KASHMIRIS are not alone. Both the civilian and military leadership once again abundantly made it clear on Tuesday in their response to the Indian dictatorial legislation that did away with the special status of occupied Kashmir.
Regardless of their bitter differences, political parties, both ruling and the opposition, at the joint session of Parliament represented aspirations of the whole nation by giving the message of unity on Kashmir dispute. Especially Prime Minister Imran Khan very emphatically exposed before the world the extremist and terrorist mindset of the Indian ruling elite and resolved to approach world forums including the UN Security Council and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to plead the case of Kashmir, which in fact has been turned into the world’s biggest prison, by the Indian forces by imposing restrictions of all sorts including on the movement of the people. Opposition Leader Shahbaz Sharif also made a hard hitting speech in support of oppressed Kashmiri people and said the opposition stands with the government in its decisions on Kashmir. Indeed it is no time of doing politics or brow beating and humiliating others but standing firm in support of Kashmiri people. The political parties need to demonstrate greater maturity at this point in time whilst rising above their petty political interests to really deliver a very strong message to the world community proving truly that Kashmir runs in the blood of every Pakistani.
It is the defence forces of Pakistan which have never disappointed the nation and also on Tuesday, the message in the strongest term regarding Kashmir came from Pakistan Army. The Corps Commanders meeting said Pakistan Army stands firmly by Kashmiri people and it is prepared and shall go to any extent to fulfil its obligations to the Kashmiri people. These very remarks certainly are the voice of entire Pakistani nation that is ready to sacrifice anything/everything for their Kashmiri brethren. These remarks also recognize the very love and affection of Kashmiri people towards Pakistan. Against all odds and Indian tyranny, they have been hoisting Pakistani flags in every nook and corner of occupied Kashmir and preferring to be buried clad in Pakistani flag. This is something that India needs to realize that it is not the territory but the people that really matter and the truth is that the people of Kashmir want accession to Pakistan.
Pursuing the right course, Prime Minister Imran Khan has also constituted a seven-member Committee to make recommendations to formulate Islamabad’s legal, political and diplomatic response to the change in the status of occupied Kashmir. Indeed our response both on the diplomatic and legal fronts should be robust and given the composition of the Committee, we are confident that a well thought out strategy will be formulated to effectively plead the case of Kashmiri people at the world forums. We understand that inputs on this strategy should also be taken from the opposition parties either through Parliament or by convening an all party conference in order to keep intact the message of unity on Kashmir dispute. It is time that we speed up contact with all the friendly countries and important capitals to apprise them about the dangers of the Indian unilateral and dictatorial moves vis-à-vis the disputed territory. China has always proved to be a true friend of Pakistan and it also came up with a statement on Tuesday declaring the Indian revocation of special status of Kashmir as unacceptable and urged India to be cautious on border issues. Our Foreign Minister should immediately undertake a visit to Beijing in order to discuss the possibilities of moving a resolution in the UNSC on India’s move that contravenes the UN’s own resolutions. Then we can also approach other permanent members in order to garner their support. It will be test for these permanent members whether they stand with the oppressed or the oppressor. Situation is boiling up in occupied Kashmir and the important capitals and the UN have a special role to play to fulfil the promises made with the Kashmiri people decades ago. Allowing the situation spinning out of control would be disastrous for the whole region given the fact that both Pakistan and India possess nuclear weapons. Turning back to Kashmiris is no longer an option.
