Published 18:02 IST, November 15th 2019
Kashmiri Sunanda Vashisht exposes Pakistan at US Congressional hearing
A Kashmiri columnist and political commentator, Sunanda Vashisht, exposed Pak's evil propaganda on J&K by giving a befitting reply to the neighbouring country
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A Kashmiri columnist and political commentator, Sunanda Vashisht exposed Pakistan's evil propaganda on Jammu and Kashmir by giving a befitting reply to the neighbouring country over its atrocious attempts to spread disharmony and nurture terrorism in the region. During a Congressional hearing on Human Rights organised by Tom Lantos HR Commission in Washington DC on Thursday, Vashisht said that Kashmir has witnessed a similar level of horror and brutality as inflicted by the Islamic State in Syria, prior to the time when the West and other international communities were apprised about the worst human rights situation in the Valley.
'Have seen ISIS level of horror and brutality in Kashmir'
"We have seen ISIS level of horror and brutality in Kashmir, 30 years before the West was even introduced to the brutalities of radical Islamic terror. I am glad these hearings are happening here today because when my family and everyone like me lost our homes our livelihood and our way of life the world remained silent. Where were the advocates of human rights when my rights were taken away?" Vashisht asked the panellists who were present at the hearing.
"Where were they on the night of January 19, 1990, when there were voices blaring from all mosques in Kashmir that they wanted Kashmir with Hindu women but without Hindu men? Where was the saviour of humanity when my feeble old grandfather stood with kitchen knives and an old rusted axe ready to kill my mother and I in order to save us from the much worse fate that awaited us?" she questioned further. She then said, "My people were given three choices by the terrorists: flee, convert or die on the same fateful night."
'I am still not welcome in my home in Kashmir'
The columnist said that around 400,000 Kashmiri Hindus fled right after the night of horror. "They survived. Those who didn't were killed. Today, 30 years later, I am still not welcome in my home in Kashmir. I am not allowed to follow my faith there. My house in Kashmir is illegally occupied as most others in my communities. And those which were not occupied have been burnt down or ransacked," she told the hearing.
'There is no India without Kashmir, and no Kashmir without India'
Furthermore, Vashisht said that it is high time to strengthen India to fight against insurgencies in Kashmir, adding that the move will followingly help in solving the human rights problems in the region once and for all. Vashisht said that the international community has to assist India in eradicating radical Islamist terror that is when the human rights situation will be possible. In her concluding remarks, Vashisht further said that India has "not occupied" Kashmir and that Kashmir was always an integral part of India. "India is not just a 70-year-old identity, but a 5000-year-old civilisation. There is no India without Kashmir, and no Kashmir without India, she said.
(With ANI inputs)
16:57 IST, November 15th 2019