In the high altitudes of the Neelum Valley, on the very edge of the winding roads that connect Keeran to Kel to Tao-Butt, sits a khoka owned by XYZ*. Whenever you visit, you will find XYZ standing there, welcoming passers-by and travellers, as he pours them a hot, refreshing cup of dhood patti/qarak chai. Across the river – the ever-flowing and ferocious Neelum – lays a world of its own. Even if one looks very carefully, one cannot distinguish the two. They are both so similar–both enveloped by rugged mountains and plains that hover over them and both sleeping under the same pale sky. Even their homes–built with wood and pebbles, covered with a steel slanting rooftop and slabbed with paint of red, pink and green–look almost the same. Still, they are worlds apart. In one valley–the Neelum Valley–people like XYZ are free to move around. They are free to own land, send their children to school, and decide their destiny. On the other side, people cower with fear and take shelter in their homes. They are under constant scrutiny; always suspected of being party to alleged cross-border infiltration and blinded by the heavy floodlights that India throws in their direction in the depths of the night. In fact, many houses on the river bank have been abandoned. It is very difficult to spot any hint of life and movement still there. XYZ will tell you that his own dada emigrated a few decades ago and had started a life for the better in what is now known as Azad Kashmir. He will then tell you that some relatives still reside in the Indian occupied territory. You can hear the excitement in his voice as he recounts how he crossed Chilliana/Teetwal and visited his extended family during the brief opening of the LOC crossing points in the Musharaff era. Though he was only permitted to go for 45 days, as that was the mandated visa policy, it was enough for XYZ to return with fond memories; giddy with excitement. Alas! Time was not enough, for he longed for more. Naturally, it is his family across the Neelum–people he longs to hug, people he longs to talk to, people who know who his dada is. So near yet so far. That time is gone now and the idea of people crossing across the Neelum seems a memory of the very distant past.
A valley that is otherwise so remote and serene is unable to find peace due to the ghastly human rights abuses
Standing there on the river banks of the Neelum, one can imagine how terrifying it must be to hear the boisterous noise of artillery fire, heavy-calibre mortars and automatic weapons echo in mountains. In AJK, it is almost as though people have surrendered to reality. They know that at any given time, their peace may be disturbed. The threat of Indian firing is a part of life. They go about their business and carry on their work: herding goats and chipping away rocks that have fallen during landslides. The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and Working Boundary have continuously targeted civilian-populated areas, not mindful of the fact that there are unarmed civilians on the banks. In 2020, Indian occupation forces carried out over 3,000 ceasefire violations; sustaining injuries to hundreds of innocent civilians and killing 28. How tragic it is that despite the presence of mountains that tower and a river that could swallow poor souls in a heartbeat, two countries have been hostile and at loggerheads for decades. This is an environment that should otherwise humble mankind.
Early this year, Director-Generals of both Pakistani and Indian Military Operations had reaffirmed the commitment of respective countries to the 2003 ceasefire agreement. Surely, a positive development! It was especially welcome for those who live along the LoC, as they have paid their lives to Indian aggression. To many, this was a signal that otherwise very tense relations between the two neighbours were beginning to thaw. Efforts to deescalate tensions rightly rekindle hope about those who were otherwise not engaging in any level of discussion for so many years. However, there is still a need to manage expectations and proceed with caution, taking into account lessons of the past. Whether Pakistan and India are on the verge of another reproachment is unclear. What should be clear, however, is that certain red lines cannot be compromised. Kashmir is one of them.
Pakistan must maintain its principled position on Kashmir because of the on-ground reality that the dire situation created by India in occupied Kashmir remains unchanged. India continues on a repressive course in occupied Kashmir with demographic changes and further bifurcation of the state. It is a horrifying reality that a valley that is otherwise so remote and serene is unable to find peace due to the ghastly human rights abuses that it sees. Such overt discrimination against Muslims is part of India’s strategic calculation and a process unleashed by the Bharatiya Janata Party. I refer to the process that had involved mass conversions to Hinduism, changing the names of Muslim streets, and allowing cow vigilantes to lynch Muslims. The Hindu pundits that are settled in Kashmir are not settled on the river banks, where they would be in direct fire. Pakistan needs to account for this moving forward, making sure that Kashmir-specific CBMs are accompanied with and not a replacement of negotiations on Kashmir. It also needs to ensure that India makes effort to review its policy decisions in Kashmir, especially regarding the re-annexation of Kashmir.
Moreover, for reproachment to happen, India can also show genuine commitment to the peace process by making efforts to restart the dialogue process. Here, it is important to proceed with caution, verifying that India would agree and be prepared to talk on all issues, including outstanding disputes like Kashmir. One does not want to hear India restate its familiar position that Kashmir is India’s internal matter. It is also important that backchannel does not become the sole track of engagement between Pakistan and India. Backchannel itself should lead to the resumption of formal and comprehensive dialogue, one that ought to be left to the diplomats who are best equipped to engage in diplomatic negotiations.
If the composite dialogue that started in 2003 and came to an undesirable halt in 2007 taught the two countries anything, it was that the issues between them were not insurmountable, despite their hostile relations. The ceasefire surely is a welcome step in the right direction, but it is not enough. I wish for nothing more for Kashmir to find peace and for XYZ to be reunited with his extended family once more. Peace-building is an arduous process. The mistrust that afflicts bilateral ties will not magically disappear. Without taking into account the ground realities, it may not be sustainable. Until India ensures continued dialogue with Pakistan and makes effort to reverse its policy decisions on Kashmir, I am afraid peace will not come so easy. What a shame for the 1.5 million that live along the ceasefire line under Pakistan military control, and the people across the Neelum.
* Identities have been changed to protect confidentiality.
The writer is a researcher at Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI)