President’s rule in IOK

Faced with unrelenting protests against its rule and continuing instability in Occupied Kashmir, India has extended President’s rule in the disputed territory for another six months starting July 3, 2019. The trend is unmistakable. The IOK independence movement against the Indian rule is continually being met with brute force. This arrogant Indian attitude is meeting with increasing global criticism, with rights organisations and at least two major reports — by the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Kashmir Group and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights — calling on India to repeal its Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act 1990 and enable prosecution of armed personnel in its civilian judicial system; initiate a public investigation into the identities of bodies in mass and unmarked graves; and open IOK prisons to international inspection. The Indian government has, however, not responded to any of the demands.

In such a scenario, it is imperative for Pakistan to take certain measures to help stop the egregious rights abuses in IOK and take forward the issue of self-determination for Kashmiris. Firstly, Pakistan must raise the issue of rights violations described in the reports at all international forums. Secondly, it must move the UN Human Rights Council to establish a commission of inquiry to conduct an independent international investigation. Thirdly, it must emphasise that the Almaty Declaration of June 4, 2002, to which both Pakistan and India are signatories, recognises self-determination as being distinct from terrorism and reaffirms the right of self-determination for people remaining under foreign occupation. And, last but not least, Pakistan should link UNSC resolutions on Kashmir to its resolutions on East Timor which were enforced in 1999 leading to East Timor’s independence from Indonesia through a UN-conducted plebiscite. Only an all-out, global diplomatic offensive by Pakistan can give the Kashmiris a realistic chance at self-determination. 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2019.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.