There was a jungle, the beauty of which was second to none. Its voluminous vegetation was famous far and wide. Its ice-caped towering mountains were a source of pride for its animals. The cold, sweet water which flowed in its streams and rivers was envied by those who couldn’t benefit from it. Its residents lived harmoniously and merrily together. The animals of the adjacent jungle were jealous of this jungle’s rich and better resources and probably of their gaiety. The greed over powered them so much that they formed an army, launched a brazen attack and took it by force. The dwellers tried to resist it but failed to do so due to the superiority of the hostile army. For decades this army ruled this jungle, stole its riches, turned its beauty to ashes and oppressed its residents in horrific and unimaginable ways. This exotic forest is Kashmir and the hostile army is the Indian army.
After the Independence Act was passed in 1947, all princely states were given a chance to accede to either India or Pakistan, or remain independent. The then maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh, delayed his decision so as to maintain independence. However, persistent reports of communal violence against Muslims in the state and the resulting intervention of the Pashtun tribesmen, the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October, acceding the 75% majority Muslim region to the Indian Union.
India accepted the accession as provisional until such time as the will of the people can be ascertained by a plebiscite. The Indian army entered the state on 27 October to take that land under its domain.
Pakistan immediately contested the accession, suggesting that it was fraudulent, that the Maharaja acted under duress. On the basis of the accession, India claims ownership of the state including one-third of the territory currently administered by Pakistan.
The first war over Kashmir ensued, lasting until 1948 when India sought resolution of the issue at the UN Security Council. As a result, Resolution 47 was passed on 21 April 1948. The measure imposed an immediate cease-fire and called on the Government of Pakistan to secure the withdrawal of the tribesmen from the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
It also asked India to reduce its forces to minimum strength, so that a plebiscite could be held. Both India and Pakistan failed to arrive at a truce agreement due to differences over the extent of demilitarization. However, Pakistan proposed simultaneous withdrawal of all troops followed by a plebiscite under the international aegis, which India rejected.
UN arbitrators have put forward 11 different proposals for the demilitarization of the region. All of these were accepted by Pakistan, but rejected by the Indian government. Since then, Pakistan and India have gone thrice to war, and two out of these were over Kashmir.
Currently, India, Pakistan, and China control 45 percent, 35 percent and 20 percent respectively, of the original J&K territory. The total population of India’s division of Jammu and Kashmir is 12 million and Pakistan’s division of Azad Jammu and Kashmir is 2,580,000. Islam is the leading faith, with 75% Muslims. Hindus constitute 20.48% and the Sikhs form 1.39% of the total population.
The conflict over Kashmir has afflicted South Asia for nearly a half century. Each passing day increases further the toll of victims and suffering. Since 1989, over 50,000 (by some reports 100,000) Kashmiris have died during the conflict. The Indian Security Forces have been provided immunity for mass human rights violation under the AFSPA and PSA laws.
The “Armed Forces Special Powers Act” grants the military, wide powers of arrest, the right to shoot to kill, and to occupy or destroy property without a warrant. A clause of the AFSPA says “No criminal prosecution will lie against any person who has taken action under this act”. The Public Safety Act enables the military to hold a person in administrative detention for a maximum of two years without a court order. Kashmir is the world’s most militarized zone.
The people of Kashmir have led their entire lives under torment. India is a signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)-1948. According to Article 5 of UDHR-1948, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” But Indian forces have repeatedly violated this Article. Torture, hostage-taking, and rape are some of the prominent abuses in that have been repeatedly highlighted on credible media outlets.
Similarly, the Article 9 of UNDHR-1948 states that “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.” But the Article 9 has also been violated in the form of Public Safety Act (PSA). Under the PSA, a person can be detained for the period of two years without any trail vis-a-vis the detaining authority does not disclose the facts of detention.
Furthermore, the Article 1 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that “All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” Contrary to this legal clause, India has disregarded the aspirations of Kashmiris and claimed their land as an integral part of India. In addition, GOI contends that the Indian-administrated elections in Kashmir should be substituted for a UN-administered plebiscite.
The global human rights group Amnesty International slammed India for lack of accountability amid 25 years of human rights violations in Indian-occupied Kashmir in its latest report titled: “Denied: Failures in accountability for human rights violations by security force personnel in Jammu and Kashmir”.
According to this report, 5 July 2015 marked 25 years since the AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir) in effect came into force in Jammu and Kashmir. “Till now, not a single member of the security forces deployed in the state has been tried for human rights violations in a civilian court. This lack of accountability has in turn facilitated other serious abuses.”
The report ” The Human Rights Crisis in Kashmir” by The Human Rights Watch says that “the human rights cell established by the Army Headquarters in 1993, reports on the Army Official’s website that of 30 December 2011, the army received 995 allegations of human rights violation from J&K alone.”
