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Old Thursday, July 02, 2020
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What impact has the ongoing conflict in Kashmir had upon the people of the region? Are there steps that can be taken to help resolve this longstanding dispute between India and Pakistan? On April 27, 2004 the Institute hosted a presentation by senior fellow Wajahat Habibullah on "The Kashmir Problem and Its Resolution." Drawing from his research for the project and his many years of service with the government of India in Kashmir, he described the background to the problem and identified some of the factors that continue to make resolution difficult. In particular, he discussed the economic impact of the war on life for Kashmiris and the consequences this has for fueling further conflict. He also suggested paths for moving the conflict toward settlement.

Wajahat Habibullah is on leave from his assignment as secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Consumer Affairs. His deep involvement in Kashmir affairs has included a term as vice chair and chief executive of the Jammu and Kashmir Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (Srinagar, 1999-2000), terms as divisional commissioner heading the administration of the eight districts of Kashmir Valley and Ladakh (in 1990-91 and 1993), and 15 years of service in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, where he organized the State Assembly elections in 1977. As commissioner in Kashmir during the early 1990s he repeatedly was called upon to negotiate the release of hostages taken by militants. He also conducted several major inquiries into human rights violations by Indian security forces.

The problem in Kashmir, he observed, is often represented primarily as a matter between India and Pakistan and framed around the issues of the legitimacy of Kashmir's accession to India at independence. But this is not the problem today, he argued, as circumstances since the accession have changed such that the insurgency is now largely fueled by local grievances. In the current situation, the debate ought to focus on the experiences and aspirations of the people in the Kashmir valley, Habibullah pointed out.

The ethnic and religious diversity in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which is divided into three regions, has contributed to the complexity of the Kashmir problem. The majority of Jammu and Kashmir's population of 5.4 million is resident in the Kashmir Valley. Their religion is 98 percent Islam with distinct Sufi characteristics. Jammu Division, on the other hand, has a population of 4.4 million, over 60 percent of whom are Hindus and 30 percent Muslims, where the latter represent a majority in three of Jammu's 6 districts. The languages are variations of Punjabi and different from Kashmiri, spoken largely in the valley. The third component, the largest of the three in area and the most remote, is Ladakh, with a population of approximately 233,000, which has a slim Muslim majority. This is mostly Shia, as distinct from the overall Sunni majority in the Kashmir Valley.

Commenting on the beginnings of the insurgency in the late 1980s, Habibullah noted that originally it was largely an ethnic issue. However, over the years the insurgency has been carefully and deliberately cultivated into a religious one. This created an environment of intolerance, intimidation, and ultimately violence throughout the valley that only exasperated other existing tensions—a situation that led to the exodus of the Kashmiri Hindu Pandits from the region. Today, Habibullah lamented, a large section of the people are either orphans or destitute, the suicide rate in the valley is high, and psychiatric services for post-traumatic stress are virtually unavailable.

Revitalizing the economy in the valley, Habibullah argued, would help address some of these problems. Describing the government's control over most of the enterprises in the region, he noted that hiring in the valley was at a virtual standstill. To address this problem, he advocated a more open private sector to provide Kashmiris with a greater stake in their future. Further, a vibrant economy overall, he noted, would remedy the crisis of high unemployment that currently afflicts Kashmir—a situation that clearly propels young Kashmiris toward insurgent movements, much as it has in many other conflict zones around the globe. However, Habibullah stressed that while an economic strategy was important to ending the insurgency, any effective comprehensive approach would need to have both an economic and political component.

Before much progress in the political situation can be made, Habibullah argued that cross-border terrorism first had to stop and that the proxy war between India and Pakistan must come to an end. Noting that large Indian deployments in civilian areas were a burden on the everyday lives of Kashmiris, he pointed out that an end to cross-border terrorism would remove the need for large deployments of Indian troops to provide security in the region. In addition to the benefit this would provide India by freeing up resources currently dedicated to counterterrorism activities, a reduction of Indian troops in Kashmir would also result in a decline in the inevitable "collateral damages" caused by the size of the deployment and nature of Indian counter-insurgency activities in Kashmir. "As long as you have such large deployments in civilian neighborhoods," Habibullah noted, "you will have collateral damages, you will have children who are orphaned, you will have simmering discontent, and you will not be able to resolve the issue."

Turning to areas where increased Indian-Pakistani political cooperation would have added benefits in Kashmir, Habibullah pointed out that reopening the roads currently blocked on both sides of the border was one simple, yet often overlooked, potential benefit. Ending the road closures would not only facilitate the ability of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to again function as one regional entity, Habibullah stated, but would also improve the effectiveness of any economic development initiatives undertaken in the region.

Lastly, while there was no doubt that policymakers, both in India and Pakistan, have a vital role to play in any political solution to the problem, he felt that it was the people of the valley who should have the final say in what they wanted in terms of resolution. Discussing the value of holding a plebiscite to determine Kashmir's future, he stressed that a plebiscite which gave a choice only between India and Pakistan is redundant in the wake of the Simla Agreement of 1972. Further, the demand for freedom, not a plebiscite, was the priority for Kashmiris ever since the principal political party advocating for a plebiscite dropped the demand in 1975.

In conclusion, Habibullah stressed that the key to any solution lie not in territorial compromises between states, but focusing on the needs of the people on both sides of the border. The Kashmiri people should be made to feel free and able to run their own lives. "There does not have to be territorial change. There needs to changes in the liberties that are exercised by the people of the region whether they be in the area that is in Pakistan or in India," Habibullah stated in closing.

https://www.usip.org/index.php/event...its-resolution
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