KARACHI: Mishal Malik, social activist and wife of jailed Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik, on Saturday called upon the United Nations to work for demilitarising India-held Kashmir and send a peacekeeping force to stop atrocities in the occupied valley.

During her visit to the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), she said that over 2.2 million Kashmiris were ready to cross the Line of Control (LoC).

Ms Malik lauded the business community for putting the Kashmir issue above their interests and snapped trade relations with India. “It is overwhelming to see the support and sentiment of the business community towards the Kashmir cause,” she added.

She said that it was the Kashmir issue which had been hindering the development process of Pakistan and Kashmir, noting that the Indian occupied forces were killing unarmed Kashmiris.

She regretted that world capitals were silent over Indian atrocities against innocent Kashmiris. For almost two months the people of India-held Kashmir had been confined to their homes without food, water and medicines. Children in the occupied valley were not attending their schools and colleges whereas hospitals were also not functioning, she said.

She said that India through its intelligence agency RAW was carrying out terrorist activities in Pakistan. But, she added, no voice was being raised on world forums about heinous crimes being committed by India.

Talking about her role in the freedom movement, Ms Malik said she had never been so bold and active, but her inspiration had come from her mother and daughter.

A graduate from the London School of Economics, Ms Malik recalled that only 60 days after her marriage in 2002, her husband, Yasin Malik, was put in jail by Indian authorities.

She said the struggle for the freedom of Kashmir was a long and difficult journey and that she was ready for this fight. “I look at this as a mission,” she added.

Ms Malik, who visited the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah a day earlier, paid tribute to the father of the nation, saying that she had taken her courage for taking part in the freedom movement from the Quaid-i-Azam.

She lauded Prime Minister Imran Khan for effectively raising the Kashmir issue at the United Nations General Assembly.

Ms Malik said the business community could play a big role in stopping Indian atrocities against Kashmiris by raising their voice in all international trade forums.

Speaking on the occasion, FPCCI president Daroo Khan Achakzai said that the Pakistani business community fully supported the Kashmiris’ struggle for freedom.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2019