Solidarity with Kashmir

Kashmir Solidarity Day, which falls today, is commemorated every year to remind all Pakistanis that the issue of Kashmir’s independence is yet to be resolved. It is also designed to remind India to honour its commitments to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, as stipulated by the United Nations Security Council Resolutions and, more importantly, by the Indian leaders themselves. The day is celebrated with zeal, enthusiasm and with a renewed pledge to extend solidarity with the people of Kashmir — a decent, cultured, religious and tolerant people, historically content to live peaceful lives in their own beautiful land, and who never coveted conquest or domination, who never imposed suffering on another people, and who want nothing more than the opportunity to enjoy freedom and dignity, which is the birthright of every human being. Sadly, they have been denied this for decades.

A people’s right to self-determination is an inherent human right. The government of India acknowledged that in a broadcast from New Dehli. On November 2, 1947, the-then Indian prime minister said: “We have declared that the fate of Kashmir is ultimately to be decided by the people. That pledge we have given, and the maharaja has supported it, not only to the people of Kashmir but also to the world. We will not and cannot back out of it.”

But afterwards, the Indian side kept on delaying this on one pretext or the other. One incident in this regard is worth mentioning. In 1960, when Nehru came to Pakistan to sign the Indus Basin Treaty, he was taken to the Murree Hills by President Field Marshal Ayub Khan. While sitting in the scenic lawn of the president’s villa, Ayub pointed towards the Kashmir hills facing Murree and politely suggested to Nehru that it was an opportune time to settle the Kashmir dispute, since both of them were in a position to carry their people along with them. Nehru came out with the startling excuse that anti-Muslim feelings had settled down in India and it was best not to touch this issue, lest the feeling be reignited.

During the last six decades, Pakistan has had to allocate a major chunk of its resource pie to boost defence to prevent the looming threat from India, in large part exacerbated by the wars with it, which, in turn, have been caused mostly because of the lingering Kashmir dispute.

Kashmir continues to bleed and the Indian forces continue to enjoy the bloodbath. The organised crimes and brutalities against all shades of people, irrespective of their age and sex and status, are continuing unabated, especially in 2010. This is precisely why February 5 is so important — it reminds us that we need to continue to support the people of Kashmir to exercise their right to self-determination.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2011.