India trying to hoodwink the world
REPORTEDLY India is going to host G-20 meeting in IIOJ&K. The Indian move has invoked sharp reaction by Pakistan. While condemning the Indian decision it has dubbed the move as irresponsible and rightly so. China has also objected to it urging India to avoid politicizing the issue. However, India dismissing the Pakistani objection maintained that IIOJ&K was an inalienable and integral part of India, so it was natural to hold the meeting on its own territory. The position taken by Pakistan on the issue derives legitimacy from UN resolutions that recognize Kashmir as a disputed territory and have made it obligatory to resolve the issue through a plebiscite under the auspices of the world body, the implementation of which is still awaited. The Indian claim of IIOJ&K being its integral part, therefore, has no moral or legal basis and is nothing but a travesty of the ground realities.
In the wake of UN Resolutions, Nehru is on record to have assured his Pakistani counterpart repeatedly to resolve the dispute through a plebiscite and also having unequivocally made statements to this effect in the Indian Parliament. However India reneged on its commitment and tried to have the question of accession resolved through the Constituent Assembly of the occupied Kashmir in 1957. That move was repudiated by the UN through its resolutions 91 and 122, maintaining that the issue could not be settled through any arrangement other than a UN sponsored plebiscite. It is also significant to note that India in spite of declaring IIOJ&K as its integral part granted special status to the state with its own Assembly and Constitution through Articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian Constitution which also prohibited purchase of property in the state by the outsiders. That itself negated the Indian claim of the state being integral part of India.
The Indian Supreme Court in its verdict regarding removing Article 370 from the Indian Constitution held that this Article had attained permanency and could not be revoked. The High Court of IIOJ&K in its decision also ruled out any such possibility. The strongest repudiation of Indian claim is the armed struggle launched by the people of Kashmir since 1989 to throw off the Indian yolk which still continues with its own momentum. The Indian security forces as per the documented details have killed more than ninety five thousand Kashmiris and raped thousands of women.
But regrettably in spite of the foregoing realities the Modi Government repealed Articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian Constitution on 5 August 2019, bifurcated the state into two territories and amalgamated them in the Indian Union. This was followed by new domicile law with a view to change demographic features of the state and also allowed outsiders to buy properties there in contravention of 4th Geneva Convention. Modi took this step notwithstanding the fact it was not only vehemently opposed by opposition Congress party and other saner elements within India but was also rejected by the pro-Indian politicians like Farooq Abdullah and Mehboob Mufti who had also served as Chief Ministers of IIOJ&K.
There was also a strong reaction in IIOJ&K over the Indian move and the Indian security forces turned the state into an open prison while continuing the killing spree. Since then hardly a day passes without martyrdom of Kashmiris in the name of cordon and search operations. But India continues to tell the world that situation in the state had become normal.
The Indian decision to host G-20 meeting in IIOJ&K is meant to engineer a façade of normalcy and hoodwink the world. That is what the Kashmir Diaspora Coalition and its international affiliate organizations from the western countries have alluded to in their letters to all the heads of G-20 countries expressing the hope that they as signatories to the universal declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Convention would adopt a definitive pro-people stance. They have reiterated that their credibility was on line. Therefore, they should stand firm and refuse to be used in the disempowerment and subjugation of the hapless people of the state.
In the light of the foregoing facts the Indian action in IIOJ&K is a blatant violation of the UN resolutions, fourth Geneva Convention, international laws and the bilateral agreements between the two countries including Simla Agreement between Pakistan and India. It is also an affront to the UN and the members of the world community who believe in people’s right of self-determination and adherence to international laws and Geneva Conventions.
The move by the Modi Government has surely exacerbated security situation in the region and intensified tension between the two nuclear states. The UN and the international community must act to defuse the situation before it is too late. The refusal by the G-20 countries to participate in the meeting in IIOJ&K would surely send a strong message to India that it could not get away with its indiscretions in defiance of the UN resolutions and 4th Geneva Convention provided they look at the situation rising above their strategic and commercial interests. Whether they do it or not remains a million dollars question?
— The writer is former Director General Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, based in Islamabad.
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