Ways to break stalemate on Kashmir

The decades-old Kashmir struggle is arguably gridlocked today. While India remains obsessed with violence to crush it, the international community and human rights organisations have also shut their eyes to the plight of beleaguered Kashmiris. What are the options available to break this standoff and bring Kashmir back on the forefront?

Demonisation of the Kashmir uprising as ‘Pakistan-sponsored terrorism’ has long remained the fulcrum of Indian policy on the issue. As desired, it has deluded the world at large to look askance at the indigenous character of the movement, besides condoning Indian atrocities in the occupied valley. It has also handcuffed human rights and civil society organisations to prevent them from playing the role of a real watchdog in Kashmir.

No real progress on Kashmir, therefore, can be made without delinking it with so-called terrorism and persuading civil society and human rights organisations, especially based in India, to appreciate the very genuine and indigenous character of the uprising.

Pakistan at present has at least five potent options to wriggle out of the current situation and regain focus on the real situation in Kashmir.

To begin with, Pakistan needs to comprehend duly that religious diplomacy has a great potential to catch India off guard and bring about a qualitative change in the enduring struggle of Kashmiris for their right to self-determination. Building on the Sikhs-specific Kartarpur initiative, it should now open up Shardah Valley in Azad Kashmir and allow all Hindus, especially those living in Kashmir, to visit the area, freely. Home to Shardah Devi and a centuries-old civilisation, the area is among the holiest places for Hindus who desperately long for visiting it in their lifetime.

As the Sikh community strongly reacted to the lukewarm response by Delhi to Pakistan’s Kartarpur initiative, lack of enthusiasm on Shardah Valley would again pit India against its own people — this time around the fundamentalist Hindus. Apart from dispelling cross-border terrorism charges against Pakistan, the decision would eventually compel India to open Chirar Sharif shrine on its side in Srinagar for pilgrims of Azad Kashmir. Needless mentioning that it would be a gigantic leap towards turning the barriers between two parts of Kashmir irrelevant, a prerequisite in the eyes of many for a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Furthermore, barring Azad Kashmir to international visitors and rights organisations has historically served Pakistan no purpose at all. Of late, in fact it provided an excuse to the UN Human Rights Office to censure Pakistan in its special report for violation of human rights in Azad Kashmir. Notwithstanding ubiquitous militarisation and imposition of draconian laws, India on the contrary has always projected Kashmir under its control as the ultimate destination of tourists and a symbol of its federalism. Removal of iron clad on Azad Kashmir is, therefore, essentially important to let the world make a fair and square comparison between the degree of human rights and civil liberties enjoyed by the Kashmiris living across the divide, respectively.

Similarly, violation of child rights by India in Kashmir also needs to be specifically highlighted at different forums attaching great significance to this issue. According to a report by Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), children in the occupied valley are the direct target of Indian forces who, with complete impunity, have exterminated 318 of them in the last 15 years.

One could hardly disagree that ghastly incidents such as abduction, rape and murder of eight-year-old Asifa Bano and blinding of 18-month-old Hiba Nisar through pellet guns by Indian troops could not have gone almost unnoticed, were they highlighted effectively under various international child rights conventions and protocols. Pakistan should not allow India to go unscathed on such issues.

Legal experts in Pakistan should also look into the question of filing law suits in the International Criminal Court against Indian officials and men in uniform for crimes against humanity in Kashmir. Discovery of 2,080 unmarked mass graves in Kashmir by civil society organisations, for instance, makes it a perfect case to approach the court to try India on that count. Irrespective of the outcome of such moves, the very decision would bring the world’s attention back to the Kashmir situation and mount pressure on India to pay heed to the clamours of Kashmiris for an amicable settlement of the issue.

Last but not the least, Pakistan should now shun ill-advised procrastination on inclusion of Azad Kashmir cricket team in the PSL list. Besides transmitting a softer image of Kashmiris and their struggle for right to self-determination across the globe, the decision would make Kashmir a household name in the cricketing world and open up new vistas of opportunities for its inhabitants to seek moral and diplomatic support on the issue.

Regaining initiative on Kashmir requires Pakistan to be forward-looking, alert and, on top of that, cognisant of the urgency of the matter. An intelligent play of different available cards such as religious diplomacy and opening of Azad Kashmir to the world has a strong potential to rejuvenate the stalled peace process between Pakistan and India to seek a negotiated settlement of the Kashmir dispute while ensuring that abiding interests of no party to it are jeopardised in any manner.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2019.

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