India’sillegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir princely state in 1947, and its state terrorism to suppress the Kashmiris’ just freedom struggle is a dangerous game that India is playing.As the British left sub-continent in 1947, independent princely states were asked to choose between India and Pakistan as per majority population (Hindus/Muslims). The formula dictated that J&K should join Pakistan as its 77% of the population was Muslim. However, Nehru being a Kashmiri was not comfortable that the state should join Pakistan. Hindu RSS militants with Dogra troops attacked Jammu in October 1947 and massacred thousands of Muslims.
On Oct 22, Pushtuns and Kashmiri volunteers started to advance to liberate the land. Resultantly, Maharaja Hari Singh got unnerved and fled the area asking for Indian help. India immediately launched forces which landed in Srinagar on 26/27 October 1947 and occupied a major part of Jammu and Kashmir forcefully, till advance of the Indian forces was checked by the Pakistani forces. India says that the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession, but it has never shown that instrument since 1947 at any forum. Therefore, it is doubtful whether any such instrument exists.The part of Jammu and Kashmir liberated by Kashmiri and Pashtun tribal leaders was renamed as Azad Jammu& Kashmir.
India took the conflict to the UNSC, which passed Resolution 47 asking for wishes of the people to be determined through a plebiscite, whether they wanted the state to join Pakistan or India. Nehru said, “I have repeatedly stated that as soon as peace and order is established, the Kashmiris should decide accession by plebiscite or referendum”. India, has yet to fulfilthe promise made by its founding fathers. 22 October is the day when Kashmiri people stood up for their rights in 1947 and shall never surrender to an unjust and brutal regime of India. 27th October is observed by the Kashmiris and in Pakistanas a Black day, as on this day India annexed Kashmir region by inducting her military troops illegally in complete disregard of the Indian Independence Act and the Partition Plan.
The arrest and confessions of KulbushanJhadav is a proof and charge sheet against India, based on which India should be blacklisted by the FATF and declared a Terrorist State by the UNSC
The home grown freedom movement in Jammu and Kashmir, that started in 1989, continues to this day despite Indian state terrorism and tyranny involving,the use of excessive force, killings, rapes, blinding the youths by the use of pellet guns, detentions, extra judicial murders in fake encounters, burying the dead in mass graves and financial squeezing. Since 1989 till today 2020, Indian troops have martyred 95,686 Kashmiris, widowed 22,920 women, orphaned 107,802 children and molested or gang-raped 11,219 Kashmiri women, rape of women being used as a weapon of war to intimidate the Kashmiris into submission.
On 5 Aug 2019, India initiated a dangerous game by dividing the Jammu and Kashmir state into two union territories, in utter violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the UNSC resolutions on Kashmir. To crush the Kashmiris’ reaction, India has converted IIOJK into largest human cage of the world in violation of all existing HR treaties and bindings. A mass genocide and change in demography is taking place. The political leadership of IIOJK is being kept in detention or house arrest and are being forcibly sidelined. Only Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, both the former chief ministers of IIOJK have been freed after one year of detention, who have formed an alliance, which has demanded that pre 5 August 2019 status of Jammu and Kashmir be restored.
It is believed that India’s 5 August 2019, steps of dividing the UNSC recognized disputed state between Pakistan and India into two union territories and now allowing all Indian citizens to purchase land in Jammu and Kashmir and settle theirto change the demography of the state to win any future UNSC orders to hold a plebiscite in the state have been taken because India has got encouraged due to it being now a close strategic and defence partner of the US.
Being a party to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute as per the UNSC resolutions, Pakistan continues to stand with the Kashmiris in their fight for right of self-determination and it continues to provide political, moral and diplomatic support to them. To denude the Kashmiri’s of the Pakistan’s aforementioned support, India is trying to destabilize Pakistan by sponsoring terrorism in Balochistan and elsewhere using the Afghan soil. The arrest and confessions of Kulbushan Jhadav is a proof and charge sheet against India, based on which India should be blacklisted by the FATF and declared a Terrorist State by the UNSC.
By taking the above mentioned steps in Kashmir, encouraged by the tolerance of these steps by the US administration, India is trying to permanently make the state of Jammu and Kashmir as its part, by tearing down the UNSC resolutions, which will neither be accepted by the Kashmiris nor by Pakistan. Therefore, no doubt India’s these actions and its hegemony ridden policies haveendangered the regional peace,as these steps and policies are likely tolead to another war between two nuclear neighbours.
Therefore, there is a need that the US and other major powers should try to avert such a dangerous scenario by reigning in India and working on the UNSC forum to resolve the Kashmir dispute by holding a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir as per the earlier UNSC resolutions.
The writer is a former Consultant and Research Fellow of Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), and an Ex Senior Research Fellow of Strategic Vision Institute (SVI), Islamabad