Since the 1950s, there hasn’t been any definitive plan of action to resolve the Kashmir issue. In the 1960s, the then ruler, Ayub Khan, decided to ignore China’s advice to intervene and liberate Indian Occupied Kashmir, at the height of the China-India dispute. He chose to listen to the US and the UK with whom the country had defense pacts like the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (Seato), the Central Treaty Organization (Cento), etc. Later, Ziaul Haq preferred to focus on the Afghan proxy war, and during his 11-year-long rule, the Kashmir dispute remained ignored. Pervez Musharraf did the same. It was only during the tenure of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto that the Pakistan government focused on the Kashmir issue with zeal. Other governments have made some efforts to resolve this issue, but they couldn’t pay as much attention as the issue deserved.
It has been Pakistan’s principled stand that only the people of Azad Kashmir can decide the fate and destiny of this disputed territory in accordance with the UN Charter. Any deviation from this stance; or any plans to change the present status of Kashmir; will be a betrayal of its people’s trust. The least that we owe to them is to give them a chance to decide their fate – however long it may take. This is a decision that Pakistan, its parliament and all its state institutions cannot, and should not, make.
Ali Malik Tariq
Lahore