People of Kashmir are anxiously looking forward to UN to hold a plebiscite and hand it over to Kashmiris
ISLAMABAD: Indian high-handedness in occupied Kashmir has again crossed all bounds of civility and brought the long-pending Kashmir issue into the limelight once more. Atrocities being committed by Indian forces in the valley have taken a heavy toll on the lives of innocent Kashmiris who demand freedom from the clutches of India once and for all. While India continues its barbarism and its forces blatantly try to silence the voices raised by the Kashmiri people for autonomy, the world’s conscience vis-a-vis this grave issue seems to be in deep slumber. History stands testimony to the fact that India has been dilly-dallying over devising a resolution for the Kashmir issue for almost seven decades now. As a matter of fact, India has never been sincere in bringing an end to this protracted sticking point between the two neighbours.
The ploy that India has always used and continues to use regarding the Kashmir dispute is that it should be resolved through bilateral negotiations. This is a posture that the world powers that matter have also been pursuing for almost the past seven decades. Time has proved that resolution of the Kashmir issue through bilateral negotiations has failed. Pursuing this failed strategy any further would only augment India’s hold on the occupied territory and lead to increased brutalities by the Indian forces against freedom seekers in that region. The international community must genuinely appreciate this truth and strongly emphasise resolution of the Kashmir issue by asking for a plebiscite to be held in occupied Kashmir under the supervision of the UN. If world powers could recognise the quarter of a century-long struggle of the East Timorese people, and the UN could successfully transform East Timor into an independent sovereign state in May 2002, why cannot the world recognise the almost seven decade-long freedom struggle of the Kashmiris, who continue to sacrifice their lives for attaining freedom from occupiers? Doesn’t this reflect double standards of the powers that matter and the world body? The people of Kashmir are anxiously looking forward to the UN to hold a plebiscite in held Kashmir and hand over occupied Kashmir to the Kashmiris as it handed over East Timor to the East Timorese in the presence of world leaders from 92 nations in 2002.
M Fazal Elahi
Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2016.
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