The murder of young Kashmiri leader in Held Kashmir by Indian police force has once again exposed the decades old hegemonic approach of Hindu leadership sitting in New Delhi. The martyrdom invoked massive street protests led by Hurriyat leaders, clashes with police that left around 55 innocent persons killed and over 300 injured. The ugly face of these clashes was the Indian security police resorting to using pellet guns making over a hundred protesters blind or physically handicapped for life.
Where the unparallel state of aggression against innocent unarmed civilian protesters has flatly earned a bad name for the Modi government in the civilised world, the government in Islamabad has once again availed the opportunity to further trigger its efforts for internationalising the Kashmir issue and win their support for the dispute resolution.
Gagging the just demand of Kashmiris for their birth right of self-determination and portraying the outer world their rightful struggle as antagonistic activities has always been the core of Indian leadership’s mind-set. Their obduracy is quite clear from the New Delhi’s old mantra that Kashmir is not an international issue but a bilateral one between India and Pakistan. This is a negation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions that were unanimously passed on Kashmir, recommending plebiscite in the disputed valley.
History is witness to the fact that it was the then Indian leadership that had rushed to the United Nations to seek solution to the Kashmir dispute. Since then, the ruling elites in New Delhi (whether they are from Congress Party or Bhartia Janata Party) have always disrespected the UN Security Council’s resolutions, nor have ever ceased human rights violations in the occupied Kashmir.
The international forums including United Nations, OIC and SAARC are also witness to the fact that India has never budged an inch from its hardened position on Kashmir, which, according to the UN resolutions, is a disputed territory and right of self-determination of Kashmiris is the only option to resolve this dispute; the right which India now refuses to recognise.
In the historical perspective, India has always been making attempts to portray Kashmir as a bilateral issue while Pakistan terms it an international issue which South Asia’s peace hinges on.
If one unfurls the chapters of the last about 70 years after the partition of the sub-continent, Kashmir, controlled by India, has witnessed the worst kind of state terrorism, human rights violations, gang rapes, extreme torture at the hands of security forces, forced disappearances of thousands of innocent Kashmiri Muslims and massive killings in custody.
According to the latest statistics, over 70,000 innocent Kashmiris including women and children have become victim to the brutal torture of Indian security forces, state terrorism and extrajudicial killings.
Innocent Kashmiris are not the victim of the New Delhi’s state terrorism and hegemonic policies alone as presently over a dozen regional communities in various parts of India are bearing the brunt of a brutal use of state force as punishment for demanding their basic human rights.
As a core of its election manifesto, the ruling PML-Nawaz doubled its efforts after coming to power in 2013 of highlighting the Kashmir dispute at all international forums, the year 2016 has witnessed Pakistan’s vigorous initiatives to again sensitise the outer world on Kashmir. The fresh state aggression at the hands of Indian security forces against innocent people in parts of the occupied valley has further pushed Pakistan to mobilise world opinion and international power corridors not only to halt human rights violations in the occupied valley but to convince India to honour the relevant UN resolutions.
The fresh initiative of the sitting Islamabad government of sending its about two dozen representatives to prominent world capitals to sensitise them on Kashmir and state aggression against the innocent people in the Indian held Kashmir, is a big step towards paving the way for materialising the Kashmiris’ dream. However, the power corridors in New Delhi look very much perturbed over this strategy. They plead that Kashmir is a bilateral issue and there is no need for any third party role over it. History proves the fact that whenever Islamabad raised Kashmir as well as their human rights violations at international forums, the ruling junta in New Delhi took this stance, which completely negates the spirit of the UN resolutions.
The Nawaz government has written letters to UN Secretary-General, UN Security Council, Secretary-General OIC, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and sensitized them about the volatile situation in Kashmir arising out of the state aggression that led to the brutal killings of innocent civilians and grave violations of the fundamental human rights of the Kashmiris by the occupying Indian security forces.
However, such attempts on the part of India have failed to get the results they desired. The fresh use of state force, particularly the pellet guns against innocent people in parts of Occupied Kashmir, has forced the world to express their concerns over the trampling of human rights in Kashmir.
Organisation of Islamic Countries, United Nations and other world powers, particularly Russia and US, have shown their concern over the use of state force to gag the just voice of the Kashmiris. Now this time again, the US administration has suggested that both Pakistan and India resolve the issue through dialogue, the only way, out as aggressive policies are not in the betterment of the peoples of the region. Russia looks concerned over the Kashmir situation calling upon all stakeholders to come out with an acceptable solution to the dispute.
Pakistan has always taken the stance that since Kashmiris are the main stakeholders to the dispute they cannot be ignored while holding dialogue. The UN resolutions are the only option on Kashmir. This is a reality that the sitting leadership in New Delhi must understand.