KASHMIR HOLDS KEY INDO-PAK TIES

 “People at the helm of affairs in India & Pakistan need to fully realize that there is no alternative to peace as wars bring nothing but agonies and miseries to people”

 

The recent ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan has taken many by surprise both in New Delhi and Islamabad as the unanticipated move came at a time when the two nuclear neighbours have been at daggers drawn for past couple of years especially after the Indian government revoked article 370 and 35 A of the Indian constitution that had guaranteed special status to the Indian held territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The surprise announcement in this regard was made in a joint statement after a special hotline call between the DGMOs on February 22 in which the military commanders of both the countries reiterated their respective countries commitment to uphold and implement the ceasefire agreement along the LoC to maintain peace and reduce tension in the region.

This renewed pledge to normalize the situation and advancing the cause of peace is, in fact, the re-affirmation of the commitment the leadership of both the countries had made by signing the historic truce agreement way back in November 2003 that laid the foundation for resumption of the peace process.

Pertinently, the initiative was unilaterally taken by the then president of Pakistan President Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf and subsequently it was endorsed and acknowledged by the government of India under the leadership of then premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The agreement formally entered into force after it was signed by the respective heads of the two states in November 2003. The truce agreement ushered a new era of peace and tranquility in the restive region. After witnessing deaths and destruction, bombing and shelling for over a decade the beleaguered people who were living in a state of constant fear breathed a sigh of relief. A population of over a million Kashmiris settled in these remote areas adjacent to the LoC enjoyed a brief respite from violence during the cease-fire.

The people of the region experienced absolute peace on the LoC during these years; no major incident of ceasefire violation was witnessed. During these years the region had witnessed an unprecedented acceleration of economic activities and development; unfortunately, it did not survive for too long. A terror incident in Mumbai in 2008 was made an excuse to reverse the whole process pushing the entire region into an unending vicious cycle of violence and instability.

The Situation in the region, however, took a dangerous turn after 2014 when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took reins of power in New Delhi. The BJP under Narendar Modi adopted a muscular policy and opened a 3-front-war to deal with the situation. In the occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir a ruthless military onslaught was launched by the government of India to stifle Kashmiris legitimate struggle while on the other it chose a violent path to bring Pakistan under pressure by keeping LoC on boil to achieve its strategic goals. This 3-front-war against Kashmiris and Pakistan gained further momentum after the BJP returned to power in the 2019 general elections. On 30 May 2019 Modi was sworn in as the prime minister of India. Just a few months in office Modi came with a disastrous recipe to revoke article 370 to change the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. On 5th August the ruling party (BJP) presented a contentious bill in the Indian parliament seeking revocation of the constitutional articles i.e. 370 and 35-A, under which Jammu and Kashmir, the UN recognized disputed territory, was accorded special status.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill, adopted by both houses of the Indian Parliament on 5 and 6 August respectively, was assented to by the Indian President, on 9 August paving a way for formal integration and bifurcation of the state into two union territories. The secretly drafted controversial Bill, rightly censured as an act of colonization, was introduced and finally adopted by the Indian parliament without any prior consultation with main stakeholders. The decision was taken when the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir was subjected to military siege and communication blockade.

Taking exception to India’s illegal and unlawful actions Pakistan termed the move as a blatant violation of the UNSC resolutions. Subsequently, Pakistan, in reaction, downgraded diplomatic ties and expelled India's top diplomat and suspended trade with its neighbours.  

In 2019 the world saw two countries again on the brink of war and Indo-Pak relations took a nosedive after India recklessly carried what it called “surgical strike” on Pakistan on February 27. Though the tensions reached a dangerous level but Pakistan as usual demonstrated the highest degree of restraint and responsibility and took every possible step to de-escalate tensions to avert a full-fledged war in the region.

Now, after a couple of years in which bilateral relations further nosedived over a series of bloody attacks on the LoC, better sense prevailed and the two sides having realized the perils of this deadly war recommitted themselves to 2003 ceasefire agreement and agreed to “strict observance of all agreements, understandings and ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and all other sectors”.

A joint statement, which was issued after the DGMOs meeting said “In the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the borders, the two Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) agreed to address each other’s core issues and concerns which have propensity to disturb peace and lead to violence”.

Given the mercurial relationship between the two countries it is quite difficult to say anything about the sustainability of the agreement at this point of time but the exchange of good-will gestures by the leadership of India and Pakistan indicate that efforts are under way to put the relationship on a normal footing. One hopes that the fresh development would lead to full-fledged engagement whereby the two sides could be able to sit together and resolve all issues in a peaceful and dignified manner.

