The Srebrenica Massacre was one of the worst atrocities on European soil since the end of Second World War. More than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men were killed by Serb forces as the world remained silent over the atrocities.
Apart from deep-rooted prejudices and cultural hatred, one of the biggest reason for the genocide was the indifference of the United Nations. Srebrenica, a small town in Bosnia, had already been declared under UN protection but the peacekeepers were unable to prevent the violence.
The week marks 25 years since the beginning of the Srebrenica Massacre. The painful search for many of the victims buried in mass graves continues even today. A war tribunal was eventually set up but the state of Yugoslavia collapsed and split into smaller countries still bitter against each other and struggling to move beyond.
Pakistan has expressed concern over a similar situation arising in Indian-occupied Kashmir and a massacre akin to Srebrenica may occur there. The restive region has been besieged by Indian forces who have inflicting atrocities and committing grave human rights violations while the global community looks away.
Expressing his concern, Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned of a Srebrenica-like massacre in occupied Kashmir and urged the international community to take action and prevent a likely genocide. More than 800,000 troops have besieged the eight million of Kashmir; the prime minister has warned of a looming crisis in the region.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi expressed similar concerns and said the situation between occupied Kashmir and Srebrenica is “chillingly similar”. He said that we must not let history repeat itself and not allow such brutal atrocities to ever happen again.
The international community has remained oblivious to the plight of Kashmiris, Palestinians, and Indian Muslims similar to the Bosnian Muslims in 1995. This resulted in the ethnic cleansing of over 200,000 people termed as genocide by the war crimes tribunal. Occupied Kashmir has all the hallmarks of the Srebrenica-like massacre and yet no one has raised a voice against Indian atrocities.
There may be peace in Bosnia today but the scars of the genocide are vividly present, while Kashmir is still under occupation. We must raise our voice or else there will be bloodbath in occupied Kashmir.
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