Sanctions measures under Article 41 encompass a broad range of enforcement options to pursue targeted peace
GUJRANWALA: ‘Last night was the most horrifying night of my life. Sound asleep, in the middle of the night some noises around your house awaken you up. You turn on the lights and peep from the gap in curtains, see men in boots and uniform marching across the street. Women of your neighbourhood have been lined up against the wall while men are loaded onto armoured jeeps with black masks on their faces. Dogs barking and searching the house. You wonder whether my house will be raided too. Uncertainty prevails upon your thoughts. Being a Kashmiri is a curse. Welcome to the cursed heaven.’
These were the words of a Kashmiri girl. This happens every night in India-occupied Kashmir. India is using all its might ruthlessly to crush 12.5 million Kashmiris fighting for independence from Indian subjugation since 1947. The armed insurgency that started in May 1989 has led to the enactment of several repressive laws by the Indian government.
While the previous Indian governments considered Kashmir as a territorial dispute, the Modi government has given it a communal colour fostering violence in the valley sitting that is on a powder keg. Modi has pulled out of a coalition government pushing the region into chaos. This tough stance comes on the back of a scathing report released by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights which has demanded an international probe into human rights violations committed by the state machinery in Jammu and Kashmir.
Now it is time that the United Kingdom which left an unfinished partition agenda and Pakistan which supports the Kashmir cause for humanitarian reasons raised the issue in the Security Council not for highlighting it but for placing sanctions on India. It is time the international community acted to curb draconian security measures in Kashmir.
The Security Council can take action to maintain or restore international peace and security under Chapter 7 of the UN charter. Sanctions measures under Article 41 encompass a broad range of enforcement options to pursue targeted peace achievement. Ranging from comprehensive economic and trade sanctions to arms embargoes. India has recently purchased a S-400 anti-missile defence system from Russia which disturbs the security balance apparatus between the two nuclear states. The worsening situation in Kashmir could lead to a full-blown war.
Dr Ahmad Hassan Chatha
Published in The Express Tribune, October 29th, 2018.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