The report “Structure of violence- The Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir” which was presented in the European Union this year has analyzed 333 cases of extra judicial killing, enforced disappearances and sexual violence and torture with 927 alleged perpetrators which include 464 army personnel, 161 paramilitary personnel, 158 J&K police personnel, and 189 Government gunmen. Kashmir’s history has seen over 80,000 casualties and 9,000 plus documented enforced disappearances since 1989.
The UN resolutions clearly state that people of Kashmir should decide their fate through a UN-administered plebiscite. India has tried its best not to let this happen, instead claims that the results of the government elections shows the will of the Kashmiris.
Kashmir, where the number of Indian armed forces is more than 700,000 i.e., 1 soldier for every 8 Kashmiris so how can a fair and transparent election be conducted in that area? In 2013, former Indian Army Chief V K Singh said that Kashmiri politicians were allegedly paid money by the Indian Army for stability in IOK.
Kashmir is very dear to Pakistan. Kashmir is an unfinished part and parcel of partition. When Raheel Sharif, in his Defense Day’s address, said Kashmir is an unfinished agenda, it showed some solemn intentions towards the cause. As the control in western areas close to Afghanistan border has been regained after the operation Zarb-e-Azb, now Kashmir is getting its due attention. Thus, the revival of Kashmir Freedom Movement has gained momentum and is bound to get some fruitful results.
In August 2015, 61st Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference (CPA) scheduled to be held in Islamabad in September 2015 was canceled because CPA secretariat in London along-with other member states had requested Pakistan to officially invite the speaker of the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) Assembly. Since Kashmir is a disputed territory so he had categorically refused, but due to their persistence on the invitation, the CPA conference was called off. Though there are some drawbacks of this decision but Pakistan has conveyed a strong message to the international community regarding its unflinching stance on the kashmir issue.
Earlier this year, Pakistan denied visa to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesperson Naeem Akhtar to attend a Track-II conference in Islamabad claiming that Hurriyat is the true representative of the Kashmiris. Through this action, Pakistan made it crystal clear that it won’t let India subside the voice of Kashmiris by deception.
India canceled the talks between the National Security Advisors of the two enemy states at the last moment because India didn’t want to discuss the Kashmir issue but other terrorism issues, mainly the Mumbai attacks. While Pakistan said that it won’t talk unless Kashmir is not discussed.
Afzal Khan (MEP) and Farzana Yaqoob, minister for social welfare and women development in the government of Azad Jammu & Kashmir launched an independent report on human rights violations in September at the European Parliament. The report documents an alarmingly high number of abuses committed in the Indian-held Kashmir, including extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, numerous acts of torture and sexual violence against Kashmiris amid increased Indian military presence.
They intend to organize an international conference in Brussels next year which will bring together international stakeholders, organs of the European Union, the United Nations, relevant non-governmental organizations and the Kashmiri leaders.
Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s UN ambassador told the Security Council that Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in cooperation with the UN was capable of dealing with the longstanding dispute of Kashmir and addressing the Middle East’s current security challenges. SAARC, on the other hand, has epically failed to address Kashmir’s issue because of the politics between the member states for regional dominion. While on the other hand India highly opposes the intervention of OIC in the problem-solving process of Kashmir discord.
During the 70th session of United Nations General Assembly, Nawaz Sharif called for cooperation by presenting a four point peace initiative on Kashmir dispute in his speech. First point was that Pakistan and India should formalize and respect 2003 understanding of a complete ceasefire in Kashmir and LoC. Secondly both the countries should reaffirm that they will not resort to the threat of force under any circumstances, kashmir should be demilitarized and both should mutually agree to withdraw troops from Siachen.
Kashmir has suffered enough, the vale has been stained red with the blood of the innocents. It is in a dire need of a solution. It is the ego, greed of power, natural resources and the fright of disintegration which is keeping India from alleviating the misery of Kashmiris by not implementing the solutions proposed by UNO. But for Pakistan, it is a higher cause.
As pronounced by Quaid e Azam, Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan. Kashmir and Pakistan belong to each other; it is an integral part of Pakistan. In order to internationally revive the Kashmir question, Pakistan is on the road to use public diplomacy to influence Think Tanks, media and internal civil society organizations. Pakistan will not succumb to the evil plots of India, it will not give up Kashmir and will continue struggling until it does not free the valley.
SOURCE:
- Report “Structure of Violence- The Indian State in Jammu And Kashmir by IPTK and APDP
- Report “Denied: Failures in accountability for human rights violations by security force personnel in Jammu and Kashmir” by Amnesty International Organization
- Report “Human Rights Crisis in Kashmir” by Human Rights Watch
