The riddle of Kashmir
While the relations between India and Pakistan are on the course of normalisation and the Kashmiri leadership is denouncing militancy as the means to achieve independence, Pakistan officially celebrated 5th February as Kashmir Solidarity Day. The ruling and opposition parties both held rallies. The official media presented special programs to highlight the sufferings of Kashmiris at the hands of `occupying` Indian forces. So, all went usual as is going since many a years. Where lies the difference, you have to take pains to find it out.
Kashmir issue is in the limelight since last a decade. Since the days the world has believed that India and Pakistan have got big bombs in their arsenals, Kashmir is being regarded as nuclear flashpoint. The recent missile race between the neighbours is enough to convince the world that if there is a war between India and Pakistan it would be over the Kashmir it would be absolute in its scale as well causalities. The fallout will not be restricted to the South Asian region only. When Musharraf has gone for an out of the box solution, India has shown willingness to discuss them. "War is not a solution," the two sides agree.
Now the world knows how serious the Kashmir issue is. Though the peace process between the neighbours has introduced many CBMs, the language of the public media has not changed since last a decade. Each news bulletin of PTV and Radio Pakistan includes, "The Indian forces, as a manifestation of state terrorism, killed [so many] people in the valley". Foreign minister is another person who has got a special mission to forward the cause of Kashmiris. The president and the premier happen to tour foreign nations so frequently and they specially mention the Kashmir as the core issue between India and Pakistan no trade till the issue is amicably resolved.
A powerful section of intelligentsia in Pakistan believes, rightly or wrongly, that if Kashmir goes in complete control of India, Pakistan will be deprived of the water that flows down through the valley. The Indus and its tributaries will be diverted from their due course. Pakistan has lost three rivers in result of the Indus Basin Treaty of 1960. Abandoning claims on Kashmir is just signing on the warrants of death. So Kashmir should become a part of Pakistan; if not, India should regard it as it a disputed entity.
What is the fall out of this approach towards Kashmir? It should be remembered that the policy-makers of Pakistan have regarded the Kashmir as the core issue and conditioned the regional trade with the resolution of this territorial dispute. People-to-people contacts have also been made hostage to this issue. Pakistan and India have fought three deadly wars while the third one with nuclear undertones is not even a remote possibility.
Is Kashmir basically a water dispute? If so, why Pakistan does not talk about water rather than the territory? Has India any right to divert the course of the three rivers that flow in its territory before entering into Pakistan? The fact of the matter is that Pakistani decision-makers think so. The same fear had led them to the signing of the Indus Basin Treaty. It was basically a compromise. Pakistan surrendered its rights on the use of the eastern rivers of Ravi, Beas and Sutlej in exchange of Indus, Jehlum and Chenab.
Had Pakistan really been interested in Kashmir, the independence leaders would have insisted on the plebiscite as the means of accession for the princely states. Rather, to the utter surprise of the Congress, the Muslim League insisted that the rulers should decide the fate of their states. Another opportunity came when Indian leadership expressed their desire to exchange Hyderabad with Kashmir. But the proposal was discarded on the plea that the region was nothing but a home to rugged mountains. What the Pakistani leadership thought was probably that Kashmir will fall in their lap like a ripen fruit.
The fact of the matter is that with the passage of time, Kashmir has been declared as a jugular vein of Pakistan. Huge national resources are consumed on diplomatic efforts to keep Kashmir issue alive. PTV and Radio Pakistan allot considerable time to highlight the atrocities of the Indian forces against the Kashmiris fighting for their just cause. Too the scale at which the rallies have been brought out in favour of Kashmiri`s cause, the matter goes beyond merely the public stunt.
Since General Musharraf is the most passionate advocate of the resolution of the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, it is really surprising that neither the content of the official media nor the norms and practices of the government associated with the Kashmir issue have changed. The desire to have friendly relations between the neighbours is not being supported by the concrete measures to bring down the level of hatred among the people against the neighbour that has been injected in their minds during last half-a-century, can prove to be an important step towards this end but the matter has not gone beyond bringing about changes in the curricula of state-run educational institutions.
It is not understandable why General Musharraf taken a serious note of the implication of the propaganda by the state media against India. Too, it is not-so-wise to say that he has no control over the policies of PTV and Radio Pakistan. Similarly, Indians have never termed the electronic media policy of Pakistan as contradictory to the rhetoric of General Musharraf vis-à-vis having friendly relations with the neighbour. Probably they understand the complexity of the problem; the public sentiments take a time to subside down.
Last but not the least, the ARD stands opposed to the `out of box solution` approach of General Pervez Musharraf on Kashmir. It has openly supported the stance of Jamat I-Islami that sees jihad as the only viable means to realise the goal of freedom for Kashmiris. That the opposition and the ruling camp have celebrated Kashmir Solidarity Day with renewed fervour is the proof that the whole nation supports the cause of Kashmiris. But the event, being celebrated for last half a decade, has got a different meaning this time. " Kashmir is a riddle that should be strengthened; it is not a problem to be resolved," says the lot opposed to General Pervez Musharraf.
Pakistan News Service - PakTribune
when it comes your turn you justified use of heavy weapons and air-strike against Indian Citizens by Indian Army when it comes to Pakistan you are criticizing Pakistan and objecting to it though in our case we are faced with International Terrorists of Al-qaeda and use of force against them and those local terrorists associated with them is not at all unjust.
where did i say that ????
