The world has stood shamefully silent over the atrocities being committed in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) for more than seven decades.

Just like in previous years, this Kashmir Solidarity Day witnessed speeches, rallies, and resolutions. But none of these could change the reality on the ground for the people of IIOJK. The oppression continues and the brutality persists.

Both Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir spent the day in Azad Kashmir, reinforcing the theme of solidarity and carrying a strong emotional appeal. They reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to the Kashmir cause and highlighted the resistance, struggles, and sacrifices of people living on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC).

“Every inch of Kashmir’s land belongs to Kashmiris,” the premier said during his address to the Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. In the same breath, he asserted Pakistan’s longstanding policy of diplomatic, moral, and political support for Kashmiris.

Although both civil and military leaders stressed the need to resolve the Kashmir dispute through dialogue in line with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people and in accordance with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, their language differed. The premier focused more on diplomatic efforts and international interventions, while the army chief used a mix of diplomatic and combative tones.

Global leaders who can actually help end the injustices kept their silence, as they have often avoided taking sides by conveniently giving an excuse that it is a bilateral issue.

But let’s be clear. It is not just a territorial dispute. It is about the right of an entire population to live freely, to determine their own future, and to escape from the clutches of an occupying force that has turned the valley into an open-air prison. Since August 5, 2019, the situation has worsened beyond imagination. It is convenient for global leaders to look the other way while thousands of Kashmiris are killed or imprisoned without trial, but that only exposes their hypocrisy.

The communication blackouts imposed to silence dissent, the demographic changes being orchestrated to erase the region’s Muslim identity, the reported enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and sexual violence by Indian forces are apparently not enough to wake international human rights organizations and world powers from their slumber.

The same nations that champion human rights and democracy are unwilling to hold India accountable for its actions in IIOJK. The same voices that rallied behind Ukraine against Russia fall silent when it comes to Kashmiris facing Indian occupation. This is selective outrage. It only exposes the uncomfortable truth that economic interests and geopolitical alliances matter more than human lives.

It is high time for world powers to realize that Kashmir is neither an internal matter of India nor merely a border dispute between two nuclear-armed states. It is a test of the world’s conscience. And so far, the world has failed miserably.

As we observe yet another Kashmir Solidarity Day, let it not be just another ritual. The people of Kashmir have not given up, and neither should we. Pakistan must push harder on the diplomatic fronts to get the issue resolved.