For the past several weeks, certain quarters were evidently unhappy over the much-need yet unexpected thaw in United States-Pakistan relations. While that remains part of another debate, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s trip to Washington DC last month garnered much media attention in India where observers were startled by US President Donald Trump’s offer for mediation on Kashmir (of course, he claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought it at Osaka G20 Summit).It was reiterated once again the following week by President Trump but evidently, it didn’t go down too well in New Delhi which chose to share its views behind closed doors through diplomatic channels at the ASEAN meet in Bangkok.
Post-February 2019 standoff, there were widespread perceptions that a potential mediation would open doors for meaningful solution to the Kashmir cause. But reportedly, there were whispers of impending changes to the Indian constitution which could affect Indian-occupied Jammu & Kashmir’s (IoJ&K) legal status.
The day President Trump offered to mediate, ceasefire violations at the Line of Control (LoC) increased intermittently. What’s more alarming was South Block’s decision to mobilise Indian army and air force in large numbers across IoJ&K and even use cluster bombs to target civilians in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK). An act violating International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the Convention on Cluster Munitions (which ironically hasn’t been signed by neither India nor Pakistan). From South Kashmir to areas such as Ladakh, heavy contingents of Indian armed forces were deployed which by some estimates amounted up to one million troops.
Deceptive announcements and measures were utilised to keep Pakistan busy on the frontline and provide cover to Modi regime’s sinister designs. Journalists such as Barkha Dutt, Aditya Raj Kaul and Aarti Tikoo Singh were the perfect disinformation feeders for the regime’s ultimate objective of grabbing the valley by hook or crook.
The morning of 5 August 2019 changed the course of reality and was truly a dark day for Kashmiris when Indian Home Minister Amit Shah announced to scrap Articles 370 and, subsequently, 35A through an order titled ‘The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir), Order 2019.’ These two articles provided special autonomy to the occupied region on a similar line to that of relations between the British Empire and princely states. Though the matter is pending in the Supreme Court of India, the damage has already been done.
Mobilising the army was meant to quell mass uprisings while arresting mainstream Kashmiri leaders such as Mehbooba Mufti, Omar Abdullah and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was nothing short of deceit by the Hindutva regime. Inspired by Heinrich Himmler’s terror tactics from Nazi Germany, the tinpot dictatorial regime in New Delhi is trying to outdo its ideological predecessors.
Moreover, by hurriedly nullifying Article 370 through a presidential decree, India has disregarded all UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, the 1972 Shimla agreement, the 1999 Lahore Resolution and even the illegal October 1947 Instrument of Accession. In other words, we are back to where it all started.
For Pakistan, this is a defining moment and it should utilise all legal and diplomatic channels to garner support for IoJ&K across the world. The consultative UNSC session held recently may not have brought desired results owing to certain member states reluctance, pressure must be kept in place, nevertheless.
Key aspect also includes how Pakistani diplomacy works out in Washington and New York City over the coming days and weeks since they would serve as main diplomatic theatres for the Kashmir cause. Losing out from these theatres would rain trouble which no Pakistani or Kashmiri leader could afford in such testing times.
While the Foreign Office’s performance owing to systematic neglect over the years is debatable, let’s just hope that the world listens to Islamabad with a serious attitude since President Trump seems bent upon to resolve the crisis in light of telephonic discussions held with Khan and Modi. Notably, his latest statement implies that he may have been briefed about the two-nation theory.
The Indians are in mass confusion phase since their top leadership insists that Kashmir is an internal matter for New Delhi. Nonetheless, their rhetoric of bilateralism is a proof that the issue is to be resolved through talks. Of course, the icing on the cake is the UNSC session and the direct involvement of several global powers.
In the current scenario, multilateral talks are ideal for the Modi regime’s reluctance would cost it dearly in the near future. Not mentioning the fact that its consideration to scrap No First Use (NFU) policy for nuclear weapons would certainly ring alarm bells sooner than later.
Pakistan’s recent decision to take the long-pending dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is debatable owing to the sensitivity of the matter but subsequently, it signifies how proactive Islamabad has become in its desire to counter New Delhi’s mischievous attempts to befool the international community.
The writer is a journalist specialising in foreign policy and national security affairs