India and Pakistan have been locking horns over Kashmir since the partition of the Indian sub-continent (1947). Over the issue, both countries had fought three wars (1948, 1965, 1971), apart from the proxy war of Kargil (1999). Jammu & Kashmir is a Muslim population dominated state having minorities such as Hindu and Sikh. J&K had been ruled by four Dogras Maharajas (1846-1952) and Hari Singh (1925-52) was the last king.
Like other princely states, J&K also had got the option either to join India or Pakistan or remain an independent. The king opted for the last option but within a couple of months, the state was attacked by the Pakistani army. He had left with only one option to seek out help from India, which he got conditionally. The king signed an instrument of accession and legally, it became part of India.
For the given of majority of Muslim population, religious affinity, and geographical contiguity, Pakistan considers the partition of the Indian sub-continent, has not been completed and conceived it as an unfinished agenda. It will be completed only when Kashmir issue would be sorted out through the plebiscite under the patronages of the UN. The Pakistani leadership considered the non-resolution of the Kashmir conundrum is due to the obduracy of the Indian government to respect its obligations under the UN resolutions.
In order to complete the agenda of partition, Pakistani has gone to the extent of proxy war in Kashmir by aiding and abetting terrorism against India for the accession of the same. Moreover, the peace-loving people Kashmiri people have been suffering from terrorist attacks. The latest Uri attack took place on 18 September 2016 at around 05:30 AM. This attack was carried out by the four terrorists on Indian Army Brigade headquarters, close the Line of Control. The attack took a heavy toll of soldiers killing and injuring 18 and 30 respectively, which brought both countries on border against each other. The armies of both countries put on high alert and prepared mode to face any eventuality.
Kashmir Unrest 2016
Kashmir has entrapped in violence, skirmishes, curfew etc. According to journalist Haris Zargar (2016), the rationale for this turbulence is the absence of a political dialogue with the stakeholders. Secondly, the widespread frustration among the Kashmiri youths is due to lack of economic opportunities and high unemployment. The most significant problem for Kashmiri is the excessive militarisation of the public spaces and the repeated human rights violations by the security personnel.
The death of Burhan Wani, a self-styled commander of Hizbul Mujahideen on 8th July 2016 in the district of Kokernag, once again put Kashmir on boiling. Consequently, a series of widespread protests resorting violence, protests, stone pelleting etc. On account of ubiquitous unrest in Kashmir valley, it is suffering an irreparable loss in terms of deaths (70), casualties, injuries of (4,500 civilians and 3,000 security personnel) and economic loss of Rs. 6,400 crore. Pakistan has shooted an argument that unrest of Kashmir is a reaction to the atrocities done by the Indian army but on the contrary, the Indian perception holds that it is being fomented by Pakistan.
Peace –A Distant Dream
Several efforts (UN Resolutions, Shimla Agreement, Bus Diplomacy, and Summits) have already been made to sort out the Kashmir conundrum. However, the acceptable resolution has not been reached yet. To control the ongoing unrest of 2016, the central and state governments have been making efforts to ferret out the solution of the Kashmir issue. The Indian PM Minister Modi called the all-party meeting on 12 August 2016. The CM Mehbuba Mufti met to PM Modi on 27 August. She exhorted for making a mechanism of interlocutors. The former CM Omar Abdulla led one all-party delegation and made a representation to the Indian government. The delegation reiterated their commitment to maintaining the law and order and having zero tolerance towards the terrorism..
The Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh paid a two days visit to Kashmir to stake stock of the situation and pacify the valley. He met wider sections of the society including political and civilian people. He met Governor N. N. Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. On the second day, he met leaders of various political parties and members of civil society, which was boycotted by the National Congress. The second visit was on August 23-24, 2016 to meet the stakeholders in the state. During the visit, he met army, police, state official and several political parties. The political parties demanded to talk with the separatists and ban on the use of pellet guns. Notwithstanding, these efforts on the part of the state and central governments, the violence and anguish have not been restrained
Pakistan Patronage For Kashmir
Pakistan has strongly reacted to the unrest in Kashmir due to the death of self-styled commander, Burhan Wani. The Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif had expressed shock over Wani’s death and declared him as a martyr on 15 July 2016. The 19th July as “Kashmir’s Accession Day” and the 20th July as “Black Day” observed to show its solidarity with Kashmiris. A rally “Kashmir Caravan” has been organized by Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JuD) in support of freedom of the Kashmiri people. The Pakistan Parliament passed a resolution on first August with an absolute majority regarding alleged human rights violations in Kashmir. PM Sharif had also written letters to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, for the implementation of UN Security resolution and the end of human rights violation of the Kashmiri people respectively. Pakistan has also nominated 22 special envoys on 27 August to spread the awareness of the cause of Kashmir. PM Sharif made a strong pitch for sport on Kashmir issue during the 71st session of UNGA (22 September 2016).
Pakistan Should Learn A Lesson From The Past
The partition of the Indian sub-continent into India and Pakistan (1947) had taken place on the basis of religion. But no sooner than later, this argument had lost its ground. Pakistan per se was divided into two nations -Bangladesh and Pakistan (1971). Since then, both have not been sharing cordial relations. The relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have also been off the keel and accusing each other for terror activities. The one-fifth Muslim population of the world lives in the Middle East Asia. Due to terrorism, turbulence, sectarian violence, gender discrimination, and human rights violation, it has earned the sobriquet of ‘arch of turbulence.’ Pakistan itself has eaned may sobriquets such as failed, weakened, rogue and terrorist state etc. Its units like Baluchistan, Sindh, FATA and Pakhtun have been aspiring for separation from Pakistan despite as an Islamic state. All these instances substantiate the argument that religion could not be an adhesive factor for a country.
The previous partitions had been failed to establish peace, prosperity, stability, observance of human rights, and access to essential amenities in the newly emerged countries. Some scholars and leaders are of the opinion that the South Asia is the most volatile and turbulent region. From human development index point of view, the South Asia has been at the lowest ebb. The poverty, hunger, exclusiveness, lack of education, health, water and many more facilities have not been within reach of the common citizens. Therefore, having a religious affinity for an accession of Kashmir, is a baseless argument. Moreover, Kashmir has acceded to India by an instrument of accession. Against this background, it can be concluded that Pakistan should come out the prison of history and learn from the past mistakes. Rather than creating problem in Kashmir, it should work for the peace, prosperity and stability of the Kashmiris. That will be great service to the humanity!!