Muhammad Hanif
JAMMU and Kashmir is a UNSC recognized dispute between Pakistan and India. In 1948, the UNSC had intervened to stop the first war over Kashmir between India and Pakistan, and according to its Resolution 47, adopted on 21 April 1948, the UNSC had asked for the cease fire, and decided that the accession of the state to Pakistan or India will be done through a free and impartial plebiscite, agreed by both, Pakistan and India. The UNSC also formed a United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) and asked it to visit the subcontinent and to mediate and facilitate both the countries to hold a plebiscite. Subsequently, India foiled all the UNSC and UNCIP efforts to hold the plebiscite in the Muslim majority Jammu and Kashmir on one pretext or the other. Since 1989, the people of India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoK) have launched their peaceful freedom struggle and India has deployed above 700,000 security troops to crush that struggle. And, since 1989, the Indian security forces have committed rampant HR violations in the IoK with total impunity, which have been amply highlighted by the international media.
On 5 August 2019, the Modi-led BJP government of India, took extreme punitive actions to subdue the freedom struggle in the IoK. It abrogated Articles 35-A and 370 of India’s constitution, took away the autonomy of the state, divided it into two union territories, named as Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, and allowed the Indian Hindus to settle in Jammu and Kashmir state. In other words, through its unilateral actions based on a parliamentary resolution, India has tried to convert a UNSC declared disputed territory into its integral part, although India’s parliamentary resolution cannot supersede UNSC resolutions on Kashmir. To preempt Kashmiris’ reaction, while India has increased its security forces number from 700,000 to above 1100,000, it has also clamped lockdown/curfew in the Kashmir valley, blocked the internet and telephone services in Kashmir, and have also apprehended/ jailed all the Kashmiri leaders/youth and the Indian forces are busy in carrying out genocide in the Kashmir valley, under fake encounters. These inhuman restrictions and genocide still prevail in Kashmir even after the passage of a full one year.
On Pakistan’s request, although the Kashmir issue was discussed at the UNSC, it could not adopt a resolution to make India reverse its 5 Aug 2019 actions in Kashmir. However, the veto power members of the UNSC, individually asked India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir dispute through a bilateral dialogue. While China, Turkey and Malaysia strongly supported Pakistan’s position on Kashmir, the world powers have not pressurised India to lift the lock down and end the genocide in the IoK. India’s 5 Aug 2019 actions in the IoK, of abrogating Articles 35-A and 370 and making it a union territory, have violated the UNSC resolutions, Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration. Modi government has also violated India’s own Constitution, by abrogating Articles 35-A and 370,without taking the consent of the people of the IoK. This has not only further alienated the 80 per cent Muslim population that supports the freedom struggle, it has also alienated the leaders of pro-India political parties in the IoK, especially Farooq Adullah and Omar Abdullah of NC and Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP, all former Chief Ministers.
The NC and PDP had allowed the temporary accession of the state with India in 1950s/60s (till the Kashmir dispute was resolved through a plebiscite as per UNSC resolutions), based on the guaranteed autonomy for the state and that no outsiders could become the citizens of the IoK, as provided by Article 35-A and 370 of the Indian constitution. Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have already declared that without the reversion of 5 August 2019 actions by the Modi government, they will not participate in any political activity in the state. The Modi government seems to be failing in integrating the IoK with India through its 5 Aug 2019 actions, which is evident from the fact that despite India’s genocide in the IoK, that was started on 5 Aug 2019, even after the passage of one year, the people of the IoK are much more determined to carry on with their freedom struggle. This is clear from their daily protests/encounters with the Indian security forces, despite the prevalence of the lockdown, and the Indian brutalities.
However, while India will continue with its genocide to crush the freedom struggle in Kashmir, it will also use its non permanent membership of the UNSC in 2021/22, and exploit its strategic relations with the US, UK, France, Germany and Russia to consolidate its 5 Aug 2019 position on Kashmir. It will also settle the Hindus in the IoK, to change its demography in its favour. This is to cater for an eventuality that if the UNSC ever becomes serious to hold a plebiscite, then India should win in the Ladakh state as well as in Jammu and Kashmir state. In view of the above, to foil the above mentioned Indian designs in the IoK, Pakistan’s Kashmir policy should focus on the following. Whereas Pakistan should use all means to expose India’s HR violations and genocide in Kashmir, the Prime Minister Imran Khan should also develop personal rapport with the leaders of the US, UK, France Germany and Russia to bring their pressure on India, through a fresh UNSC resolution, asking India to reverse its 5 Aug 2019 actions and resolve the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan as per the UNSC resolutions.
In this context, Pakistan should also ask the OIC, and especially Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the UAE exert pressure on India to reverse its 5 Aug 2019 actions in Kashmir, remove the restrictions there, end the Kashmiris’ genocide and resolve the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan on a priority basis. Pakistan should also continue to provide political, moral and diplomatic support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their freedom struggle. In this context, Pakistan should suggest to the Hurriyat leadership to also include the NC, PDP and other party leaders in their freedom struggle, as they are currently estranged with India and the alienation of all the Kashmiris from India will ensure an early and sure success of their freedom struggle.
—The writer is an ex-Army Colonel and Senior Research Fellow, Strategic Vision Institute, Islamabad.
