MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan and Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider on Tuesday expressed their gratitude to Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his nation for their principled stand and strong support to the cause of the freedom seeking Kashmiri people.

During their separate meetings with a nine-member delegation of Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organisation (MAPIM), at Kashmir House, both the leaders said they were short of words to express their thankfulness to Dr Mahathir for his unflinching support to the Kashmiris, particularly in the wake of India’s Aug 5, 2019, move to scrap the special status of occupied Kashmir.

The purpose of the delegation’s visit, according to its leader and MAPIM president Taun Haji Mohd Azmi Abd Hamid, was to promote cultural connections between the Kashmiri and Malaysian youth and raise voice for the people of India-held Kashmir.

Under the umbrella of MAPIM, “Malaysia-Kashmir Group” had [already] been established with Mohamad Fadhil bin Yusni, coordinator Malaysia-Kashmir Youth Forum, as its head to raise awareness on the plight of the Kashmiri youth in occupied Kashmir, Mr Hamid said.

The AJK president said the Kashmiri people on both sides of the divide saluted the Malaysian leadership for its principled position on Kashmir in spite of Indian threats to cut imports of palm oil, aluminum, gas and computer equipment from Malaysia.

“Dr Mahathir Mohamad has rightly characterised India’s action in occupied Kashmir as an invasion and occupation,” said Mr Khan.

He also eulogised Dr Mahathir for taking exception to the new citizenship law in India designed to discriminate against the Muslims.

He said earlier the Indian government wanted to change the demography of the disputed region of Kashmir by crushing Kashmiri Muslims and now it was out to remould India as a Hindu nation by relegating the status of Indian Muslims to aliens.

Prime Minister Haider expressed almost similar views while appreciating Dr Mahathir and highlighting India’s nefarious practices in Kashmir.

“Dr Mahathir is a great leader of Ummah who we, the Kashmiris, owe a debt of gratitude for his unequivocal support to our just cause at the UN General Assembly and elsewhere,” the premier told the delegation.

He said Pakistan and Kashmiris enjoyed historical relations with their Malaysian brethren that needed to be further strengthened.

Referring to the response of Muslim world in the wake of India’s Aug 5 move, Mr Haider regretted that barring a few nations the Ummah as a whole had not come up to the expectations of the oppressed Kashmiris.

“All Muslims nations should follow Malaysia and raise a strong voice for their Kashmiri brethren who are struggling for their internationally acknowledged right to self-determination,” he said.

Mr Hamid informed both leaders that MAPIM planned to establish a ‘Malaysia-AJK Cultural Centre’ in Muzaffarabad.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2020