Daily Times

People of Kashmir, in particular, Muslims of the Valley have been aggressed against, occupied and imprisoned by nearly 800000 Indian security forces since 5 August 2019.Men, women, children of all ages, sick and elderly are locked in for the last 20 days. People are rendered invisible and there is no contact with the outside world. People within the State and one neighbour does not know anything about the neighbour next door. A cloud of darkness has descended upon the habitat and its people.

Pakistan has succeeded to trigger a closed door debate on Kashmir at the UN Security Council. Prime Minister Imran Khan has pledged to be the ambassador of Kashmir cause. There is unease in every capital of the world and the constituency of condemnation for BJP Government’s unlawful action is growing and support for the Kashmiri Muslims is on the increase.

Prime Minister Imran Khan is known to the sports loving world and now world knows him as the Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. He has graduated with a leadership instinct and the merits of Kashmir case, need a good captain, a good ambassador and a brave person to take a leap across the ravine. There is an urgent need to address the constituents of Kashmir case.

As a start every effort has to be made to vacate the aggression, occupation and imprisonment of the people of Kashmir. We should not be disheartened by the fact that Muslim world has not surfaced enough to help the people of Kashmir. It would not happen either. Every Muslim country is exploiting Islam and are keeping their people without human rights. Rulers of these countries exploit the national resources and leave the people without a recourse. Therefore, hoping any good from them in the areas of ‘equality’ and ‘self-determination’ is a farfetched dream.

United Nations route is the right route. Unfortunately, it should not be left for the interpretation of those, who Google it, for their TV talk shows or those officers in foreign office who don’t have a reliable understanding of the case as it has developed at the United Nations

We should not be disheartened or surprised at all, that, UAE gave the highest civilian honour to PM Modi of India. UAE ruling regime has acted against the laws of Allah, the UN Charter and common sense condemning Indian aggression. “Order of Zayed” has erred against the principles of humility, justice and duty towards those who are aggressed against. Oil is a God’s gift and it should bring humility and not arrogance. We are saddened but the world does not end with UAE.

The threat is within Pakistan and within Azad Kashmir. If we fail to change optics into a real time committed activity against Indian aggression, occupation and imprisonment of Kashmiris, we may have difficult days ahead. However, if Prime Minister Imran Khan, is not distracted and is able to work as an ambassador for the cause of Kashmir, the world sympathy is there to bag.

We see that TV Talk shows, parade analysts, who have a very poor and unreliable understanding of Kashmir case. They puff anger and spread dismay. They hurt the merits of Kashmir case. Prime Minister Khan needs to join the wisdom of Article 8 of 1960 AJK Act, Article 11 of 1974 AJK Constitution Act and Article 257 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and connect this wisdom further along with the jurisprudence of UN Security Council Resolutions and UNCIP Resolutions on Kashmir.

If Prime Minister Imran Khan is ready to keep his promise and there is no reason that he would not, United Nations package on Kashmir is there to help. Kashmir case has been duly investigated by UNCIP under the directions of the UN Security Council, they have submitted their findings and the UN Representatives appointed by the UN Security Council have also submitted their reports to the UN Security Council. It was on the question of keeping a certain number of army on both sides that the implementation of UN mechanism, of arranging a UN supervised vote in Kashmir came to a halt. We are there in a cul de sac and need to come out and put ourselves on the main road.

Disagreement on keeping a certain number of soldiers on each side, is an administrative and logistics issue. It could not hold the right of self-determination of the people of Kashmir hostage. India has washed her hands off, of all bilateral agreements. A lot of time has been unnecessarily wasted in bilateral engagements. These have failed and August 5, 2019 action by India, is the final nail in the coffin of bilateralism.

It does not mean that we have come to the cliff or a dead end. The way forward for Prime Minister of Pakistan is to invoke article 103 of the UN Charter and say a final good bye to all bilateral engagements on Kashmir. Bilateral engagement between India and Pakistan has to survive but Kashmir should be handed over to Article 103 of the UN Charter. Mediation has been tried by UNCIP and by UN Representatives appointed on Kashmir in the past.

We need to move forward and the question of keeping the number of soldiers on either side of cease fire line, has to be settled through arbitration or through an intervention of the International Court of Justice. A recourse to UN package on Kashmir would help to restrain the Indian security forces and bring them within the discipline set in the 21 April 1948 UN Security Council Resolution. UN Security Council Resolutions 38 and 91 don’t allow for the action taken by India on 5 August 2019. It is aggression, occupation and imprisonment of a people waiting for a UN supervised vote.

Prime Minister of Pakistan is attending the September General Assembly Session. He has to depart from ritual reference to Kashmir and has to lay down in an order of precedence, demands based on the strict discipline of UN Security Council Resolutions on Kashmir. We saw that Government of India, its sympathizers of all manner, its foreign office and other invisible set ups, have all failed to contain OHCHR or the Office of the UN Secretary General from publishing reports. The three UN reports have indicted India for her human rights record in Kashmir. It has unnerved India and has hurt her pride.

United Nations route is the right route. Unfortunately, it should not be left for the interpretation of those, who google it, for their TV talk shows or those officers in foreign office who don’t have a reliable understanding of the case as it has developed at the United Nations. Foreign Office has best brains and many of them have good intentions. But that is not enough. There is no alternative to an inclusive input to advance the Kashmir case. Kashmir should not be used as a stair case to acquire power or to bedeck the service tenure needs. There have been betrayals in the past and it would not work anymore. Prime Minister Imran Khan has an opportunity to make history in world politics. He can’t do it without the Kashmiri input.

The writer is President of London based Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights – NGO in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations