Ruling elites in both Pakistan and India have been ignoring the saner elements of Kashmiri society and resorting to sledgehammer tactics to stifle them. The recent crackdown in Pakistan's Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) clearly indicates that the authorities do not want to tolerate any dissenting voice or protest against the policy of the state. This is the second recent crackdown against protests in AJK. Just a few months ago, the authorities tried to use force against those who struggled for the restoration of subsidies.
The situation in Indian held Kashmir is not rosy either, where democratic forces have been put behind bars while fanatical elements were extended support by the Indian state. Secular Kashmiri nationalist leaders claim that during the recent elections in the disputed territory, New Delhi released a few former militants to contest the state assembly elections. They assert that the move was to undermine the political popularity of the National Conference, but despite all machinations of the BJP-led government, Farooq Abdullah's party managed to secure a majority in the state assembly. It seems that their victory did not go down well with those sitting in the power corridors of the Indian capital.
The recent resolution of Indian-held Kashmir’s assembly clearly indicates as to why the Indian ruling elite is so uncomfortable with nationalist secular political parties. The resolution demanded of the BJP-led government to restore the special status of Jammu and Kashmir that had been granted to the disputed territory through the article A370 of the Indian constitution.
While many in Pakistan only point their finger towards India, accusing New Delhi of adding to the woes of Kashmiri people, some Kashmiri leaders believe that Islamabad is also responsible for the plight of Kashmiri people
The resolution, passed in the first week of the current month, sought a dialogue for “restoration of special status and constitutional guarantees” to the Union Territory and urged that “constitutional mechanisms” be worked out for the same. The resolution was passed by a voice vote, with all parties barring the BJP supporting it. Moved by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, the resolution said: “This Legislative Assembly reaffirms the importance of the special status and constitutional guarantees, which safeguarded the identity, culture, and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and expresses concern over their unilateral removal. This Assembly calls upon the government of India to initiate dialogue with elected representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for restoration of special status, constitutional guarantees and to work out constitutional mechanisms for restoring these provisions.”
The abrogation of the article had even alienated those Kashmiri leaders who wanted greater autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir within the framework of the Indian constitution. It created an impression that the Modi-led government is hatching machinations to alter the demography of the region besides lending credence to the claims of Kashmiri militant groups that New Delhi only understands the might of guns.
It is encouraging to see that all Indian parties except the BJP threw their support behind the resolution. This indicates that most of the parties are amenable to the idea of seeking a peaceful and democratic resolution of the Kashmir dispute that is said to have been a cause of at least three conflicts between the two arch rivals of South Asia. The dispute has also been used to fan anti-Muslims feelings in India while in Pakistan it was exploited by extremist forces who attempted to tear down the social fabric of the society in the name of Kashmir Jihad.
It is not only the National Conference or Srinagar-based parties that believe the restoration could create conducive environment for talks between New Delhi and Islamabad, but Kashmiri parties on the other side of the border also assert that the possible reversal of the August 2019’s decision could greatly help normalise ties between Pakistan and India besides allaying the apprehensions of the Kashmiri people towards BJP’s intention.
While many in Pakistan only point their finger towards India, accusing New Delhi of adding to the woes of Kashmiri people, some Kashmiri leaders believe that Islamabad is also responsible for the plight of Kashmiri people. United Kashmir People’s National Party chairman Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri from Azad Jammu &Kashmir asks what rights Kashmiri people have in what he calls Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “A number of Kashmiri leaders cannot contest elections in AJK without submitting an affidavit stating they believe in affiliation of the disputed territory with Pakistan.”
Kashmiri leaders also bemoan the sledgehammer tactics that the Pakistan state is employing in AJK in a bid to control the region. Recently it undertook a number of measures to curb protests in the Pakistani side of Kashmir. The state is also coming hard on those who actively participate in the subsidy movement. Dr Tauqeer Gilani, President of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front in AJK, had to flee the country after a concocted case of blasphemy was registered against him and fanatics in the region staged protests to intimidate Gilani, who was active during the subsidy movement.
It is time that both Pakistan and India listen to the Kashmiri political parties who have been seeking a peaceful solution to the inveterate dispute. Any effort to undermine JKLF and other nationalist parties on either side of the border will only strengthen the position of militant outfits whose attacks have created a spectre of nuclear war between the two South Asian rivals in the past.
New Delhi will have to engage Yasin Malik and other Kashmiri leaders in talks while Islamabad must abolish the condition of affiliation paving a way for all parties that want to contest elections in the AJK. It is better to listen to saner voices of Kashmiri society before extremists start exploiting the issue again in the two countries. The environment of dialogues and respect for democratic norms might create conditions in the future for the leaderships of two arch rivals to sit together and hammer out an amicable resolution. The sooner the two states understand it the better it will be for Kashmiris and the region.