Washington, DC – In recent weeks, there has been a sudden increase in terrorist incidents in the North Indian region of Jammu & Kashmir. Nine terrorist attacks have occurred since PM Modi took office in June of this year, killing 22 and injuring nearly 50. The most recent attack was on the Indian military in Doda district, which killed four soldiers. These incidents occur as India prepares for the September Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. India is convinced that the Pakistani military is responsible for these attacks.
Javed Beigh, an activist and business owner from Budgam, Kashmir, claims that the enemies of peace do not want to see normalcy restored to his pristine Himalayan state. Businesses and tourism have thrived in recent years thanks to the government’s renewed efforts, and as a result, most locals now prefer India to Pakistan. Furthermore, PM Modi’s popularity and credibility are also growing as infrastructure improves rapidly.
Beigh stated that as peace has returned after four decades, Shias, who make up nearly one-fourth of Kashmir’s population, now have the freedom to hold Muharram processions, which has increased their respect and confidence in the current government. This progress is a beacon of hope for the region. With improved peace and economic growth, tens of thousands of people in the Gilgit and Muzaffarabad divisions of the POJK, which are still under Pakistani occupation, desire to return to India to ensure their children’s future.
Professor Sajjad Raja, Chairperson of Kashmir’s Equality Party, believes that if POJK rejoins India, China will suffer the most because it will lose direct access to the Indian Ocean through Gilgit. China is also upset that the United States and India have joined forces to promote freedom in Tibet and East Turkestan. As history has shown, mayhem in Jammu and Kashmir helps China divert India’s attention away from Tibet and East Turkestan.
Turkey and Azerbaijan, like China, have stepped up their rhetoric in support of Pakistan over Kashmir. Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev paid a visit to Islamabad last week and expressed his support for Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir. He told a crowd in Islamabad that the Azeris celebrated their victory over Armenia in 2020 by waving Pakistani flags alongside Turkish and Azeri flags. President Aliyev reiterated that both countries cooperate on all international issues.
The strengthening of relations between Turkey and Beijing, albeit at the expense of Turkic-Uyghurs’ well-being, benefits Pakistan, which regards both countries as long-term military allies. In recent years, Turkey has become a popular destination for Kashmiri dissidents who oppose India. In 2023, Turkish President Erdoğan raised the Kashmir issue in the United Nations General Assembly, accusing India of violating local freedoms. The Turkish Prime Minister’s speech demonstrates that he is attempting to strengthen Turkey’s influence among India’s Muslims while also challenging India’s sovereignty over Jammu Kashmir.
Turkey, like China and Pakistan, opposes the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). Erdogan believes a corridor bypassing Turkey would jeopardize their commercial and strategic interests. Given the high stakes, China and Turkey cannot be ruled out as direct beneficiaries of the ongoing unrest in Kashmir.
The rapid expansion of China’s collusion with Muslim countries is forcing American policymakers to focus on China’s threats to the free world.
In one of his first interviews after being nominated as Donald Trump’s vice president, Senator J.D. Vance described China as America’s most serious threat. Vance wants President Trump to negotiate with Moscow and Kyiv to quickly resolve the Ukraine dispute so that attention can be refocused on the real issue, China.
Senator Vance’s attacks on China are not unprecedented. Previously, he proposed legislation to limit Chinese access to US financial markets and eliminate communist influence in American educational institutions. Vance, like President Trump, supports imposing high tariffs and restrictions on Chinese goods and investments, as well as penalizing Chinese imports made with slave labor from Tibet and East Turkestan.
As the world’s oldest and largest democracies work to counter China, Pakistan, Turkey, and the Muslim Brotherhood’s mission to hijack freedoms, there is hope that such efforts will assist in putting an end to authoritarianism and manipulation of global markets and shipping routes.
Senge Sering
Senge Sering is a native of Pakistan-occupied-Gilgit-Baltistan and runs the Washington DC based Gilgit Baltistan Studies
