Kashmir: a paradise turned into hell

Unfortunately, even Muslim countries that have been supporting Pakistan and insisting on implementation of UNSC resolutions on Kashmir have now started the litany that the Kashmir dispute be resolved through bilateral negotiations. It is true that according to the Tashkent Declaration after 1965 War and Simla Agreement after 1971 War, both India and Pakistan had agreed to resolve all disputes through bilateral dialogue. Although both countries had quite a few rounds of dialogue but to no avail. The problem is that the US and European countries have double standards. Take the case of East Timor, a resolution was passed and implemented within months. In 1991, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, once again the UNSC passed a resolution, which was implemented within weeks.

Since the beginning of the ongoing composite dialogue, Musharraf has stressed the need that India and Pakistan should show flexibility by coming beyond their stated positions, meeting half-way to resolve the issue of Kashmir and to find a common ground, which is also acceptable to the Kashmiris. He had suggested various options to resolve the Kashmir dispute but the Indian PM ruled out redrawing of the borders, which means that it would not show flexibility to resolve the issue. If India were not willing to budge an inch from its stated position, the entire peace process would be an exercise in futility.

Even after six decades, the people of Kashmir are losing hope. Whereas war is not an option between two nuclear states and composite dialogue might have facilitated people-to-people contact, Kashmiris see few benefits from the confidence building measures between India and Pakistan. To be clear, people-to-people contact, cultural exchanges and economic cooperation are not alternatives to the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

The Kashmiris are also watching with awe the Indian government’s efforts to bring about the demographic change by facilitating Hindus to settle down in large numbers in Jammu and Kashmir. They are getting restless and it is in this backdrop that nine people have been killed in fresh outbreaks of violence in IHK recently. A grenade attack by suspected militants in Srinagar left five dead and nine received injuries. Four others were killed in another related incident. The international community should, therefore, help resolve the Kashmir dispute to avert the impending disaster in case of a war between the two atomic powers.

The writer is a political analyst