The Kashmir Dispute and Its Effects

Kashmir is a territory in dispute between India and Pakistan with no resolution in sight. Ironically, the people of Kashmir have no affinity towards any of these countries. POK (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) citizens are fighting Pakistan occupation, and IOK (India occupied Kashmir) citizens are fighting Indian occupation.

Both the occupied lands, nevertheless, are excellent tourist destinations with an inherently warm culture — as can be gauged from various stories written about the people and culture of Kashmir. So, in a world free of military strategists, Kashmir indeed has a valid and strong claim for an independent existence very much like that of Switzerland. The land which should have been producing the best of musicians, writers, scientists, artists and intellectuals, is unfortunately producing armed rebellion. 

Armed Rebellion in Reference to Kashmir Dispute

The first name that comes to mind when thinking of armed rebellion in the context of Kashmir dispute is Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM). JeM is originally a Kashmiri militant group. The Indian media claims it is being supported by ISI through pensions and other financial support and has its operations spread across Pakistan, but, officially, the group is banned in Pakistan as well. It is also deemed to have carried out an attack on Pervez Musharaf.

In India, the name JeM is associated with the attack on Indian parliament and with the recent Pathankot attack. Both these attacks were high intensity suicide attacks carried out by dedicated Jihadists, but both the attacks failed to achieve their desired objectives. Afzal Guru, who was hanged in relation to the parliament attack, is their revered hero — his son has recently scored very well in the higher secondary school examination and wants to pursue medicine like his father did at one time. Personally, I am not terrorized by JeM because JeM has not yet attacked common civilians per se in India, and their failed attack on parliament only makes me feel sympathetic towards them like I feel towards the glamorous gangsters while watching gangster movies.

International Intervention is Necessary

In the recently failed foreign secretary level talks between India and Pakistan, JeM has appeared as a villain, and India wants a strong action by Pakistan against JeM before the talks can resume. Pakistan seems to be reluctant and wants to carry out an independent investigation in India wrt Pathankot attacks before it takes any action. India has agreed to the said independent investigation, and the talks are obviously suspended in the interim. Rest all is BS.

Frankly speaking, I don’t see these talks happening in any “near future”. With the changed perspective, I am not only satisfied but even joyed with this. I have reached an opinion that Kashmir needs to be an independent state, and the international intervention in the Kashmir issue is not only important but also necessary to achieve it. The UN, the P-5, the G-8, et al, are doing a great injustice to the people of Kashmir by not letting them self-determine their existence.

What Kashmir needs is international intervention for dispute resolution and for ensuring self-determination. Ironically, JeM has emerged as a hero rather than a villain for me, after a rejuvenating afternoon sleep, whereafter the mind feels free and amenable to risky innovations.

Addendum Dt. 06.03.2016

The following quote from Dulat’s book is a relevant addendum to the above.

The ISI also acknowledges that timely intelligence provided by R&AW about a likely Jaish-e-Mohammed attack may have saved President Musharraf’s life in 2004. Musharraf himself is said to have acknowledged it. Incidentally, two of the Jaish militants involved were hanged in Pakistan after the attack in a Peshawar school in December 2014.