Kashmir concern

Kashmir Day this year sadly brought us no closer to a solution of the issue of Kashmir and its future


Editorial February 06, 2015
While Pakistan has repeatedly held in the past that it sought improved ties with India, New Delhi’s aggressive language has in many ways subverted these efforts — with quite deliberate intent. PHOTO: AFP

Kashmir Day this year sadly brought us no closer to a solution of the issue of Kashmir and its future, which has now extended beyond a period of 67 years. In all this time, it is the people of the disputed territory who have borne the brunt of suffering, and chiefly due to the stance adopted by India, we do not seem to be moving any closer to a solution. Indeed, we are further away than ever before, and as envoys of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member countries were told by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry in Islamabad on February 4, the BJP government in New Delhi appears to be attempting to alter the demographic balance of its portion of Kashmir by moving non-Muslims into the territory. The purpose, of course, would be to turn it into a Muslim-minority area, drastically altering realities.



Pakistan has stressed the continued need for a plebiscite in Kashmir, while the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, told the National Assembly that New Delhi had resisted US pressure to resume talks on Kashmir.

This situation continues against the backdrop of tension along the Line of Control, where multiple deaths occurred last year. While Pakistan has repeatedly held in the past that it sought improved ties with India, something it illustrated with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attending the oath-taking ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2014, New Delhi’s aggressive language has in many ways subverted these efforts — with quite deliberate intent. As a consequence, Pakistan has been forced to hit back in similar language. This obviously does not bring us any closer to solving either the Kashmir issue or other problems with India. It is vital these matters are ironed out, through talks, for the sake of the people of the region. New Delhi’s reluctance to move in this direction places us all in danger and in particular jeopardises the safety of the people of Kashmir, who remain deprived of the right to determine their own destiny, and as a result, stay at risk of rights abuses committed against them by the Indian state.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th,  2015.

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