Syeda Humira Hameed, Asma Abrar, and Ayman Abbasi declared top position holders in a fifth edition of the Inter-University English Debate Competition, jointly organized by the University of Azad Jammu Kashmir (UAJK) and the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Commission in Muzaffarabad City.
Professor Dr Syed Nadeem Haider Bukhari, Dr Shahida Khalique, and Dr Ayesha Rahman joined the event as judges. Liberation Commission Director Raja Muhammad Aslam Khan, and UAJK Students Affairs Director Dr Sharjeel Saeed shared background and significance of the competition.
Addressing the event, Kashmir Policy Research Institute (KPRI) Director Dr Raja Muhammad Sajjad Khan emphasized significance of educating students about the Kashmir issue and providing them with a platform to articulate their views. He elucidated on the legal status of the Kashmir issue, and urged students to choose their words wisely when discussing the Jammu Kashmir issue.
KPRI Director Dr Raja Sajjad Khan urges students to choose their words wisely when discussing Kashmir issue
Pakistan and India went to war over Jammu Kashmir State in 1947. During the war, India took the issue to the United Nations in January 1948. The UN helped enforce ceasefire between the two neighboring countries in 1949. After hearing arguments, the Security Council instructed the UN Commission to go to the subcontinent and help the governments on both sides to restore peace and order, and prepare for a plebiscite to decide fate of the disputed state.
Speaking at the inter-university debate competition, University of Azad Jammu Kashmir Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Kaleem Abbasi highlighted India’s employment of tactics akin to those of Israel to alter demographic composition of Muslim-majority areas. He emphasized the grave implications of India’s actions, labeling them as violations of global law and an assault on the right to self-determination.
He stressed the parallels between India and Israel’s attempts to manipulate population ratios in disputed territories to sway outcome of the future plebiscites. He underscored the competition’s role in raising awareness among the young people about the Kashmir issue, emphasizing the importance of understanding the issue from its true perspective.
He condemned what he termed as water terrorism, accusing India of exploiting vital resources to further its agenda in the South Asian region. He asserted that India’s efforts to alter demographics and control water sources reveal its reprehensible ambitions and disregard for the rights of Kashmiris.
