It is the first time in the recent years that the international community has started considering the Kashmir issue more of an international humanitarian crisis rather than a mere internal conflict of the so-called largest democracy in the world. Recently, on the date of 14 last month, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights released its first-ever report exclusively on Jammu & Kashmir. This report not only documented the incidents of human rights violations but also mentioned the use of excessive force and weapons on unarmed innocent civilian population. This report also highlighted the forced disappearances of common Kashmiri, sexual violence as a tool for oppression, forced migration of Kashmiri people to minimize the resistance by the locals and planned settlement of Hindus in Kashmir to steal the actual identity of the Muslim Kashmiri.
According to many independent political analysts, this report must be seen as a tip of the iceberg as this report by UN is purely based on the data collected and given by the few local NGOs. These local NGOs have been allowed to work under the shadow of the authoritarian Indian government. It is very interesting to note that this champion of democracy has never allowed any international observant agency including the UNHRC to have direct or indirect access to this ill-fated valley. Thus this report shows that how much graver the situation of Jammu & Kashmir would be in actual reality.
The international watchdogs have never seen the Kashmir Conflict as an international conflict and there are many reasons for this behavior. It is a long tale where Pakistan consistently lost numerous golden opportunities at one end while India played shrewdly, brutally and strategically to conceal herself under the beautiful curtain of democracy. India had over the years excelled in developing the perception that the armed struggle in Kashmir had foreign traces. India had always been blaming Pakistan whenever and wherever any incident took place, especially in Kashmir valley. On the other hand, Pakistan being over-consumed in the complex political and religious segmentation internally and being desolated internationally never truly able to change that Indian-developed fake perception.
The indigenous armed struggle by the youth of Jammu & Kashmir has never been foreign-backed militarily. Pakistan over the years has always supported the will of Kashmiri people on various international platforms and never provided any logistical or financial aid. This can be proved from this fact that all the freedom fighters that have been resisting the Indian forces are the direct product of the ugly and filthy Indian system. A common Kashmiri does not have any faith in the government of India. The Indian government has always tried to suppress the political will, identity and leadership of the Kashmiri people. Historically, toppling the democratically elected governments in the valley and forming the puppet governments against the wills of the local people, only compelled the common people to fight for their rights.
The Indian government, during the struggle to control and destroy the identity of the Kashmir, had developed such evil, undemocratic and barbaric military laws which have never been seen in the human history. The rulers like Genghis Khan, Adolf Hitler and India’s very own Asoka can be easily viewed as angels when we compare the current inhuman practices and rules in Kashmir. This black law called the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 or AFSPA gives absolute immunity to Indian Armed Forces from being prosecuted. This law gives license to Indian forces to kill anyone in the valley without any reason whatsoever. It is due to this reason, there have been around 100,000 people being killed in last 20 years alone. The discovery of the mass grave in the valley has become the normal phenomenon. Many hundred thousand people are being considered missing in the valley. For the population of 5.5 million Kashmiri, India has installed a conservatively estimated 700,000 military personnel making the valley the highly militarized region in the whole world. Doesn’t this show that the Indian government is actually at war with the innocent and stone throwing people of Kashmiri or does this show the normal practice of democracy around the world?
In spite of all the condemnation from the international community and Human Rights Group, India had not only implemented this brutal and barbaric law forcefully but used it as a tool for ethnic cleansing. Historically, even the military forces of the rulers like Genghis Khan, Adolf Hitler and Asoka had to answer their deeds in front of their respective authorities. However, this suppression of the rights of Kashmiri is like a tight slap on the ever beautiful, highly sagacious and well-informed face of the civilized world.
International and regional powers at the global level act prudently and review every regional conflict in accordance with its respective geopolitical, regional, economic, social and global merits. Conflicts like that of Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea have great significance and implications at an international arena on the basis of many parameters. Global powers have their own intrinsic and underlined interests and ambitions attached to these conflicts. According to many political commentators, Kashmir now qualifies to be highly watched and scrutinized regional conflict as many stakeholders have their respective interests.
The last couple of years, the Jammu & Kashmir have seen a highly emotional and politically charged environment. The heroic figure of young, naïve and charismatic Burhan Wani inspired many million Kashmiri and people around the world. His sudden martyrdom by Indian Occupied forces without serious allegation has won the sympathy of many across India and the whole world. The whole Kashmir had witnessed the mourning of this inspirational leader with the Indian imposed curfew for 6 months. The current scenario of the valley is intensively emotional in such a way that it has never been seen before. Many young Kashmiri have been motivated to start their protest in different universities and cities of India. Many non-Kashmiri irrespective of their religion have grown over the years to support the cause of Kashmir’s liberation from Indian atrocities. Many incidents of violence and resistance, by Kashmiri and pro-Kashmiri people, have been regularly observed in many parts of India. The highly organized and incredibly effective peace protests in support of Kashmir have already become a consistent phenomenon in many western countries.
The international leaders are very nervous when they see that India is continuously and brutally suppressing the will of Kashmir. They are even more prone when they realized that the fire which the Indian forces are playing within Kashmir has already started spreading across India. According to many western think tanks, the Kashmir conflict has very surging tendency to be even more rigorous and suicidal at the global level.
In December 2017, an Urdu video was surfaced via Telegram channel under the banner of Islamic State Jammu & Kashmir (ISJK) to officially confirm the presence of IS in Kashmir and India. This video not only invites the other scattered wings of Al Qaida to join hand in Kashmir but also invites normal Kashmiri to fight for their right. According to many international analysts, it is very weird to note that the peaceful demonstrations of the local Kashmiri groups have been forcefully oppressed by Indian forces by using pellet guns whereas violent demonstrations under the banner of ISJK have been regularly witnessed across the valley without any resistance from the compelling authorities. Though the native Kashmiri groups discourage the outsider IS’s Kashmir chapter, many young Kashmiri believe that the platform of ISJK has been used by Indian authorities as a proxy. The main motive is to malign the freedom struggle of the Kashmiri people and to change the attention of the international community. Since IS are already infamous for their brutality and barbarism, the international media may start developing the same perception about the indigenous freedom fighters of the Kashmir.
According to the current international circumstances, many states, on one side, are shrewdly changing their loyalties and are willing to be pawn-states to offer services. On the other hand, many regional powers are even going further to engage non-state groups like IS against various sovereign states to fold or to unfold the regional crisis. The hidden forces, in order to curtail rising Asia, are rigorously and un-tiredly moving to prepare the stage for regional conflict. Therefore, it is the high time for Indian authorities to listen to the hearts of the common Kashmiri. Indian government must resolve this conflict in accordance with the will of the Kashmiri and stop spreading this wildfire in the whole region.
