Kashmir Dispute : Realistic Outcomes

Kashmir Dispute : Realistic Outcomes

Despite all the hue and cry after abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A of Indian constitution, there have been multiple developments of such sorts that have ..or could have proved to be instrumental in shaping the future of the valley. From the hanging of Maqbool Bhatt in Tihar jail to the rumored murder of Yasin Malik, questions have been raised at the dodgy stance of Islamabad and New Delhi regarding Kashmiris.

Has Pakistan voiced its concerns for the plight of Kashmiris on humanitarian grounds or has its Armed Forces cashed on the puss of this Victorian Seed? My friends in Kashmir ask this question and I, despite all of my jingo nationalism, have repeatedly failed to convince independent Kashmiri voices.

However, the independent voices across both sides of the LOC stand united behind the diplomatic banner of Pakistan in hope that some miracle might just come out of it and much of this stance stems from the fact that the saffron of RSS and BJP has united the all and sundry of Kashmir in a more mammoth manner as compared to the red of Shri Hari Singh. Children as young as 5, women as feeble as 80 and adults as passionate as lava voluntarily come out on streets and chant for their rights – some in the Kashmiri, Potohari and Koshur while some in the hardness of the stone they pelt.

The people are sick, tired and are waiting for an answer. When they turn on the TV, they are looked at with mistrust and people like the Governor of IOK, Mr Satya Pal Malik and Education Minister of IOK continue to denounce the SOS calls from the valley. How much of a buffoon one has to be to realize the fact that when you impose a 23-day long curfew, detain 1500 political faces and prohibit Friday Prayer, it is all going to be ‘silent and peaceful’.

The conflict between the 2 nuclear yet non-signatory powers of the Non-Proliferation Treaty has been ever-increasing with the control being usurped by extremist elements and the population jumping on their bandwagon in both countries. Sentiments like those on religion are exploited for the gain of status quo and it seems like such a practice would not diminish any time soon.

“KASHMIR IS THE NUCLEAR FLASHPOINT OF THIS WORLD”
The above cries from Pakistani establishment has raised a lot of ears that were perhaps unaware of the problem in Kashmir but there are some legitimate questions here such as why did Pakistan not take any precautionary steps and utilize all of its diplomatic prowess to raise awareness about this unprecedented yet obvious move by Modi? Or what made our Intel sources so naïve?

Questions of this sort ought to be asked but now Pakistan has been pinned against the wall by India. They have done what they wanted to and now they are in a perfect setting. It is us who are in panic mode. No matter how loud we speak now, the population is not going to be wooed by these things and constant internal pressure for some action would serve as a perfect pilaf for point scoring.

On the other hand, India would one day have to lift the curbs from Kashmir. Normalcy would return one day and it would become increasingly hard for Pakistan to support an insurgency in Kashmir. Plagued by depression, Pakistan would have to resort to escalatory steps along the LOC and it can prove to be yet another episode of Operation Grand Slam. However, local insurgents and stone pelters would keep resisting the illegal annexation of Kashmir by India but it would all go in vain because the thought of stones and pens fighting bullets in a more pompous and extravagant manner is all too poetic and obsolete. A few educated people along with the anti-BJP parties would approach the Indian Supreme Court against the move as some already have and the case can span well over 25 years.

Even if the Article 370 is restored by then, it would be of no use to Kashmiris because every single second that passes by brings forth disbelief and the memoirs of ‘The Great Indian Betrayal’. Massive tourist influx would be witnessed by Jammu and Kashmir especially in the Ladakh region which is split into a 60-40 percent Buddhist/Muslim setup.

Now what Islamabad can do is to protect the lives and livelihoods of the Kashmiris living under Pakistani flag and keep offering them the diplomatic support they need. Wage a war against corruption, malpractice and deceit and become an economic, cultural and a social giant. Perhaps the black hole of a developing Pakistan can suck up all the classes of the society and take them to a point of singularity and eventually lead us from being the powerless to the feared through the worm hole of belief.