Maham Khan

ISLAMABAD: At the recent Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Geneva, an Indian representative from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Aparajita Sarangi, claimed that &ldquo;Kashmir is an integral part of India&rdquo; and that &ldquo;the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India was completely legal and irrevocable.&rdquo;&nbsp;A fact-based review of international documents and ground realities shows that this claim does not align with historical, legal, or international facts.&nbsp;1. Kashmir&rsquo;s status is defined by UN as disputedThe United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed resolutions in 1948 and 1949, specifically Resolutions 47 and 51, that recognized Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory. These resolutions called for a free and impartial plebiscite to determine whether the region&rsquo;s people wished to join India or Pakistan.&nbsp;That plebiscite has never been held, and the region&rsquo;s status therefore remains undecided under international law.&nbsp;&ldquo;Kashmir&rsquo;s future must be determined by its people, not by unilateral declarations,&rdquo; Pakistan maintains in its consistent position before international forums.&nbsp;2. World&rsquo;s most militarized regionIf Kashmir were truly an &ldquo;integral part&rdquo; of India, it would not require the presence of hundreds of thousands of troops. Independent global assessments describe Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir as one of the most militarized zones in the world, with a long history of armed resistance and civilian unrest dating back to 1947.&nbsp;3. India&rsquo;s 2019 actions contradict international commitmentsIn August 2019, India revoked Article 370 of its constitution, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special autonomous status. Pakistan and international observers have called this action a violation of UN resolutions and an attempt to alter the region&rsquo;s demographic and political identity.&nbsp;Since then, Pakistan has marked August 5 as &ldquo;Youm-e-Istehsal,&rdquo; or Day of Exploitation, observing it as a reminder of what it calls India&rsquo;s &ldquo;unilateral and illegal actions&rdquo; in the occupied territory.&nbsp;4. Human rights concerns remain documented&nbsp;International human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have reported arbitrary detentions, restrictions on free speech, and limitations on movement in Indian-occupied Kashmir since the revocation of Article 370.&nbsp;Reports by Reuters and AFP indicate ongoing fears of demographic changes and suppression of dissent in the region.&nbsp;5. Global and Kashmiri voices call for self-determinationThe All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and other Kashmiri political groups continue to demand implementation of the UN-mandated plebiscite. In 2025, APHC spokesperson Abdul Rashid Minhas reaffirmed the group&rsquo;s commitment to peaceful self-determination, despite restrictions and detentions.&nbsp;&ldquo;Kashmiris remain steadfast in their demand for the right to decide their own future,&rdquo; Minhas said earlier this year.&nbsp;Prominent Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik, currently imprisoned, has also consistently called for self-determination and an internationally supervised plebiscite.&nbsp;6. International concern over India&rsquo;s stanceDebate over India&rsquo;s 2019 actions has extended to foreign parliaments and academic circles. A 2020 US Congressional discussion raised concerns that India&rsquo;s decision could destabilize South Asia and escalate tensions with Pakistan.&nbsp;The Harvard Law Review (2021) described India&rsquo;s Kashmir policy as resembling &ldquo;settler colonialism,&rdquo; referring to demographic engineering through new domicile laws.&nbsp;Dispute recognized by the worldWhile India insists that Kashmir is an &ldquo;internal matter,&rdquo; the United Nations, international law, and decades of unresolved conflict demonstrate otherwise.&nbsp;Until the promised plebiscite is held and the will of the Kashmiri people is respected, the status of Jammu and Kashmir will remain disputed, not integral to India.&nbsp;As Pakistan consistently asserts: &ldquo;Kashmir&rsquo;s future lies in the right of its people to self-determination, not in unilateral claims.&rdquo;

Indian army soldiers light earthen lamp on a fence to celebrate Diwali, near the Line of Control in Akhnoor sector, Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. October 16, 2025. (AP)

Fact Check

Kashmir remains a UN-recognized disputed territory despite Indian claims at the IPU Assembly in Geneva. International law and UN resolutions call for a plebiscite to determine the region’s final status through the will of its people.

Fact Check: Why Kashmir can never be an integral part of India?

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;A fresh controversy has erupted in India after veteran Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal shared a poster for his upcoming film &ldquo;The Taj Story,&rdquo; depicting a statue of the Hindu deity Shiva emerging from the dome of the Taj Mahal. The imagery has drawn criticism for distorting historical facts and reviving long-standing claims that challenge the monument&rsquo;s Mughal origins. <div class="fr-embed responsive-video"><div class="video-wrapper aspect-video"><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPLxLkdAY9q/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=405&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com&rp=%2Farticles%2Fnew#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A15904377%2C%22ls%22%3A1031.3999999910593%2C%22le%22%3A1550.8999999910593%7D" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width: 100%; height: 100%; min-height: 0px;" height="2341">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> Rawal faced heavy criticism from social media users who called the imagery misleading and disrespectful. Following the backlash, he released a clarification on behalf of the production team. The statement said the film was not religious in nature and did not claim that the Taj Mahal was built on the site of a temple.<div class="fr-embed responsive-video"><div class="video-wrapper aspect-video"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1972688338965475601&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=332393a6d63ee5cb56b26a76962333a0f8dbe11b&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="width: 550px; height: 729px; min-height: 0px; position: static; visibility: visible;">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div></div>British historian William Dale Rumpel also weighed in, dismissing the claims that the Taj Mahal replaced a Shiva temple as &ldquo;ridiculous and malicious nonsense.&rdquo; The Taj Mahal, built in the 17th century by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, has repeatedly been the subject of political and historical disputes in India. Critics say the disputes are fueled by attempts to rewrite history. The controversy traces back to a 1989 book by a self-proclaimed historian who argued that the Taj Mahal site once hosted a Hindu temple. The claims have since resurfaced periodically, with some Indian political figures demanding investigations into the monument&rsquo;s origins. In 2022, petitioner Rajneesh Singh asked the High Court to open 22 locked rooms of the Taj Mahal in search of Hindu idols. That same year, Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Diya Kumari claimed the land on which the Taj Mahal stands belonged to her ancestors. Despite repeated disputes, the monument continues to be recognized globally as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most famous symbols of love.

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 A new controversy has emerged in India surrounding the Taj Mahal after senior Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal shared a poster for his upcoming film “The Taj Story,” which depicted a statue of the Hindu deity Shiva emerging from the dome of the monument.

Articles tagged with "Taj Mahal"

Fact Check: Why Kashmir can never be an integral part of India?

Indian actor Paresh Rawal sparks controversy over Taj Mahal origins

Fact Check: Why Kashmir can never be an integral part of India?