Daily Times

Amidst vitriolic statements from Indian leadership over the attack on Indian brigade headquarters in Uri by armed militants and India’s attempts at shaping international opinion to vilify Pakistan, Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Mohamed Nawaz Sharif and the military establishment have responded in their own manner. Prime Minister Sharif reached out to the international community by highlighting Indian excesses in the Indian-occupied Kashmir in his meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry and wrote letters to the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council informing them of the volatility of the Kashmir dispute, and the contingency of peace in South Asia on its resolution. Meanwhile, the military leadership at the corps commander meeting took note of the “hostile narrative being propagated by India,” and stated confidence in Pakistan’s ability to defend itself against any external threat. As India has been quick to point its finger towards Pakistan, seemingly more as a knee jerk reaction than based on any substantial evidence, especially given the tight fencing and surveillance of the Line of Control, the best option available for Pakistan is to rally international opinion in favour of its case. And for that to happen it will have to prove to the world that it is committed to fighting terrorism and militancy, regardless of any distinctions.

India has for long used the blame of crossborder terrorism to discredit Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir. It continually alleges that Pakistan provides sanctuary and support to groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba that perpetrate terror on its soil, and points to the lack of action taken against their leaders despite India sharing evidence with Pakistani authorities. All of this necessitates a revision of Pakistan’s foreign policy in which all of these allegations by India are taken seriously, and steps are taken against any group using Pakistani soil to perpetrate cross border terrorism, whether in India or Afghanistan, so that India is deprived of the grounds to vilify Pakistan. It is true that Pakistan is far from the state of international isolation that India wants it to be ‘punished’ with, but it is also true that most of Pakistan’s appeals, internationally, fall on deaf ears. This is not only because India is a much bigger country, but also because the image of Pakistan that has been crafted in the international arena has undermined the basis of it raising any issue on moral or humanitarian basis.

The current Kashmir crisis has gained traction in foreign media, and this is a good development for a region that has only witnessed the world’s apathy. The best that Pakistan can do is to extend moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmir cause so that India is forced to bring Kashmir onto the negotiating table. However, grandiose and unattainable goals should be let go of in place of pragmatic and realistic results. It is very unfortunate that in this Pakistan-India rivalry, it is the Kashmiris who have lost the most. And it is time to correct this injustice by putting the concerns of Kashmiris first.

All of this shows that the Kashmir dispute is the singular bone of contention out of which most of the issues between Pakistan and India stem from. And this means that the Kashmir dispute is indeed very important. However, untactful handling of the Kashmir issue, and forcing it on every available forum has cost Pakistan important opportunities to gain beneficial alliances. Moreover, Kashmir has been made an object of national fixation, steering focus away from socioeconomic development. This has to some extent not only resulted in an India-centric foreign policy, but even undermined the pressure from within to improve the system. Pakistan needs to step forward, and for that to happen, it needs to take into account a more holistic approach towards national development.*