LoC: if the red line is crossed

The Indo-Pak Simla Agreement transformed the ceasefire line along Jammu and Kashmir as the Line of Control (LoC). Both India and Pakistan committed to respect the sanctity of the LoC and not alter it unilaterally. Following the August 5 revocation of Article 370, the status of the LoC is questionable as well as the legitimacy of the Simla Agreement.

The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), a pro-independence movement on both sides of the LoC, rejects the border terming it similar to the Berlin Wall. Now, the JKLF has vowed to dismantle the LoC and emancipate the besieged eight million Muslim Kashmiris in IOK by launching the “Kashmir Freedom March”. Reports of serious human rights violations by the Indian security forces against Muslim Kashmiris tend to further augment the popular sentiment in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as the people can no longer tolerate the ethnic cleansing and genocide of their brethren in IOK.

Why is then the Pakistani state advising the people of AJK, particularly the JKLF, not to cross the LoC? If the LoC is not crossed and scores do not challenge the Indian brutalities in IOK, what can deter New Delhi from using its massive military and paramilitary force for killing, injuring, arresting and raping Muslim Kashmiris? If India has not come under diplomatic pressure and remains unaffected by peaceful protests against the August 5 act, will it understand the language of force?

Prime Minister Imran Khan has several times warned the people of AJK and the JKLF members and supporters not to attempt crossing the LoC as such an act will provide India a chance to blame Pakistan for patronising armed groups and fomenting terrorism. But there is a difference between a peaceful march for crossing the LoC and cross-border terrorism. Tearing down the LoC is only possible by mobilising popular support on both sides as no matter how well-armed the Indian military is it cannot prevent millions of unarmed people from marching for the unification of Kashmir.

India cannot prevent the crossing of the LoC provided that those who want to undo the 72-year-old division of Kashmir are bold, organised and determined in accomplishing their objective. Morally and legally, India is at the receiving end and cannot prevent the tide of millions of Kashmiris. Yet the Modi regime is confident that it can manage the existing crisis in IOK. On October 7, the Governor of IOK, Satya Pal Malik, gave a statement to allow tourism from October 10. He also claimed the gradual return of normalcy in the occupied Valley.

However, Pakistan should not feel apologetic and defensive while dealing with the issue of crossing the LoC because of three main reasons. Firstly, if India gets away by annexing IOK through its Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, there will not be even a remote possibility of seeking self-determination for the people there. Popular revolt in the Valley, supported by a peaceful march across the LoC, will test the Indian military’s capability to crush a movement aiming to dismantle the LoC. When India would start receiving hundreds of dead bodies on a daily basis from IOK, it would have no other option but to withdraw from the region. But having preconceived notions about India blaming Pakistan for supporting terrorism will not help because this time the overwhelming majority of the people of the Valley cannot tolerate Indian occupation anymore. If their counterparts in AJK want to help them in getting rid of India’s brutalities, it is their legitimate right to do so.

Secondly, how can India blame Pakistan or AJK for interfering in its internal affairs when it openly helped and assisted the Mukti Bahini, the Bangladeshi liberation force, against the Pakistani state? India crossed all limits by attacking then East Pakistan on November 21, 1971. East Pakistan was legally a part of Pakistan but IOK is disputed and after revoking Article 370, New Delhi has no moral or legal authority over IOK. If India was openly interfering in the internal affairs of Pakistan in 1971, how can it deny its western neighbour the chance of meddling in the affairs of its occupied areas of Kashmir? When the Kashmiri liberation movement is genuine and India has no electoral or legal mandate in Jammu and Kashmir, how can it stop the popular march led by the JKLF from crossing the LoC?

Pakistan’s predicament is its failure to strike when the iron is hot as it missed several opportunities to help emancipate the people of IOK. If Islamabad fears that crossing the LoC will lead to Indian retaliation and escalate the conflict, such apprehensions are because of a weak economy, political schism, bad governance, corruption and nepotism in the country. When those who matter in Pakistan are unable to abandon their comfort zones and render practical support to the beleaguered population of IOK, one cannot expect a bold and courageous policy. Otherwise, had Pakistan’s house been in order, it would have taken the risk of rendering open support to the oppressed people of IOK. If crossing the LoC is the legitimate right of those in AJK, why should then they be stopped? If the Kashmir freedom marchers are ready to take the risk of Indian retaliation, why are they prevented from exercising their right? According to the UNSC Resolution 47, crossing the ceasefire line (now LoC) was declared a lawful activity. The people of AJK are exercising their legal right granted to them by the UN.

Thirdly, even after its military intervention in former East Pakistan in 1971, India has intervened in Sri Lanka in 1987 under its so-called peacekeeping force. India’s intervention in Nepal and the Maldives is also well known. Unfortunately, India has also been able to get away with its blatant intervention and occupation of the Siachen Glacier in 1984, as Pakistan failed to regain its lost territory.

The JKLF justifies its march to Srinagar by arguing that since August 5, the Muslim-majority Valley of Kashmir has been transformed into a prison where eight million people are holed up, cut off from the rest of the world, and are living a miserable life due to the lockdown. There is an acute shortage of life saving drugs and the Indian military violates the privacy of Kashmiri Muslims under the cover of siege and surge operations. Food availability along with other necessities is erratic. In this critical moment, the JKLF along with other pro-independence groups considers it their moral duty to help their counterparts in IOK.

In order to continue provocative threats to Pakistan, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh advised Islamabad not to cross the red line and remember the fate of the 1965 and 1971 wars. He warned that this time his country would teach Pakistan such a lesson that it would forget the humiliation of 1971. Should Pakistan follow a defensive posture in the wake of the growing Indian provocation, particularly since August? Or should it seize the opportunity by actively supporting pro-independence Kashmiri groups?

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2019.

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