Zahid Hussain
For more than seven decades, the people of Kashmir have endured a reality shaped by one of the world’s most prolonged occupations. The violence is well documented: heavy troop deployments, arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances. International human-rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have repeatedly highlighted India’s use of excessive force, denial of due process, and impunity granted to its forces. Even the United Nations, in its 2018 and 2019 reports, confirmed “serious human-rights violations” in Indian-administered Kashmir and called for independent investigations.
Yet, as the years pass, India’s strategy has grown more cunning. The brutality of bullets and curfews is now paired with the more insidious weapons of narrative warfare. The occupation no longer seeks control merely over land; it aims to control minds and global perceptions. India has invested heavily in framing the Kashmiri struggle as “terrorism,” in order to justify its illegal occupation under the guise of counterterrorism. This policy of deception masks war crimes behind the rhetoric of security and development.
One striking element of this propaganda machine is India’s grooming of pawn figures — individuals presented as neutral civil society activists or NGO leaders, but in reality, serving as hired mouthpieces for the occupier’s agenda. A prime example is Taslima Akhter(Chairperson “Association of Terror Victims from Kashmir” ATVK) .
Akhter appears on the international stage as the head of a so-called NGO, claiming to speak for conflict-affected communities. On the surface, her work seems humanitarian. But beneath this veneer lies a cowardly betrayal of her homeland. Her presence at international forums — including sessions in Geneva — is less about relief work and more about amplifying India’s doctored narratives. India parades such “faces” to project an illusion of Kashmiri voices endorsing its claims. In truth, these individuals are handpicked, groomed, and financed to defend the indefensible: occupation, militarization, and systemic abuse.
This is not accidental. It is the continuation of a long-standing policy rooted in deception. From false-flag operations such as the infamous Chattisinghpora massacre of 2000 to manipulated “encounter killings,” India has repeatedly used staged events to demonize Kashmiri resistance. Now, the same deceit has shifted to the diplomatic arena, where individuals like Taslima Akhter are used as tools to mislead global opinion.
The tragedy is twofold. On the one hand, we see India becoming increasingly brazen in its Chankiyan tactics: tightening its grip on the Jammu & Kashmir while refining its propaganda abroad. On the other hand, there is a disturbing growth of silence and complacency within Kashmir itself. Some individuals, out of greed or survival instinct, dine at the occupier’s table, feeding on scraps in return for loyalty. Others choose to remain passive observers, numbing themselves to daily injustice for the sake of personal safety. And still others have forgotten the legacy of sacrifice that once defined Kashmiri resistance, surrendering to a psychology of mere survival.
This erosion of collective resolve is exactly what India desires. By weaponizing poverty, fear, and opportunism, it creates internal fractures that make the dream of freedom appear distant. But history teaches us otherwise. Every occupier that sought permanence eventually collapsed under the weight of truth and resilience. Kashmir’s struggle — rooted in the right to self-determination promised under international law — cannot be erased by propaganda, nor silenced by cowardly collaborators.
Today, Kashmir faces a defining choice. Either sink deeper into apathy and let the occupier’s narrative harden into accepted “reality,” or revive the spirit of resistance that once shook the foundations of illegal rule. The world must see through India’s staged theatrics — whether they come in the form of false-flag massacres or hired NGO voices like Taslima Akhter. It is the duty of media, civil society, and international institutions to demand truth, not manufactured testimony.
The conscience of the world cannot afford to be bought, sold, or silenced. And neither can the conscience of Kashmir.
