Kashmiri religious and political leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq held a significant diplomatic meeting with senior Iranian officials on the sidelines of the recent BRICS summit, marking another chapter in the Kashmir issue's engagement with international actors.
Mirwaiz, who heads the all-party Hurriyat Conference's moderate faction, met with Iranian delegation members to discuss the ongoing political and humanitarian situation in the Indian-administered part of Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting took place during the margins of the BRICS gathering, which brought together leaders from across the Global South.
In addition to the face-to-face discussions, Mirwaiz reportedly wrote a detailed letter to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, outlining the developments in Kashmir since August 2019 — when India revoked Article 370 and stripped the region of its special autonomous status — and appealing for Iran's continued attention to the Kashmir dispute on international platforms.
Iran has historically maintained a vocal stance on Kashmir, with successive governments describing the situation as a legitimate issue of self-determination. Tehran has consistently called for a peaceful resolution to the longstanding territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed neighbours.
Kashmir experts note that Mirwaiz's outreach to Iran reflects a broader strategy by Kashmiri leadership to internationalise the issue through multilateral forums, especially as India continues to position itself as a leading voice of the Global South through platforms like BRICS and the G20.
New Delhi has historically opposed any internationalisation of the Kashmir issue, calling it a bilateral matter and strongly criticising attempts to bring it before foreign bodies or leaders.
The Mirwaiz's visit to the BRICS summit comes at a time when Kashmir remains under tight administrative control following the revocation of its special status, with heavy security deployment and restricted movement characterising daily life in the valley.
