Daily Times

On February 5, 2016, in Muzaffarabad, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while addressing a joint session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on the Kashmir Day said that the solution of all issues, including that of the disputed Kashmir, lies in dialogue. Unless we sit together and talk about these issues, nothing would be resolved.

On September 21, 2016, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while addressing the summit of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York raised the Kashmir issue in its true perspective, reminding the world about its responsibility to stop Indian brutalities in the Indian-occupied Kashmir. Though it was a predictable speech but he said very clearly that peace and normalisation of relations between Pakistan and India could not be achieved without resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

But, in my opinion, India will not give up Kashmir because of a few speeches. Pakistan is losing a great deal because of its hostile attitude towards India, while gaining very little. If Pakistan normalises its relations with India and moves towards free trade and free movement of people, in time, it will become irrelevant to which country Kashmir belongs. Switzerland, Germany and Austria are separate countries that are all German speaking, but their citizens can live and work anywhere.

Recently, PM Nawaz Sharif nominated 22 parliamentarians belonging to both houses of parliament as his special envoys to highlight, in important countries of the world, the Kashmir cause and Indian brutalities. The special task for this team is to mobilise the world opinion on the plight of the oppressed people of the Indian-occupied Kashmir.

How unfortunate is that from these 22 envoys, at least one of them, it seems, is ignorant of the situation in the Indian-occupied Kashmir, Indian leaders and even Pakistan’s stance on the issue. Such was the case of Nawab Ali Wassan — a member of the National Assembly, and the only Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) member among the envoys — who will head to Moscow to highlight the Kashmir issue. Asked on this issue by a local journalist what stance he would take up during his visit, Wassan was not clear as he answered in these words: “We have not been told what will happen or what we will be doing [during the visit]; we will be briefed by the authorities to be able to convey our concerns on the issue.” When asked to shed light on the situation in the Indian-occupied Kashmir, Wassan said, “Poor people are dying over there, and I have heard they are losing their eyesight to the use of some sort of tear gas shells or bullets.”

Furthermore, Wassan did not seem to know anything about former chief minister Omar Abdullah, the current Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, separatist leader Asiya Andrabi, and the Shimla agreement or the Lahore Declaration when asked about their respective roles to resolve the issue. The PPP politician finally had to defend his lack of knowledge about Kashmir and said, “I do not know much about Mehbooba Mufti; if you could enlighten me, I would be able to give my opinion.”

I am struggling to understand what this step would achieve. What is the benefit the respected prime minister foresees especially keeping in mind that the issue of Kashmir, sort of, dropped from global attention years ago? And mostly importantly, what could any of the third party nations do about the issue apart from perhaps giving a ‘politically correct’ statement, which for many years has simply been the comment we have all heard countless times: Kashmir is a bilateral issue, and therefore, India and Pakistan should resolve it bilaterally. Every country/nation has enough problems of its own to solve rather than to meddle into matters of others. With due respect, it would serve Pakistan better if the government puts so much focus on the nation’s economic development. There are so many issues that Pakistan as a developing nation is facing, and such passion and zeal towards solving them would do wonders.

If the prime minister wants to send people to other countries regarding the Kashmir issue then he should send members of genuine think tanks who can talk, argue and give solid justifications to world leaders. Politics is the art of fishing in troubled waters, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has perfected this art by remaining continuously in this field. Therefore, the announcement of politicians travelling abroad for highlighting the Kashmir cause is nothing but a political ploy by the ruling party, which on state’s money is trying to keep its members happy until the 2018 elections. The real problem with Pakistan is that there does not exist any state institution that has the ability or power to judge the real intentions of such moves, and hold those responsible for plundering the state money for political mileage.

Here are my questions to the respected prime minister. How many parliamentarians are being sent abroad for bringing foreign direct investment into Pakistan? How many parliamentarians are sent to improve the image of Pakistan on international forums to attract tourists and resume international sports in Pakistan? With whom would these 22 dignitaries meet? Would the foreign dignitaries listen to our envoys and back us on our stand on Kashmir? Would they be able to neutralise Indian claim over Kashmir? What is the gauge of success, if any? How would the public be informed about the outcome of these state-funded trips?

On the other hand, Pakistan’s closest ally China, at last, has given a very clear statement that on the Kashmir issue it would stand with Pakistan, support it and speak for it at every forum. But does Pakistan think that the Arab world, the US or European countries that are some of the closest allies of India and the biggest investors in Indian economy would pay any attention to Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir issue? Well, it is Pakistan’s taxpayers’ money, and the government can spend it whatever way it wants. Good luck with your efforts, Mr prime minister.

The writer is a Lahore-based social and political activist. Presently, he is linked with a humanitarian organisation working in interior Sindh, and can be reached at salmanali088@gmail.com