Islamabad: India's revocation of Article 370 and its demographic changes in

Occupied Kashmir are part of a broader strategy to marginalize minorities and establish

hegemonic control, Former President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Masood Khan said on Friday.

He was speaking at a roundtable discussion organized by the Center for International Strategic

Studies (CISS), Islamabad titled 'Revisiting the Kashmir Conflict Under the Changing Indian

Polity'.

Khan, who is also a former diplomat having served as ambassador in Beijing and Washington

and the representative at the United Nations, argued that the Hindutva agenda extends beyond

Kashmir, with India aiming for the 'saffronization' of the entire subcontinent.

He cited the example of the Akhand Bharat Map installed in the Indian Parliament in 2023 as

evidence of India's expansionist ambitions. Stressing the importance of maintaining strategic

deterrence, he urged Pakistan to resist external pressures. He also emphasized that despite

political divisions, certain national security red lines must remain inviolable.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Muhammad Mujeeb Afzal, associate professor at Quaid-i-Azam

University, challenged India's secular identity, arguing that its post-1947 governance structures

have selectively applied secularism while systematically marginalizing minorities.

Afzal said Muslims in India face institutional discrimination in politics, employment, and public

life, reinforcing deep-seated biases. Communal violence and religious polarization, he added,

have been used as political tools to secure electoral victories. He noted that Hindu nationalism

has evolved from a legal-political movement into a cultural force that pressures minorities to

conform to dominant Hindu narratives, from dress codes to religious expression.

Afzal further highlighted key legislative measures, including the Citizenship Amendment Act

and the abrogation of Article 370, as part of a broader effort to reshape Indian democracy along

communal lines. These policies, he said, have deepened the exclusion of Muslims and restricted

their political participation. India's demographic and political re-engineering, he argued, reflect a

larger civilizational clash between Hindu revivalism and the region's historical Muslim identity.

Mir compared India's actions in Occupied Kashmir to Israel's policies, stating that India is

implementing demographic changes in direct violation of U.N. resolutions. To keep the Kashmir

issue at the forefront of global discourse, he suggested Pakistan enhance diplomatic advocacy,

increase engagement with international organizations, initiate legal actions at regional and global

forums, build alliances with like-minded nations, highlight human rights violations, and involve

the Kashmiri diaspora.

Concluding the discussion, Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi, executive director of CISS, asserted

that occupying states like India and Israel will not willingly engage in negotiations. He stressed

that international pressure is necessary to bring them to the table. 'Kashmir is not an internal

matter of India,' he said. 'It is an internationally recognized dispute, and Pakistan will continue

to stand with the Kashmiri people in their struggle for freedom.'

Naqvi recalled Pakistan's commitment to providing diplomatic, political, and moral support to

Kashmiris and called on the international community to take concrete action rather than issue

statements.