Kashmir Day

[amy]

Kashmir Solidarity Day is being observed throughout the country today to express solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistani nation celebrates this day with traditional zeal and fervour to reassure its political, moral and diplomatic support to the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Since India and Pakistan got independence in 1947, the issue of Jammu and Kashmir has been the main bone of contention between the two neighbours. Three wars have been fought over the issue of Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Despite the ongoing peace process, Kashmir is still a major issue that is hampering the normalisation of relationship between the two South Asian neighbours. Unless and until a permanent solution is brought about, the people on both sides of the border, especially the Kashmiris, would continue to suffer. After assuming power in 1999, President Pervez Musharraf moved rather quickly to seek an enduring solution of this festering issue. Given that President Musharraf was generally viewed as an opponent of Nawaz Sharif’s policy of forging peace with India and had allegedly scuttled the atmosphere of goodwill created by the bus diplomacy, his scaling down his intransigence marked a shift in his approach.

It can be said that the post-9/11 sentiment against militancy of any hue could have played a part in making him change his tack on the issue of peace with India, which invariably is linked to the resolution of the dispute over Occupied Kashmir. Yet the fact that Musharraf’s urge for peace can also be laid at the realisation that the people of both India and Pakistan are reeling from excruciating poverty because of the hardships inflicted by the non-resolution of a lingering dispute, which also has the potential to ignite nuclear war in the region. The Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) taken thus far have led to the normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan to some extent, but the Kashmir dispute has to be resolved. President Musharraf, realising the gravity of the situation, proposed an out-of-the-box solution. He proposed a four-point formula to resolve the Kashmir issue jointly with India. Musharraf’s four points envision soft or porous borders in Kashmir with freedom of movement for the Kashmiris, exceptional autonomy or ‘self-governance’ within each region of Kashmir, phased demilitarisation of all regions and finally a “joint supervisory mechanism” with representatives from India, Pakistan and all parts of Kashmir to oversee the plan’s implementation. India did not give a positive response to this solution. India has been pushing for a conversion of the Line of Control (LoC) into an international border, but this cannot be done till the issue is amicably resolved between India, Pakistan and Kashmir. While Pakistan was willing to give autonomy to Azad Kashmir, India seems adamant on holding onto the power structure in Occupied Kashmir. India should realise that the Kashmir dispute is not only about territory, but also involves human lives and human emotions.

The struggle in Kashmir has been going on for 60 years now, leading to the loss of millions of innocent lives. The world community should also lend its support to the issue of Kashmir so that the lives of the Kashmiri people, on both sides of the border, should become normal again. A peaceful and sustainable solution cannot be brought about till all three parties – India, Pakistan and Kashmir – are unanimous on how to resolve this dispute.


http://thepost.com.pk/EditorialNews....42793&catid=10


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