India itself has somehow highlighted the dispute of Kashmir by playing to the gallery. Coming up with paranoid claims over Azad Jammu & Kashmir, New Delhi has flagged the volatility in the region, as well as the need for finding a permanent solution to the territorial contest in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir. Apparently under domestic pressure on the eve of general elections in India, some of the bigwigs of the ruling BJP have lectured from the pulpit to breed a campaign of hate and animosity against Pakistan. This new tendency, however, is not surprising as the pro-Hindutva party had always capitalised on venom and furthering the sense of otherness. In doing so, it believes in marginalising its fellow Muslim citizens, and takes a dig at Islamabad and its principled stance over Jammu & Kashmir.
It is, nonetheless, a constant that all Indian elections have rallied over a foreign policy issue. Likewise, all political parties in India, one way or the other, flag Pakistan and garner a sizable vote bank by propagating the historical perceptional divide. They all resolve to fix Pakistan if voted into power and swear war-mongering when it comes to the unresolved Kashmir dispute. Thus, there is nothing serious to read between the lines for Pakistan, as the euphoria dies down with the counting of the votes. This time around, the incumbent foreign and interior ministers had gone a step ahead in rhetoric to claim India’s right over AJK, in a bizarre effort to sell the theory that Kashmiris are not happy while being part of the statehood of Pakistan. While the BJP had even resorted to a false-flag operation in Pulwama by flying sorties against Pakistan during the previous elections, this lecturing comes as a tangible threat.
India will be better advised to look at the broader picture of congeniality and walk the extra steps to befriend Pakistan. Resolving the dispute over Kashmir as per the wishes of the locals, and fomenting a new era of geo-economics is indispensable. The sooner the shift sets in, the better.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 27th, 2024.
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