Daily Times

The two nuclear powers: Pakistan and India are deliberately avoiding to resolve the longstanding Kashmir issue. The top leadership of both states are not coming to the main agenda of launching peace efforts; instead, both are involved in blame game. Pakistan is talking about “brutalities in Kashmir” and India wants to talk about “Terrorism”. This shows that they don’t want to sit on a dialogue table and want to let the existing status quo prevail.

Kashmir continues to bleed and Kashmiris are paying the heavy cost for doing nothing but fighting for their freedom. For many decades the Kashmiri people are trapped under the rhetoric of the status quo, living worse than slaves in highly militarized zones. Kashmiris are fighting against the forces who are involved in snatching their due international and community rights. They are firmly committed to quell all seen and unseen dangers and to break the barricades of slavery, terror, brutality and humility.

Kashmiris are rationally looking up the events and prevailing state of affairs between India and Pakistan. The rising antagonism and hostility between the ancient rivals have disappointed the hopes of aggrieved Kashmiri community. Therefore, all they demand right now is the change in policies of both countries. The only salvation lies in dialogue. Pakistan and India are widely tipped for initiating peace process through dialogue. In the ongoing century, dialogue is considered most civilized and humane way to solve any dispute.

Many efforts are being made to initiate such dialogue process, but after everything is all set, suddenly an event occurs and sabotages the entire homework done for this difficult peace process. The current events of brutalities and increasing antipathy of Indian top political elite towards Kashmiris are directly related to Indian general elections which are due in early next year 2019.

The current events of brutalities and increasing antipathy of Indian top political elite towards Kashmiris are directly related to Indian general elections which are due in early next year 2019

The Modi administration under the barrier of BJP party, cannot take a soft stance on the issue of Kashmir at this very critical juncture when elections are just around the corner. Moreover, Modi government is also involved in mega corruption scams such ‘Rafile Deal’. Therefore, to draw the public attention from such corruption cases, Modi has started a reign of terror in Kashmir. Thus, any peace efforts or dialogue offers from Pakistan was nullify by the notorious India.

Furthermore, Modi’s power and electoral base is entirely based in right wing majority who are staunch fundamentalists and pure orientalists who always stood firm against any dialogue process on Kashmir issue. Not only this, every general election in India is followed by staunch and harsh rhetoric against the Kashmir issue and vote base is created on the basis of creating harsh and hellish rhetoric against the Kashmir conundrum. Thus, there is no chance or scope for dialogue process or creating peace atmosphere by the Indian government.

Pursuing this further, to gain the electoral dividends by both the nuclear arms countries, they have made the people of Kashmir hostage in their own homeland. Not only this, lack of dialogue process and peace initiatives by India and Pakistan is compromising and undermining the future, interests and well-being of Kashmiri population.

The continued belligerency and hostility between the two distant neighbours are giving a hard blow to the phenomenon of peace, prosperity, progress, development and mutual cooperation. Although, one-fourth of world population lives in South-Asia, yet they are unable to participate effectively in new world order. The main cause rests with Pakistan-India rivalry.

Now the significant question arises that how the both countries prosper and under such hostile atmosphere where not even trade cooperation is possible. Both the countries have fought four wars which brought nothing but destruction. Therefore, to harmonize the worsening situation, both the states are widely tipped to reconcile their harsh rhetoric.

Both the states: India and Pakistan, sooner or later have to sit on a dialogue table as wars are not the solution in the modern atomic warfare. They have to take urgent decisions for restoring peace in the region. The decisions are vital for the future course of both countries and for the tormented population of Jammu and Kashmir. Thus, the road to peace and greater development in South-Asia is followed by peaceful co-existence between the two hostile states.

The writer is Quetta-based columnist. He can be reached at asadhussainma@yahoo.com

Published in Daily Times, October 12^th 2018.