Digital trucks on New York streets flash Kashmir’s freedom messages
UNITED NATIONS: Digital advertising trucks bearing the message “Kashmir Is Not Forgotten: February 5th – Day of Solidarity” rolled through the most of New York City’s key locations, including the United Nations headquarters, Times Square, Freedom Tower, CenturyTel Park, and areas surrounding foreign missions to the UN.
Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, World Forum for Peace & Justice said that the mobile trucks—an innovative form of outreach equipped with high-resolution digital screens—deliver messages to an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 people per day, including diplomats, tourists, observers, and ordinary Americans. Their presence sent a clear and unambiguous message: Kashmiris are not alone. The global Kashmiri diaspora stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of Kashmir.
“The continued silence of the international community on this long-standing dispute is deeply troubling,” DR. Fai said.
“It appears that India is being given a free hand to inflict grave human rights violations on the people of Kashmir. A conflict with clear potential to escalate into a nuclear confrontation is receiving far less attention than its gravity demands. The consequences of such neglect could be catastrophic—not only for the region, but for global peace and security.”
Rented by the Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF), the digital trucks also displayed messages calling for accountability and international responsibility, including: “India Involved in Genocide: Kashmiris Demand Plebiscite”; “Freedom for all: Freedom for Kashmir”; “India Criminalizes Press Freedom in Kashmir”; “Indian Forces on Killing Spree: Kashmir Need to Be Set Free”; “Kashmir Facing Existential Threat: United States Needs to Act”; “Kashmiris Reject Indian Occupation: UN Resolution only Solution”; Modi Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity in Kashmir.”
Dr. Ghulam N. Mir, President, World Kashmir Awareness Forum said that although first proposed by late Jamaat leader Qazi Hussain Ahmad in 1990, Kashmir Solidarity Day has come to be memorialized by Kashmiri and Pakistani people of all political and religious persuasions ever since.
“It is one of many such days we Kashmiris have etched in our memories ever since thousands of Indians invaded, plundered, burnt down and set up shop to steal whatever they wished for the ensuing 79 years,” he said.
Dr. Imtiaz Khan, Kashmiri American scholar said that land seizures by occupation forces continue at a disturbing pace. Thousands of acres have reportedly been taken over, depriving Kashmiris of their property while armed Hindu militias are settled on confiscated lands. These actions threaten the social fabric of the region and further entrench instability.
Raja Mukhtar, Chief spokesman, of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), North America, said that a durable and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute—in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir—is essential for lasting peace in South Asia. Such a settlement would significantly enhance international peace and security.
Sardar Taj Khan, Vice Chairman of the Kashmir Mission, USA said that all parties to the conflict—India, Pakistan, and the Kashmiri people—must engage in dialogue with mutual respect. Kashmiris must be recognized as the primary party to the dispute and given the opportunity to decide their future freely, without external pressure. Credible third-party mediation can help bring all stakeholders to the negotiating table. APP
