboration with Kashmir Youth Forum. The session highlighted the urgent need for international accountability, protection of minorities and preservation of Kashmir’s cultural and political identity.
Mr Pitafi noted India’s evolution into an upper caste dominant stat where Hindu Muslim polarisation is deliberately constructed to obscure deep systemic inequalities including the marginalisation of Dalits and Adivasis. He called for a long-term intellectual and research-driven approach in Pakistan to preserve and project Kashmir’s identity on the global stage.
Human rights activist Shamim Shawl provided detailed accounts of coercive tactics used against Kashmiris, including punitive demolitions, forced disappearances, suppression of dissent and the banning of critical literature. She emphasised the plight of Kashmiri women detainees in Tihar Jail and the erasure of Kashmiri identity through demographic engineering and targeted violence. She called for Pakistan to continue raising these violations at regional and international forums.
Former MNA Dr Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to raise its voice for oppressed communities across India. She stressed that despite constitutional guarantees, minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, experience systemic persecution and structural barriers that silence their grievances. She emphasised Pakistan’s moral and diplomatic responsibility to advocate for Kashmiris at all international platforms.
Jauhar Saleem emphasised that India’s ruling party institutionalised exclusion through a Hindu nationalist framework that sidelines Muslims and other marginalised groups. He stressed that no Muslim parliamentarian exists within India’s ruling party and that Muslims remain largely absent from key state institutions.
