Kashmir Diary Volume 2, 1993
In a recent publication multi-authored book PAKISTAN: 1992, Westview Press (page 157),
Professor Robert G. Wirsing observed “Pakistani arguments that seek to satisfy this demand (interests of India and Pakistan to the exclusion of interest of the Kashmiri) by monotonous invocation of the UN’s original resolution in regard to a plebiscite, betray a failure to recognize the changes that have taken place in the Kashmir dispute in particular the erosion…for a bifold definition of self-determination.”
Given this context of Kashmir conflict this paper suggests policy for Pakistan including recommendations to: 1) Establish a Kashmir desk at key embassies to propagate the Kashmiri struggle. 2) Declare in a forceful manner that it has no territorial ambitions about Kashmir, that the part of Azad Kashmir under its control is land held in trust, and that providing Kashmiris an opportunity to exercise their fundamental human right, the right of self-determination, is central to the policy objective of Pakistan.
Kashmiri freedom-fighters militant confrontation with the Indian army, provides an excuse for Indian occupation forces to annihilate the Kashmiri people. India maintains, and seems to have convinced the international community, that the militancy in Kashmir is a movement inspired by Islamic fundamentalism and engineered by Pakistan. Given the current shift of political global alliances, Pakistan could find itself isolated and alone, to face the world’s fourth largest army.
The government of Pakistan needs to reconsider its position to meet changing circumstances. Pakistan needs to help Kashmiris to draw the world communities’ attention to the massive violations of human rights in occupied Kashmir. Pakistan must also re-focus and enunciate the Kashmir dispute as an issue of Kashmiri people’s right of self-determination, and not as a bilateral territorial dispute with India.
Present situation in Occupied Kashmir
In occupied Kashmir the focus of freedom fighters is to confront Indian army soldiers. The freedom fighters are ill armed and poorly trained. They confront the Indian army in or near populated areas. These actions become an excuse for the Indian army to seek revenge from the innocent civilian population. Confrontation even with a single soldier in Kashmir has become an excuse for murder of innocent civilians and destruction of property. This pattern of organized destruction of the Kashmiris is physically evident all over occupied Kashmir. Emotional scars are evident even outside of occupied Kashmir, in the refugee camps in Azad Kashmir. Indian authorities in Kashmir seem determined to annihilate Kashmiris, either by killing them or forcing them to flee Kashmir. The sacrifices of Kashmiri freedom fighters have thus become an instrument of the Indian design to rid Kashmir of Kashmiris.
In occupied Kashmir, there is no identifiable political organization leading the struggle. Absence of a grass roots political organization and existence of many militant groups has given rise to anarchy. Some professional politicians and others, with their mushroom organizations promote their own particular aims. They either promote association with a particular geographic entity or enforce a certain way of life and standard of morality. Some of these groups use violence to enforce their will on the civilian population. Others have infiltration of criminal elements in them. It is said that even Indian soldiers disguised as freedom fighters demand ransoms at gun-point from the civilian population.
India’s obvious purpose seems to be to discredit the freedom-fighters and terrorize the civilian population with the ultimate aim of destroying the freedom movement. If present conditions continue India may well succeed in its purpose.
International Community
The international community remains misinformed about Kashmir. By enforcing continuous curfews and massive violations of human rights, India has managed to stifle the peaceful protest movement. Kashmir remains sealed to international media and human rights groups. India has not only sealed and isolated Kashmir from the world community, but in addition, through its diplomatic missions and organized Indian community aboard it has succeeded to project a distorted view of the situation in Kashmir.
India projects the Kashmir struggle as a militant secessionist movement inspired by Islamic fundamentalism. India blames Pakistan for engineering the militancy in Kashmir. This propaganda is designed to isolate Pakistan in the World community. Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism are used to appeal to the worst fears of western democracies. To win over the Middle East nations and other Muslim countries India has sent delegations to project its image as a secular democratic country.
Results of diplomatic initiatives by Pakistan to counter the Indian propaganda, if any, are not evident. Comparatively, results of efforts by some expatriate Kashmiris and volunteer organizations which counter the Indian lobby have shown encouraging results. However, their resources including organizational capabilities are obviously no match to the vast network of Indian mission and organizations.
Recommended Policy for Pakistan
The leadership of Pakistan needs to take stock of the Pakistan situation and revisit their policy options. These policy options should include:
(1) India has and will continue to destroy every attempt to build a grass root political organization of Kashmir people. People of Azad Kashmir, therefore, become essential and must provide help to people in the Indian occupied Kashmir and to develop a grass root political organization. Two areas which are crucial for this are: a) Providing training for community organizations. The young refugees who are now in the refugee camps in Azad Kashmir are a valuable resource which can be trained to organize a grass root political organization in occupied Kashmir. b) Organizations must have means of communication. A powerful communication facility in Aza’d Kashmir which would include television and serve as a center for providing information and education to Kashmir would be crucial for building the grass root political organization.
(2) Government of Pakistan needs to counter Indian attempts to isolate Kashmir in the international community. A very effective way of countering Indian propaganda would be to sponsor visits by foreign press and representatives of foreign embassies to refugee camps in Azad Kashmir. Most urgent need, however, is to use the Pakistan diplomatic missions worldwide to project the Kashmir situation. It is apparent that the foreign office of Pakistan lacks people with historical knowledge about Kashmir. There are Kashmiri expatriate individuals and organizations in and outside Pakistan who could help. A Kashmiri speaking person can represent a more acceptable view point on Kashmir than a non-Kashmiri speaker can. Establishing a Kashmir Desk at key embassies to propagate the Kashmiri struggle at the grass root level within the world community can be an effective way to project the Kashmiri struggle.
(3) Pakistan needs to announce a clear and unambiguous policy on Kashmir. Pakistan must project the Kashmir issue not as a bilateral territorial dispute between India and Pakistan but as the question of the right of self-determination of the people of Kashmir under international law. Thus, Pakistan must not permit India to link up discussion of Kashmir with their other bilateral issues. It must also maintain that legitimate representatives of Kashmir’s must participate in every discussion on Kashmir.
(4) Pakistan should invite the United Nations to take charge of the refugee camps and declare its willingness to a plebiscite in Azad Kashmir. Pakistan should suggest that all of Jammu and Kashmir be turned into a UN trusteeship for a designated period to be followed by a plebiscite. The plebiscite should allow a choice for complete independence for geographic regions within Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan should affirm its position of holding the territory of Azad Kashmir as a trustee.
Qaid-i-Azam, founder of Pakistan, is said to have described Kashmir as the SHAHRAG (Wind-Pipe, Trachea) of Pakistan. Whether trachea is part of the lungs or only connected to it could be debated. It is however certain that survival of the lungs depends on the air that passes through the trachea. The people of Kashmir are the muscles and bones that make the trachea, (the shahrag) of Pakistan. Kashmir without Kashmiris will cease to function as the shahrag of Pakistan. Indian occupation is destroying the people of Kashmir. The challenge facing the people and government of Pakistan is to ensure its own survival and also prevent genocide of Kashmiri people. Pakistan can do that if it focuses the world communities’ attention to the human rights violatons in Kashmir and refocuses its emphasis not on the aspect of territorial dispute but on the right of self-determination for people of Kashmir.