Nazia Nazar
PAKISTAN on Wednesday last rejected fresh infiltration allegations by India following the killing of five army troops in a militant attack in India-occupied Kashmir last week. Terming the allegations baseless, Prime Minister Imran Khan accused New Delhi of trying to find a pretext for a false flag operation. “I have been warning the world about India’s continuing efforts to find a pretext for a false flag operation targeting Pakistan. Latest baseless allegations by India of infiltration across LoC are a continuation of this dangerous agenda”, Imran Khan said in a series of tweets. Last Sunday, four Indian army soldiers, including a high-profile colonel and a police officer, and two suspected militants were killed in a gunfight with militants in Kupwara district of India-occupied Kashmir. According to Indian media, security forces killed top Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo in a gunfight in Pulwama district in Jammu & Kashmir on Wednesday. Already strained relations between the two nuclear neighbours have plummeted to a new low after India scrapped the longstanding special status of Jammu and Kashmir last August. Since then, the two border forces exchange fire on an almost daily basis along the LoC, always started by Indian forces. Since the partition in 1947, the two countries have fought four wars – in 1948, 1965, 1971, and 1999 – three of them over Kashmir. People of Jammu and Kashmir have been vociferously demanding the right to self-determination bestowed on them by the UNSC resolutions; however some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or unification with Pakistan. According to several human rights groups, thousands of people have been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989, when people of Kashmir took up the arms against repression, suppression, fake encounters and rapes of Kashmiri women.
Pakistan on Monday had rejected India’s baseless claim about Gilgit-Baltistan after the latter protested against Supreme Court of Pakistan order that allowed for the conduct of the general election as well as setting up a caretaker government ahead of the polls in Gilgit-Baltistan. In its statement, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said: “The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory and is recognized as such by the international community. No subsequent illegal and unilateral Indian actions could or have altered the status of Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory”. The UNSC resolutions recognize the Kashmiris’ inalienable right to self-determination through free and impartial plebiscite under the UN aegis. But India continues with illegal acts; its unilateral move on 5 August 2019 to scrap Kashmir’s special status under the Constitution was in violation of the 4th Geneva Convention, was illegal and in clear violation of the UNSC Resolutions. Pakistan called upon India to immediately reverse all of its illegal actions in IOJ&K, including ending illegal occupation of the territory, and let the people of Jammu and Kashmir exercise their right to self-determination enshrined in the UNSC Resolutions. Recently, the publication of the modified map by India immediately after the so-called reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir was a provocative step, which was rejected by Pakistan, China and Nepal. The Pakistan Government had rejected the new maps issued by New Delhi showing the entire Kashmir region as its territory, describing them as incorrect and legally untenable. The fresh maps were released after the Indian government divided the territory into Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as part of India. Pakistan Foreign Office in a statement had rejected those political maps, which were incompatible with the United Nations’ (UN) maps.
It added that no move by India could change the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir, which has been recognized by the UN. India’s expansionist intention manifested itself in another dangerous move of formally annexing India-occupied Kashmir, as the fresh map blatantly identified Azad Kashmir as well as certain areas of Gilgit-Baltistan as an Indian territory. The new map created a strong public response amongst Kashmiris when the complete denial of their rights for self-determination for the Kashmiris is now confirmed by India’s actions. After revoking Articles 370 and 35-A of Indian Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the final Assam citizens’ list was released, leaving out more than 1.9 million Muslims. In fact, the controversy on preparing a registry of bona fide citizens of Assam on the basis of legal documents had enraged many states. Indian hatred and animosity against the Kashmiri Muslims is deep-seated and its reflections can clearly be seen through Indian repressive tactics including torture, extra-judicial killings, rape and fake encounters by Indian security forces in the IoK that continue unabated. The aim is to deter Kashmiris from demanding their right of self-determination. The repression, oppression and atrocities committed by Indian forces have turned Kashmir into a hell. However, these acts could not break the will of Kashmiris. The heroic struggle waged by the people of Kashmir is unparalleled in the history; they are committed to continue their struggle till their objective is achieved. It has to be said that no solution can be found without participation and consensus of the people of Kashmir, as despite brutalities of the Indian police and military, Kashmiris stand tall and refuse to bend.
—The writer is a freelance columnist, based in Finland.
