NEW YORK (Kashmir English): In a powerful display of solidarity with the oppressed people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir, digital mobile trucks were deployed across New York City, carrying bold messages urging the United Nations to fulfill its long-pending pledge of granting Kashmiris their right to self-determination.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the campaign, organized by the World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF), reached hundreds of thousands near the UN headquarters and Times Square, amplifying global calls for justice and action over India’s continued occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.
The initiative formed part of WKAF’s broader effort to remind the international community of its moral and legal responsibility under the UN Security Council resolutions, which explicitly guarantee the right of the Kashmiri people to determine their political future through a free and impartial plebiscite.
The digital screens displayed strong messages such as:
“End Indian Colonization of Kashmir,”
“Hold India Accountable for War Crimes in Kashmir,”
“Kashmiris Reject Indian Occupation — UN Resolution Only Solution,” and
“UN Resolutions Succinctly State: Kashmir Is Not an Indian Protectorate.”
WKAF President Dr. Ghulam N. Mir, who also produced the film Saffron Kingdom, recalled that the mass murder of over 237,000 Muslims in Jammu in October 1947 was carried out by the Patiala Sikh regiment and RSS-backed militias under Maharaja Hari Singh’s forces, aimed at ethnically cleansing the region.
He said the carnage occurred under the watchful eyes of Nehru, Patel, and Gandhi, while Lord Mountbatten ignored the bloodshed.
Dr. Mir stressed that after India’s invasion of Jammu and Kashmir on October 27, 1947, little could be done to salvage the situation. “Now it is the responsibility of the diaspora to continue the peaceful and legitimate struggle to reclaim our God-given rights,” he said, adding, “Our people have given their lives for decades to resist and reclaim — and we shall prevail, God willing.”
India’s forcible occupation of Kashmir
Kashmiri-American scholar Dr. Imtiaz Khan noted that this day marks the 78th anniversary of India’s forcible occupation of Kashmir.
He said the UN resolutions clearly entitle Kashmiris to a plebiscite, yet India has repeatedly defied international law. “New Delhi’s intransigence has caused gross human rights violations in IIOJK,” he said, warning that continued neglect could trigger a catastrophic conflict in South Asia.
Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman of the World Forum for Peace & Justice, denounced India’s false narrative that “Kashmir is an integral part of India.” He termed it a “violent form of intellectual subjugation,” aimed at rewriting Kashmiri history. Dr. Fai emphasized that confining the Kashmir dispute to a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan sidelines the most vital party — the Kashmiris themselves.
He said India’s 2019 abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A exposed the failure of the bilateral approach, adding that “78 years of this masquerade have produced nothing but propaganda and photo opportunities.”
Raja Mukhtar, National Spokesperson of JKLF North America and main organizer of the event, said that Kashmiri leaders such as Muhammad Yasin Malik and human rights activists are unjustly incarcerated under inhumane conditions. He warned of India’s planned demographic changes through the settlement of extremist Hindus in IIOJK to alter its Muslim-majority character.
Sardar Taj Khan, Senior Vice Chairman of Kashmir Mission USA, said that Kashmir has become the world’s most dangerous nuclear flashpoint, having already sparked two wars between India and Pakistan. He cautioned that another conflict could be catastrophic, citing India’s false flag operation in Pahalgam as an example of its reckless policies.
Sardar Sawar Khan, former Advisor to the AJK Prime Minister, said India has deployed over 900,000 heavily armed troops in IIOJK under draconian laws, unleashing mass killings, gang rapes, and blindings of children. He reiterated that Kashmir was never an integral part of any country and that India’s occupation violates the principle of self-determination.
Sardar Zarif Khan, Advisor to the AJK President, said the denial of self-determination has led to death and destruction, with over 100,000 Kashmiris killed in the past three decades. He criticized the international community’s silence, saying it had effectively granted India impunity by allowing it to block external intervention, including U.S. mediation offers.
Advocate Sardar Imtiaz Khan Garalvi urged world powers to use their influence to mediate a peaceful resolution involving India, Pakistan, and Kashmiri leadership. He said bilateral talks have failed for 78 years and that Kashmir remains a nuclear tinderbox endangering the entire region.
Sardar Shoaib Irshad, General Secretary of the Kashmir American Welfare Association (KAWA), appealed to the UN Secretary-General to help facilitate a UN-supervised plebiscite in Kashmir. He also warned that the RSS extremist ideology threatens not only Muslims but also Christians, Dalits, and other minorities across India.
The campaign, participants stressed, is part of a growing global movement to expose India’s occupation and demand implementation of UN resolutions affirming that Kashmir is not an Indian protectorate but a disputed territory awaiting a UN-mandated plebiscite.
