Tuesday saw a minor protest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) by a large number of people, according to an AFP correspondent, as Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared victory in the election.
The demonstrators were against the government of Modi’s recent crackdown in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK).
The mountainous region of Kashmir has been the site of two wars between Pakistan and India since the division of British-ruled India in 1947.
At a demonstration in Muzaffarabad, Uzair Ahmad Ghazali, the leader of an organization that assists refugees from Kashmir, said that Modi’s reelection would mean “more oppression and more restrictions for Kashmiri Muslims.”
Majid Awan, a lawyer from Kashmir, stated that Modi’s fundamentalism poses a threat to regional peace.
Modi’s 2019 removal of the IoK’s limited autonomy was highly welcomed in India, but it also caused Pakistan to sever diplomatic ties with New Delhi and freeze bilateral trade.
The bitter rivals frequently accuse one another of espionage and inciting militancy inside their own regions.
Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister, has made past references to his desire to strengthen relations with India.
However, experts claim that Pakistan, which is only one-sixth the size of India, has few options.
Good relations with India will boost Pakistan’s image and economy, according to Qamar Cheema, political analyst and director of the Sanober Institute think tank in Islamabad. “Pakistan is trying to project itself as a normal country after the war on terror,” Cheema said.
However, Modi doesn’t think it’s vital to interact with Pakistan. Additionally, it’s possible that, like he has in the past, he may strike up a conversation and then end it when it’s convenient for him.
Results from India’s election commission showed that although Modi declared victory on Tuesday, his Bharatiya Janata Party was unable to secure an overwhelming legislative majority and will require alliance partners’ cooperation.
Husain Haqqani, a senior scholar at the Hudson Institute in Washington and a former ambassador, said, “Perhaps a diminished majority will convince Modi that India and Pakistan are neighbors and they cannot afford to avoid talking forever.”
