By Maha Tanveer

Pakistanis have been observing Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5th every year since 1990 and this year it has been celebrated by the Pakistani youth at George Mason University (GMU) for the first time.
GMU’s Pakistani Student Association (PSA) hosted a political panel discussion titled “India-Pakistan Relations: Resolving the Deadlock Over Kashmir” on Sat., Feb. 5 at 7 pm in the Student Union Building Ballroom. Renowned speakers from the Pakistani Embassy were invited to speak including Dr.Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director of the Kashmiri American Council, Peter Gitmark, parliament member of Norway, Victoria Schofield, author and South Asia Analyst, Mirwaiz Mohammad Umar Farooq, Chairman of the Awami Action Committee (AAC), and Ali Khan, Executive Director of the Kashmiri Scandinavian Council (KSC). Youth speakers including Mujtaba Wani, Insha Khan and Ehtisham Kayani also expressed their views about the issue.

The event was commenced with PSA’s Vice President, Usman Chaudhri, speaking about the background of Kashmir and introducing the GMU PSA cabinet. PSA’s President, Israr Mirza, led the role of the moderator for the event and elegantly transitioned through the various speakers. The panel discussion featured talks that served as eye openers for the attendees that weren’t familiar with the topic and the passion of the strong proponents to resolve the Kashmir territorial dispute showed the seriousness of the matter amongst the audience. A recurring message said by Dr. Fai was that the Kashmir issue is not a fight between Hindus or Muslims or between secularism or theocracy but it consists of the aspirations and desires of the 6 million inhabitants of the state. Other speakers such as Dagfinn Hoybraten stressed the same message and said that we all care about we are sisters and brothers and most importantly human beings.
Going along with the same theme, Mirwaiz Mohammad Umar Farooq highlighted that the people’s aspirations cannot be ignored and no matter what state it is over the world whether Kashmir or Palestine, the end result relies on the will of its people. No power can be used to suppress the voice of the people. GMU PSA’s President Israr Mirza said, “The issue of Kashmir should be a concern for everyone including the youth as the youngsters today are the ones that will be involved in the future change. For this reason, the PSA felt the need to step up to host such an important event.”
Since democracy and human rights fail to be restored in the state, Kashmiris still suffer torture, property damage, and violence. GMU PSA treats this as a serious issue and encourages all especially the youth to educate themselves more about this issue. For future events, visit www.gmupsa.com or simply add ‘GMU PSA’ on facebook.