Kashmir Dispute

Kashmir and politics of statements by Mkir Tariq Rasool When presidents, prime ministers, chairmen and secretary generals all over globe make pointed statements over Kashmir they never mean what they say. Kashmir only provides them a tool using which they score points over their adversaries, cautions Mir Tariq Rasool In the midst of statements by international leaders, the enthusiasm of people here in Kashmir gets intensified. Whenever any ‘conscientious leader’ here in India, Pakistan or in any other part of world makes any statement regarding the resolution of long awaiting Kashmir issue, people here in strife torn Kashmir start expecting big things without going deep into the reality of things. Our ‘sympathizers’ in India or Pakistan or elsewhere in the world have proved themselves as prevaricated rhetoricians rather than problem solvers, for which Kashmiris are waiting from decades. After 9/11, huge statements came from the leaders all over the globe, especially from America, Pakistan and India, who time to time make such interested and attractive statements that the people here in Kashmir feel that the issue was now heading to its ultimate settlement. Kashmiris should know that every utterance regarding the Kashmir from outside the world has nothing to do with the settlement of Kashmir issue, these statement are being crafted out to get political, ideological or tactical mileage. One should know that the Jammu and Kashmir has an immense importance in Indian as well as Pakistani politics as the countries like America, Russia and China are politically making use of Kashmir issue to fulfil their strategic goals at international level. On both sides (Indo-Pak), there are strong vested interests that are busy in not normalizing the relations. Both the countries have a political compulsion, which halts the settlement of Kashmir issue. While addressing the Kashmir issue in relation with indo-Pak an Indian author and social activist Arundhati Roy, known for her radical political stances, on 14 August 2003 in Pakistan said that …..Both Indian and Pakistani governments used the Kashmir issue to deflect attention from domestic concerns. "When we talk about the indo-Pakistan Kashmir problem, we are assuming they are problems, we are assuming they are problems and that people are searching for solution', she said. "I don't think this is the case. I think that for the governments of both Pakistan and India, Kashmir is the solution –it is the rabbit they pull of the hat every time they face domestic problems”. People, including pro-freedom leaders, here in Jammu and Kashmir should act realistically and should approach realistically the statements made by leaders in Indian Sub-continent or elsewhere in the world regarding the Kashmir issue. Kashmir is the rabbit and it will remain so until people in Indo-Pak, especially Jammu and Kashmir grow mature enough to see that it is the rabbit. Leaders from both India and Pakistan have always taken recourse to rhetoric from early times. On January 13, 2002 in a televised address to the Pakistani nation ex-president of Pakistan General Pervaiz Mushraf said "As the president of Pakistan, I want to convey a message to Prime Minister Vajpayee: If we want to normalize relations between Pakistan and India and bring harmony to the region, the Kashmir dispute will have to be resolved peacefully through a dialogue on the basis of the aspirations of the Kashmiri people”. Different from earlier statement, On 21 May 2005, Pervaiz Mushrraf, while addressing South Asian Parliamentary Forum in Islamabad said that the resolution of the long-standing Kashmir dispute could not be awaited indefinitely, to identify a region, allow maximum self-governance to the people, de-militarize and take some actions to make borders irrelevant. In his statement he further says that he is confident that a solution could be reached at on Kashmir that satisfied India, Pakistan and people of Kashmir. He said, "A solution has to be found from within the stand of India's insistence of no re-drawing of borders, Pakistan' stand of LOC cannot be a

permanent border and boundaries becoming irrelevant”. The Prime Minister India, Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, known for his personal mission to improve relations with Pakistan, always stressed bilateral negotiations to solve the Kashmir issue. On May 29 2003, Vajpayee while addressing the Kashmir issue said that the resolution of the Kashmir problem would require "serious compromises", and he is prepared to negotiate with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. On the same day in an interview with widely circulated German daily Der Spiegel, he said that he will "retire" if his third and last peace initiative with Pakistan fails. In October 2003 Russian president Vladimir Putin says that he will take up Kashmir issue with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. After the end of 10th OIC meet Mr. Putin said: "We have discussed the situation in Kashmir and now I have better information to relate on behalf of President Musharraf to our Indian colleague." OIC, an international organization of Islamic Countries, while addressing Kashmir issue supported Kashmiris' right to self-determination and urged India to allow its delegation to inspect situation in occupied Kashmir during the 10th Summit in 2003. In the last fifty years, the United States has applied different labels to the Kashmir issue from 'self- determination' to 'aspiration of the Kashmiri people' to being 'a nuclear flash-point' endangering international security'. The constantly changing stand of the United States is reflective of the fact that the United States stand on the Kashmir issue is flexible and dependent on two factors at a given point in time: (1) Tenor of India-United States relations and; (2) The strategic utility of Pakistan for any intended United States strategic moves in South West Asia. Kashmir or the Kashmir issue, therefore is of no concern to the United States, but only an expedient strategic tool for the region. I remember the day May 18, 2008 when US President George Bush during an hour-long meeting with Pak Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani. said that "Kashmir issue is ripe for solution" and he saw major and significant developments in PakistanIndia relations. The President in his statement said that he was happy to note that the two sides had made a lot of progress in their talks on Kashmir and for comprehensive peace in the region. As a co-chairman of PPP, in a major shift in Pakistan's long-standing position, Asif Ali Zardari, whose party was set to take reins of the country on those days, expressed that he is ready to set aside the Kashmir issue in order to focus on other aspects for improving relations with India. He emphasized that the relations between India and Pakistan should not be held 'hostage' to the Kashmir issue and that the two countries 'can wait' for future generations to resolve the dispute in a mature manner in an atmosphere of 'trust'. Zardiari's statement was a shock to Kashmir as he was set to take reins of the Pakistan and Kashmiris always see Pakistani rulers as their well-wishers, whether they are actually the same is debatable. Now when Asif Ali Zardairi becomes President of Pakistan, he makes a statement totally different from his earlier statement, immediately after the statement of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed a militant ideologue who is the founder of the Lashker-e-Toiba and heads the Jamiat-ud-Dawah in which he said that Pakistan will be in “great trouble” if newly elected President Asif Ali Zardari does not make changes in the policies of his predecessor Pervez Musharraf, which have "derailed the Kashmir issue". Kashmir issue has been confined to rhetoric by "conscientious leadership" both in India and Pakistan. Thousands of statements have been issued regarding the settlement of Kashmir Issue without nay outcome. Recently Zardari maintained this tradition of rhetoric by saying that "Insha Allah, we will have some good news" on Kashmir before the general elections in India. In this age old fashion of prevaricated rhetoric Kashmiri should not expect big things from their " sympathizers" instead should continue the ongoing movement without being influenced by the statements crafted out to get political or tactical benefits. Feedback at [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it