About Us

The region of Jammu and Kashmir is facing a devastating occupation and humanitarian crisis, which is largely overlooked in media and international affairs. The World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKA) is a nonprofit advocacy organization on a mission to change that.

Founded in 2005, the WKA is an Ohio-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on providing information on Kashmir and advocating for Kashmiris in the region and throughout the diaspora. The WKA engages in advocacy efforts with diplomatic, civic, religious, human rights, political and advocacy organizations, including the United Nations, the UN Human Rights Council, Amnesty International and more to confront the human rights abuses perpetrated in Kashmir and support the region’s right to peace and self-determination.

Our Mission

The World Kashmir Awareness Forum strives to increase awareness of the human rights violations being perpetrated in the region of Kashmir, with the goal of bringing about change, improving conditions on the ground, and ultimately ending the misery and hardships faced by the Kashmiri people.

Our Leadership

Ghulam N. Mir

MD; FACG: President.

Dr. Ghulam Nabi Mir is an Akron, OH based Gastroenterologist and President of the World Kashmir Awareness Forum, an Ohio-based 501(c)(3) organization focused on providing information on Kashmir and advocating for Kashmiris in the region and throughout the diaspora. Born and raised in Kashmir, Dr. Mir’s activism began at age 16, as the organizer of the Sopore chapter of the Kashmiri Students and Youth League.

Since then, and after immigrating to the United States in 1974, Dr. Mir has held numerous prominent positions in the nonprofit and advocacy realm. These include Founding Chairman of the Founders Committee for the Islamic Society of North America, Founding Co-Chair of the Northeast Ohio Jewish-Muslim Dialogue alongside Temple Israel, and Secretary General and President of the London-based World Kashmir Freedom Movement.

During his medical career, Dr. Mir served as the Chief of Gastroenterology, Chief of Medicine, Chief of Staff, member of the board of trustees, and co-chairman of the physician leadership group at Barberton Citizens Hospital in northeastern Ohio. Dr. Mir retired from medical practice in 2019 to work for the Kashmir cause full time. The majority of his extended family continues to reside in Kashmir, but due to his outspoken activism, Indian authorities have prevented him from returning to the region for over 30 years.

Board Members

Syed Fai

Secretary General

Mohammad Dar

Treasurer

Abdul Mir

Member

Khalid Qazi, MD, MACP

Member

Imtiaz A. Khan, PhD

Member

Our History

The World Kashmir Awareness Forum was founded in 2005 by decades-long activists to raise international awareness of the ongoing occupation and human rights violations in Kashmir. WKA members are American citizens – however they have many friends and family members who remain in the region, and experience first-hand brutal conditions.

Approximately 4,000 members of the Kashmiri diaspora live in the United States, with a global diaspora of approximately one million people. Many Kashmiri activists abroad are unable to return due to punitive restrictions imposed by the Indian government. Many more in the diaspora live with the threat of travel restrictions, forcing them to remain silent.

In collaboration with other U.S.-based Kashmiri diaspora organizations, such as Friends of Kashmir, Kashmir Mission USA, and the Kashmir American Welfare Association, WKA has a broad mandate of awareness-raising and advocacy through numerous channels and organizations spanning the diplomatic, civic, religious, human rights and political sectors in the U.S. and internationally.

WKA engages in advocacy efforts with major organizations such as the United Nations Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, Asia Watch, Physicians For Human Rights, Doctors Without Borders, Association of Parents With Disappeared Persons in Kashmir, Jammu & Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies and more. World Kashmir Awareness Forum is funded entirely by individual donations from U.S. citizens and is not affiliated with any government or any governmental organizations in the U.S. or abroad.