Islamabad, : A seminar organized by Friends of Kashmir International, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Kashmir Committee, to observe Kashmir Black Day, Chief Guest Senator Sherry Rehman said “That for us Kashmir is not real estate. It is an internationally disputed territory where one of the world’s longest forcible occupation has rendered history a silent bystander on what has become a regime of genocidal brutality. Indian impunity must not be forgotten, nor must this story of state terrorism be forgotten.”
“Today, we gather not only in remembrance, but in solidarity. The people of Kashmir continue to live under a brutal and illegal occupation. They wake up each day with the same question: Who stands with us? And our answer must always be clear — Pakistan stands with Kashmir.”
Senator Rehman underscored that the suffering in Kashmir is not abstract, but deeply human.
Referring to documented figures from the Kashmir Media Service, she stated:
“Over 500,000 Kashmiris have been killed since 1947. 3.5 million have been displaced. More than 168,000 have been arbitrarily detained since 1989. Over 110,000 homes have been destroyed, 22,963 women widowed, and 11,259 women have been subjected to rape or molestation as a weapon of war. More than 1,200 children have been blinded by pellet guns.
These are not just statistics — these are shattered worlds, stolen childhoods, and families torn apart. These are the statistics of shame for humanity.”
She added,
“Kashmir has now become the largest open-air prison in the world. To live under this occupation is to exist in constant surveillance, fear, and trauma.”
“India is able to contain the story, gross story of its illegal theft of land, it’s a stolen land. We don’t treat it as a real estate, it is a land which belongs to its people whose voices have been oppressed for generations.”
Senator Rehman reaffirmed the Pakistan Peoples Party’s unwavering commitment to the Kashmiri struggle:
“For the Pakistan Peoples Party, Kashmir has never been a ceremonial issue or a bureaucratic file. From Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, and today under Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PPP has stood — and continues to stand — shoulder to shoulder with the people of Kashmir. Our commitment is moral, historical, and enduring.”
Senator Rehman condemned India’s attempt to change the demographic character of Kashmir:
“What we are witnessing is not administration — it is state terrorism. It is racial colonisation. It is an engineered transformation of a Muslim-majority land into a minority-controlled territory through force and fear. When such demographic projects were pursued in Europe by the Nazis during the Second World War, the world called it the final solution. We must call it what it is today as well.”
She stressed that these policies violate the Geneva Conventions, UN Security Council resolutions and basic principles of human rights and international law
Senator Rehman noted that India is controlling perception by restricting access:
“International journalists are denied entry. Human rights observers are blocked. Local voices who speak disappear, are detained, or become martyrs. This is the systematic suppression of truth. The world cannot accept silence as complicity.”
She urged global institutions, governments, and civil society to act:
“The international community must listen. The Kashmiri people have the right to live in freedom, dignity, and peace — and the right to decide their own future. We call for immediate end to state violence and demographic engineering, restoration of civil liberties and political rights. International access for journalists and human rights observers. And above all — the right to self-determination, as promised by the United Nations.”
Senator Rehman concluded:
“This flame must not be allowed to dim. Kashmir is not forgotten. Kashmir is not alone. Their struggle for dignity and self-determination is also our struggle.”
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
