KASHMIR TO WASHINGTON: A LETTER TO AMERICA FROM A COMMON KASHMIRI

EVERY WORD UTTERED BY POTUS CAN CREATE HUNDREDS OF HEADLINES AROUND THE WORLD, INFLUENCE INTERNATIONAL POLICY, AND, IN THIS CASE, HURT THE SENTIMENTS OF MILLIONS OF INDIANS WHILE COMPROMISING THE SOVEREIGNTY AND TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF INDIA. THIS LETTER SERVES AS A FIRM REMINDER TO POTUS—AND TO ALL THOSE WHO MISTAKENLY BELIEVE IN THE MYTH OF A "KASHMIR ISSUE"—THAT THERE IS NO SUCH ISSUE WITHIN INDIA'S BORDERS. THEY SHOULD REFRAIN FROM MAKING WEAK, MISINFORMED, AND DAMAGING REMARKS. IF THERE IS INDEED A KASHMIR ISSUE, IT LIES NOT WITHIN INDIA BUT WITHIN PAKISTAN—SPECIFICALLY IN PAKISTAN-OCCUPIED JAMMU AND KASHMIR (POJK).

- ISRAAR SHAHID

There was a time when violence in Jammu and Kashmir-terrorist attacks, bomb blasts, and targeted killings-was disturbingly routine. Dozens of civilians, police, and security personnel would lose their lives, and the national response seldom went beyond ritual condemnations.