Six Years On: Why the International Community Must Break Its Silence on Kashmir.

Six Years On: Why the International Community Must Break Its Silence on Kashmir.

Resident Editor Peak Point: Sidra Sadozai.

The people of Jammu and Kashmir still endure fear, alienation, and repression as August 5, 2025, marks six years since the Indian government repealed Article 370. What was initially portrayed as a step toward integration and development has instead turned into a persistent campaign of dispossession, militarization, and control. It is not only disheartening, but also dangerous for the international community to remain silent in the face of such obvious injustice.

The region of Kashmir is still under dispute. There is still a significant military presence there. And it’s still kept quiet, diplomatically, digitally, and politically. How long can the suffering of a whole population be disregarded on the grounds of strategic interests? This is a question that the international community, in particular democratic countries and multilateral organizations, must consider.
An Unfulfilled Promise to the People of Kashmir
The constitutional link between Kashmir and the Indian Union was severed in 2019 when India unilaterally revoked Article 370. As stipulated in the 1947 accession terms, this article had given the area a certain amount of autonomy. Its removal represented a significant shift in the political standing of a region that was acknowledged as disputed internationally, not merely an internal constitutional issue.

There was no consultation with Kashmiris. Their voices were drowned in a sea of nationalist propaganda, their streets were overrun with troops, their leaders were imprisoned, and their internet was shut down. Instead of progress, what transpired was the destruction of democratic norms, trust, and fundamental human rights.

Six Years of Suppression, Surveillance, and Silence
Kashmir has witnessed since 2019:

Unprecedented militarization, placing it among the world’s most heavily fortified areas.

persistent detentions of journalists, activists, students, and political figures—often in accordance with harsh legislation such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Public Safety Act (PSA).

press restrictions that label even factual reporting as “anti-national.”

Large-scale land seizures, new domicile regulations, and modifications to local government are all intended to disempower the populace and change the demographics.

economic suffocation, with significant harm to trade, tourism, and education.

digital repression, such as frequent internet outages that are employed as a political control mechanism.
The human cost is enormous. Futures are ruined, livelihoods are lost, and families are split up. Nevertheless, the international community mostly keeps quiet about the problem, making vague remarks at best or ignoring it completely.

Why It’s Time for the World to Talk
Moral Obligation
The values of justice, self-determination, and human rights must be respected by the international community, particularly by democratic countries. It is the height of hypocrisy to ignore Kashmir while advocating for democracy elsewhere. The world becomes complicit when silence is maintained in the face of repression.
International Law Violation
Kashmir is not an internal issue. The right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination has been upheld in numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions, making it a recognized international dispute. Both international humanitarian law and these resolutions are broken by India’s unilateral actions.

Worldwide Precedent
What stops other states from using military force and legal wrangling to alter the status of a disputed territory if one state can get away with it? A risky precedent for international order is established by the Kashmir case.

Crisis of Human Rights
International attention is required to address ongoing abuses, such as enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, and the suppression of civil liberties. The world cannot claim to uphold human rights while disregarding one of the oldest professions.
Strategic Quietness Is Not Neutral
Global powers’ hesitancy to voice their opinions on Kashmir is mostly due to strategic and financial considerations. Many nations are wary of India because of its sizable market, diplomatic clout, and function as a check on China. However, this calculated silence is complicity, not neutrality.

The international community is sending a dangerous message by not criticizing India’s actions in Kashmir: that human rights are negotiable and that Kashmiris’ lives and freedoms are worthless in the name of realpolitik.
They’re Silencing Voices from the Ground
The increasing sense of desertion among Kashmiris is arguably the most tragic effect of this worldwide inaction. Around the world, their voices are disregarded and censored locally. International human rights organizations are denied access, and peaceful protest is criminalized. The press is suppressed, civil society is under siege, and young people feel deceived.

An entire population is left to fight alone against the full power of a state apparatus that is determined to eradicate their identity and stifle their dreams in the absence of international solidarity.
It’s Time for a Worldwide Moral Reconciliation
The international community’s frequent, ambiguous declarations of “concern” or “monitoring the situation” are no longer sufficient. Now is the moment to take action:

To evaluate the state of human rights, demand access from other countries.

Reaffirm your support for the UN resolutions that guarantee the Kashmiri people the right to self-determination.

Hold India responsible for its transgressions of international law in international fora.

Encourage independent journalism and civil society in and around Kashmir.

To put an end to repression and reinstate democratic freedoms, exert economic and diplomatic pressure.
Conclusion: Restoring the Promise, Breaking the Silence
For any people, six years is a long period of silence, fear, and occupation. Millions of people are suffering more as a result of the world’s inaction on the Kashmir crisis, which has strengthened authoritarianism. This silence is unfair, not neutral.

Now is the moment to end that silence. For principle, not politics or power. The people of Kashmir are entitled to freedom, justice, and dignity. The world, not just India, has promised them things that they deserve.
We cannot ignore Kashmir if we support democracy, human rights, and a just international order. Not six years later. Never again.