Busting several myths concerning the history of Jammu and Kashmir, London-based Kashmiri leader Shabir Choudhry has said that certain people who claim to represent the region, are unaware of the "issue of Kashmir", and linked all problems of the region to the Tribal invasion of October 22, 1947.
He made these remarks during an interview on the social media platform on the recent anniversary of the attack launched by Pakistan which resulted in the killingof thousands of innocent people.
The tribal invasion, known as Operation Gulmarg, is considered a major event in the modern history of Jammu and Kashmir as it changed the course of the region's history.
The intervening night of October 21-22, 1947, is considered the darkest day in the history of J-K which left a grim mark on the fate of Kashmir. During the interview, Choudhry recalled how the tribal invasion was an unprovoked and a unilateral violation of the Standstill Agreement breached by Pakistan.
"Unfortunately, the leaders who are sent abroad to represent the issue of Kashmir to the international community, they themselves don't know the issue of Kashmir. The majority of the leadership of the J-K don't know the issue of Kashmir," said Choudhry, who is president of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United Kashmir People's National Party.
"First myth is that J-K should have been part of Pakistan due to the region's Muslim majority. This logic isn't true. This is 100 per cent wrong... The second myth is the people of the region had started an uprising against Maharaja Hari Singh," he said.
Referring to the book titled 'Raiders in Kashmir', written by Pakistan Major General (retired) Akbar Khan, Choudhry revealed how Islamabad had planned an "armed revolt inside Kashmir."
"If the region will go to India instead of Pakistan then Pakistan would be permanently exposed to the threat of such magnitude that their independence would never be a reality," Choudhry said citing the excerpts from the Akbar Khan's book.
He said, "Pakistan General (retired) wrote in his book that Kashmir's accession is not a matter of desirability but an absolute necessity of our separate existence."
He added that the Tribal invasion was done for the sake of Pakistan's security concerns and not for the sake of the Kashmiri people. "There is tonnes of evidence of involvement of Pakistani government." The Pakistani attack named the Tribal invasion is the root cause of all problems in Kashmir, he said.
"Lives of tens of thousands of people could have been spared," Choudhry said.
The expert argued that "Pakistan had singular imperialist agenda on Kashmir". "They did a great deal of injustice to us which has continued till this date," Choudhry added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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