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Kashmir is a long standing issue between India and Pakistan and by now at least two formal wars one in 1948 and the other in 1965 was fought between the two neighboring countries since the partition of the Subcontinent in 1947 as two independent nations. Since then India and Pakistan each administer a portion of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. Most people in the Indian-controlled portion favour independence or a merger with Pakistan. Nearly 70,000 people have been killed since 1989 in the rebel uprising and subsequent Indian military crackdown. Rebel groups have largely been ruthlessly suppressed by Indian forces in recent years. However, public opposition to Indian military presence remains deep and is now principally expressed through street protests marked by youths hurling stones at government forces and attacking Indian military camps. Proposals for multilateral talks on Kashmir
Public opposition to Indian military presence remains deep and is now principally expressed through street protests marked by youths hurling stones at government forces and attacking Indian military camps
Prof. Sarwar Md. Saifullah Khaled
Kashmir is a long standing issue between India and Pakistan and by now at least two formal wars one in 1948 and the other in 1965 was fought between the two neighboring countries since the partition of the Subcontinent in 1947 as two independent nations. Since then India and Pakistan each administer a portion of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. Most people in the Indian-controlled portion favour independence or a merger with Pakistan. Nearly 70,000 people have been killed since 1989 in the rebel uprising and subsequent Indian military crackdown. Rebel groups have largely been ruthlessly suppressed by Indian forces in recent years. However, public opposition to Indian military presence remains deep and is now principally expressed through street protests marked by youths hurling stones at government forces and attacking Indian military camps.
Recently the Indian police said that a 70-year-old civilian was killed and seven more people were injured during an anti-India protest that erupted on April 27, 2017. The event followed a gun battle that killed three Indian soldiers and two suspected rebels in disputed Kashmir. An Indian army spokesman ranked and named as Colonel Rajesh Kalia said that a group of militants stormed a military camp close to the heavily militarized Line of Control. The Line of Control an upshot of the 1948 Kashmir war between India and Pakistan divides the Himalayan region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media a police officer said that they hurled grenades and fired automatic weapons at the highly guarded camp in Panzgam, northwest of Kashmirs main city of Srinagar. The officer said that two militants were killed in an ensuing gunfight, while another was believed to have escaped. He said three soldiers, including an army officer, were killed and five soldiers were wounded in the attack. The injured soldiers were airlifted to the Indian armys main base in Srinagar for specialized treatment.
There was no independent confirmation of the incident and no rebel group fighting against Indian rule immediately issued any statement. The police officer said that scores of villagers assembled outside the army camp in Panzgam in solidarity with the militants. They chanted pro-independence slogans and demanded that the bodies of the slain militants be handed over to them for their last rites. He said that soldiers fired at the protesters after they hurled rocks at an army vehicle leaving the camp, adding that, a 70-year-old man was killed and at least seven others wounded in the firing. Villagers said that the slain man was not part of the protest and was hit by a bullet in the chest. In another protest, hundreds of villagers a few kilometers (miles) away from the battle took to the streets and hurled rocks at police and paramilitary soldiers, who fired tear gas and warning shots to break up the demonstration. No one was reported injured in those clashes.
The United Nations has been trying to solve the Kashmir conflict from the very beginning of the problem through plebiscite. To this proposal Pakistan agrees. But the opposition comes from the Indian side resulting in the continuation of the issue till today to the loss of 70, 000 people since 1989 in the Indian held Kashmir because of Indian military repression of the freedom fighting Indian held Kashmiri people. Of late individual countries like Turkey and China has come forward to negotiate the issue through multilateral talks. But on May 01, 2017 India dismissed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans suggestion of multilateral talks on the Kashmir dispute, insisting the matter must be resolved bilaterally through talks between Islamabad and New Delhi. Erdogan had, in an interview before his arrival in India earlier in the week of May 2017, suggested that the two countries needed to strengthen multilateral dialogue in an attempt to find a solution to the Kashmir issue.
Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said, in a veiled reference to Pakistan that the Kashmir issue has a prominent dimension of cross-border terrorism that needs to be stopped by those who are perpetuating it. Our case essentially was that Kashmir is an issue of terrorism that has dogged us for 40 years, cross-border terrorism and state-sponsored terror. As far as the issue is concerned, we are ready to address any issue between India and Pakistan bilaterally through peaceful means as has been stipulated in the Simla Agreement and Lahore Declaration. Baglay added that India was always ready to talk about Kashmir and all other issues with Pakistan so that peaceful solutions can be found bilaterally. The MEA spokesperson said the Turkish president and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also held lengthy discussions on terrorism this week during Erdogans two-day visit to India. Both parties agreed that there was no justification for terrorism, and urged all countries to disrupt terrorist networks and financing and stop cross-border movements of terrorists.
Balgay said that the Turkish presidents offer was, however, welcomed by Hurriyet leaders in India-held Kashmir. Hurriyet Forum Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq observed that the Turkish president is well aware of how the Kashmir dispute is the main source of tension between the two nations [India and Pakistan]. Farooq said that Turkey being an important Islamic country, and having cordial relations with both India and Pakistan, will hopefully make efforts to end the political uncertainty prevalent in the region since decades. Observers maintained that Being an active member of Kashmir Contact Group at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Turkey has always advocated the solution of Kashmir issue in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Kashmir, and Ankara can play a vital role in the resolution of this issue to end the tension in this region. Erdogan asks India to act against the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (Feto). The Turkish president, during his trip, also raised concerns about the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (Feto).
Ankara has demanded schools in India administered by a foundation linked to Fethullah Gulen a US-based preacher who Erdogan accuses of instigating a failed coup in Turkey last year 2016 be shut down. Baglay said that as far as the Turkish concerns about Feto are concerned, they were mentioned to us. Any organisation in India, whether it is Indian or foreign, obviously has to work within the parameters of our laws and our norms and regulations. The Turkish side also expressed support for Indias bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group, Indian media reported.
Similarly, China the worlds second largest economy and a close ally of Pakistan, which seeks good relationship with India also has expressed its willingness to mediate the Kashmir issue as it may have an opening of several billions of US dollar investment in Kashmir. It is a time-tested fact that bilateral initiatives between the conflicting countries have failed to solve the Kashmir issue, let the two countries India and Pakistan try multilateral talks on Kashmir and see whether the problem is solved in the interest of the Kashmiri people.
The writer is a retired Professor of Economics, BCS General
Education Cadre
