Daily Times

In 1954, India had illegally annexed Kashmir in its territory and introduced Article 370 in the constitution, thereby claiming that it had given autonomy to Kashmir. Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah called Kashmir ‘the jugular vein of Pakistan’, and hence Kashmir remains the unfinished agenda of the creation of Pakistan

In 1944, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, while addressing the students of Muslim Aligarh University, said that Pakistan came into existence the moment the first Hindu embraced Islam, as the Muslim nationhood lies in the Kalima-There is no God but One-and is not decided on the basis of region or ethnicity.

In 1954, India had illegally annexed Kashmir in its territory and introduced Article 370 in the constitution, thereby claiming that it had given autonomy to Kashmir. This clause acknowledges the special status of Kashmir in terms of autonomy to the locals to formulate the laws of the state. In the subsequent years, the Indian leadership continued to vow that the right of self-determination, in the light of the UN Security Council Resolution, would be given to the Muslims of Kashmir, as was given to the other federating units of the subcontinent.

Despite religious differences, the Indian establishment wanted water of rivers for irrigating the Rajasthan desert. The Indira Gandhi canal, 678 kilometres long, was built in 1958-1963. The canal runs from the northeast of River Ravi to the southwest along the Pakistan-India border. This diversion of water dried up Ravi, Sutlej and Bias rivers and created a drought-like situation in southern Punjab. The Sindh-Tass agreement was also for this purpose.

India obtained loans from various world financial institutions to supposedly turn its desert to green pastures. The loan was to be paid from the income of ‘desert converted to green pastures harvest’. The expertise of making a canal in a desert is quite challenging as seen in Sudan from River Nile. The problem of seepage of water in the desert terrain continues to pose a challenge as India has recently obtained a loan of US$ 250 million from the ADB and US$ 400 million from Russia to improve its water management and water transportation through the Indira Gandhi Canal.

Over the last 65 years, water continues to be wasted, and the objective of the Indian constitutional amendment is to drain water from Jhelum and Chenab, which is a clear violation of the Sindh-Tass agreement. Pakistan has always upheld the UN resolutions on Kashmir, as Article 257 of the Constitution states: “When the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir decide to accede to Pakistan, the relationship between Pakistan and that state shall be determined by the wishes of the people of that state.”

In 1944, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, while addressing the students of Muslim Aligarh University, said that Pakistan came into existence the moment the first Hindu embraced Islam, as the Muslim nationhood lies in the Kalima-There is no God but One-and is not decided on the basis of region or ethnicity

With an unending appetite for resources such as water, rivers, electricity and green pastures, fuelled with Indian hegemonic designs, efforts to build maximum dams will increase day by day. One of the interesting aspects is that India is obtaining loans from international monitory agencies like the World Bank and IMF for diverting the water of these rivers. The external debt of India stands at a staggering amount of 521.3 billion dollars as on December 31, 2018, it increased at the rate of 2.6 percent per annum.

Expensive loans on cost-prohibitive terms and implemented illegally while annoying neighbouring countries and creating disenchantment among masses is a unique feature of the Indian establishment and those politicians who do not possess financial, legal or professional credentials. Whether India can survive or not without Kashmir is clear. Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah called Kashmir ‘the jugular vein of Pakistan’, and hence Kashmir remains the unfinished agenda of the creation of Pakistan.

Diverting all the rivers flowing through the Indian-occupied Kashmir may deprive Pakistan of the mandatory water reservoirs. It will not only create environmental degradation but will also turn into a calamity depriving Pakistani people of grain, rice and other crops.

What if an environment-friendly government of Pakistan scraps the Sindh-Tass Agreement to restore imbalance? How will the Indian government return the loan of billions of dollars withthe Indira Gandhi Canal drained out?

It is also necessary to examine Article 103 of the UN that states: “In the event of a conflict between the obligations of the members of the UN under the present charter and their obligations under any other international agreement, their obligations under the present Charter shall prevail.” If the Indian govt thinks that with the revoking of Article 370 it can enter into a bilateral agreement for any project in the Indian-occupied Kashmir, it is mistaken. Article 103 of the UN still prevails. It can, therefore, be concluded that Article 370 and 35Ahave been revoked with an aim to destroy Pakistan and kill its population.

Pakistan must exercise all options including, diplomatic, political, financial and legal to safeguard its interests. The following points merit consideration for presenting the case from Pakistan:(a) Sanctions on India for violation of UN charter by revoking Article 370 and declaring a disputed territory as its own (b) All international tenders in the Indian-occupied Kashmir should be challenged in the ICJ in the light of Article 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution read in conjunction with Art 103 of the UN. (c) Demand return of Junagarh, Manawadar and Hyderabad to Pakistan.

The author is a freelance writer and Retired commodore of Pakistan Navy, he can be reached at msohailyz@gmail.com