Nonetheless, the move drew criticism and suspicion both from Indian and Pakistani cynics, however, the influential world governments including the United States of America, China, United Kingdom and many other countries have hailed the move as a significant step towards the normalization of bilateral ties between the two South Asian neighbours.

Kashmiris, on both sides of the line of control, also appreciated the move but given the fraught history of peace agreements between India and Pakistan there is wide-spread cynicism about the sustainability of the ceasefire agreement.

Regardless of how people perceive the recent Indo-Pak thaw the efforts aimed at normalizing relations and resuming the stalled dialogue process between the two nations has to be encouraged and appreciated as dialogue holds the key to resolving disputes. More importantly the thing that the people at the helm of affairs in India and Pakistan need to fully realize is that there is no alternative to peace as wars bring nothing but agonies and miseries to the people. The post-partition acrimony between the two countries and confrontational approach and policy of intransigence have taken a heavy toll on the lives of teeming millions living on either sides of the international border. Especially, Kashmiris, who have been at the receiving end for the past 73 years, have suffered terribly due to this unending Indo-Pak acrimony. Time has come that India and Pakistan must move away from their enduring rivalry and make peace for the larger interests of their own people. Now is the time that both nations should end the reckless hostility and move forward towards conflict resolution rather than managing the conflict.

Since the resolution of the lingering K-dispute is the sine qua non of long-term peace and stability, it is essentially important that both sides must realize the lurking dangers, move on and make a smooth transition into new chapters in their bilateral relations to ensure durable peace and prosperity in the region and beyond. It is also imperative to acknowledge the bitter reality that the road to lasting peace in South Asia goes through Kashmir. Kashmir is the key to unlock a sustained and cordial relationship as the main problems confronted by India and Pakistan, today, are directly or indirectly linked to Kashmir that happens to be the mother of all disputes.

It goes without saying that sustainability of any bilateral agreement between India and Pakistan hinges on peaceful settlement of the core issue of Kashmir that has been the cause of conflict and violence in the subcontinent. Since Kashmir is purely a political dispute that needs to be resolved through peaceful means of dialogue and diplomacy. So far as the dialogue is concerned Pakistan for that matter has never shied away from talks and has always stressed on peaceful resolution of all disputes through a sustained and result-oriented dialogue. To the contrary India has been hesitant to discuss the Kashmir issue and has always tried to keep ‘Kashmir’ out of the table. Until now it has been India’s stated position that it would not hold dialogue with Pakistan over the Kashmir issue. Raising the bogey of so-called “terrorism and cross LoC infiltration” India has always sabotaged peace efforts and to avoid a meaningful discussion on Kashmir. In his recent communiqué addressed to Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, the Indian Prime Minister Narendar Modi has yet again repeated the terrorism-mantra despite Pakistan’s latest peace overtures.  

It was good to see that PM Imran Khan’s timely and matching response to Indian counterpart’s letter in which the PM IK established the centrality of Kashmir issue and made it crystal clear that durable peace and stability in South Asia is contingent upon resolving all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan, in particular, the Jammu & Kashmir dispute.

During the recent cabinet meeting the government made a correct assessment of the situation and took a well-grounded decision that there will be no trade with India until it revokes article 370 and reinstates the semi-autonomous status of the Indian occupied Kashmir. The decision would go a long way to clear ambiguities about Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir issue. Since it has been Prime Minister Imran Khan’s long standing stance that Kashmir is the only issue in the way of better ties between India and Pakistan there is no point going the other way around.

All that is direly needed at the moment is that Pakistan must reset its priorities vis-à-vis the possibility of dialogue with India. No unilateral concessions whatsoever should be made to appease India without any gain for Pakistan and the people of Kashmir. Before entering into a formal dialogue with its neighbour that has a history of using dialogue as a tool to fortify its control over Kashmir and to hoodwink the international community, Pakistan should (a) Take into confidence the Kashmiri leadership on both sides of the LoC. (b) Make it clear to India that dialogue could not take place without discussion on the Kashmir issue and improvement in the ground situation in the held territory of Jammu and Kashmir. (c) Ask the government of India to stop the bloodbath of innocent civilians in the IoK and restore all essential fundamental freedoms that have largely been suspended since 5th August 2019 and release all illegally detained Kashmiri political activists who have been arrested before and after 5th August 2019.