Brute force and deceit

The impact of the prime minister‘s address at the UN General Assembly would have been doubly impressive, both at national and international level, if he had taken the country’s Opposition leaders into confidence before proceeding for New York to the address the UN General Assembly session. Secondly, his total focus should have been on the implementation of the UN resolution to hold plebiscite in Kashmir as inclusion of issues in the speech made it victim of the digression that was least cherished. The passing reference might have been deemed justified those could have been discussed in detail at other forums the prime minister was scheduled to address during his stay.

Ironically, the incumbent government top leadership did not see sense in this course of action of taking the Opposition parties along, and instead clinched to continue the alleged witch- hunting notwithstanding the underway drive of accountability did not carry the compatibility with the internationally acclaimed and recognised maxim of dispensation of justice, ‘innocent unless proven guilty’. The major political leaders had been incarcerated mere on the basis of allegations those were yet to be proved through the due process of law. The adversaries were quick to capitalise on thus putting the government in the back-foot by arguing that the situation in Pakistan was no different.

Imagine the powerful message that might had gone right across the globe of the Kashmir cause emanating from the UN General Assembly if the major leaders of the Opposition parties would have been on board explicitly signifying that the whole nation was behind the prime minister on this issue. The Opposition leaders’ even modest attendance at the UN would have been startlingly enthralling for the Kashmir cause. But regretfully the trivial party political convictions did not let the wool be removed from the eyes of the government leadership. The government as such might have not fully capitalised the scenario that was so propitious for doing the national politics when the party politics was least relevant.

Unfortunately, the government leadership’s obsession to get-it-alone was exponentially short-sighted that was surely hurting instead of promoting the vital national interests to the collective chagrin of the nation. No opposition leader could have afforded to toe the different line on the Kashmir issue in the face of national consensus. It would not be a bit of an exaggeration to presume that the government had squandered the opportunity of forging political unity that was desperately needed to overcome the challenges facing the country. The opportunity that was fully imbedded with face saving contours for all might not come by again during far and near future. The leadership of substance seized such opportunity and did not let it slip away no matter how compelling the constraints of inflated ego may be. Tumultuously, Pakistani nation is deeply beholden to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Muhammad, for their unequivocal support and solidarity with the Pakistani position on the Kashmir issue at the world forum, UN General Assembly. It was not easy for the two countries as they had trade relations worth billions of dollars with India and growing incrementally. But, their putting the cause of Kashmiri people above all other considerations was heart-warming for the Pakistani in particular and for the Muslims of the entire world in general. Sadly, the rest of the Muslim countries leaders’ silence was mind-numbing reflecting their apathy mired in inhibition to the entire population of the Kashmiri people who were bracing the havoc of nine hundred thousand Indian troops to enforce the lockdown in perpetuity.

The people of Kashmir were forced to stay inside their homes converting the whole IOK as an open air jail where life was surely brutish, nasty and miserable especially for the children, the elderly and the sick.

The indefinite curfew is still in place even after the lapse of almost two months. Reportedly, thousands of young people had been picked up incommunicado and shifted to undisclosed locations to break their will for Azadi. The reports of torture and inhuman treatment meted out to them by the Indians troops had been coming out through different credible sources. But the Indian government claim of improvement of conditions there were both condemnable and contemptible indeed for being utterly mismatch to the ground obvious realities.

The international human rights organisations have been raising their voice against the gruesome human rights violations in IOK urging the Indian government to lift curfew, but to no avail so far. Even the UN Secretary General has taken the notice of the miserable conditions in IOK and has asked the Indian government to take immediate steps to restore normal life there.

Again, all seemingly has fallen on the deaf ear of the Indian authorities because the situation remains grim as the signs of normal life are not visible in IOK. The US has also reportedly demanded the Indian government to lift the curfew from the IOK because the present state of affairs is neither tenable nor acceptable to the world for being totally inhuman and cruel.

The Indian government’s bid to hide its suppression unleashed against the Kashmiri people will fail no matter it has blocked all the communication facilities like internet, telephone and publication of the local newspapers. However, news have been coming out of the Indian brutalities those have been finding noticeable coverage in the international media. The Indian authorities are really naïve who think that by blocking the means of communication they may succeed in ensuring blackout in the IOK without being noticed by the international community. They are indeed mistaken because such tactics increases the news value even of patchy piece of information coming out from meriting prominent coverage in the news media. Vice is really giving way to virtue indeed.

The Kashmir dispute has indeed caught the attention of the international community after the Indian annexation of IHK on August 5 this year.

It was followed by indefinite curfew making it more internationalised jolting somewhat the consciences of the international community as the human right violations assumed the grotesque proportion.

It was foregone conclusion by any degree of estimation that the stripping off the dream of freedom (Azadi) of Kashmiri people by the Modi government would unleash cascade of violent demonstrations of the large scale with unprecedented intensity. The continuity of the curfew even after two months clearly suggested that the people of Kashmir were not at all going to accept the Modi government’s unilateral ‘historic blunder’ no matter how much people were subjected to the Indian atrocities.

They had been fighting against Indian occupation for the last seventy years and they would continue till the fulfillment of their aspirations of Azadi. The burning of the flame of Azadi could not be extinguished by the deployment of hundreds of thousands Indian troops during the seventy years because Kashmiris had overcome the fear of death and they were not prepared to settle less than the Azadi from the Indian occupation. Such people were bound to write their destiny if not sooner than surely later.

The redeeming outcome of the Modi’s ‘historic blunder’ is the convergence of the whole Kashmiri leadership on one platform filled with outrage against the Indian government attributed to the removal of special status of the IOK. The Kashmiri leadership that was earlier pro-Indian union had now joined the leadership that equally wanted to get rid of the Indian yoke of servitude no matter how long they have to wade through the river of blood. The former Chief Minister of IOK, Omar Abdullah, condemned the Indian government’s decision of rescinding the special status as “a naked aggression against the Kashmiri people”. Another former pro-Indian Union Chief Minister, Mahbooba Mufti, in her BBC interview stated that the Indian government had betrayed the Kashmiri people.

The unity of the Kashmiri leaders had further aggravated the situation for the Indian government that was now contemplating more stringent measures to control the anticipated volatile situation due to the protests also joined by women and children. It was evident from the fact that all the Kashmiri leadership had been house arrested without exception.

The prime minister in his speech at the UN General Assembly made it abundantly clear that there would be no engagement with India till the restoration of the special status and lifting of the curfew imposed in the IOK. The speech had been reportedly very much welcomed by the Kashmiri people for representing them in befitting manners by giving loud and clear message of the dangerous situation that might have dangerous consequences not only for the region but certainly for the peace and security of the world.

It is reported that after the speech of the prime minister of Pakistan at the UN General Assembly the government of India has intensified the curfew and increased Indian troops patrolling. The prime minister of Pakistan had stated in no uncertain terms in his speech that the Kashmiri people would take to the street once the curfew was lifted. Prime Minister Modi cannot have the cake and eat it too. It is not possible to keep millions of people in captivity through brute force or deceit.

muhammadshaheedi@yahoo.com