Jammu Kashmir: A Resolution with Peace, Understanding and Dignity-An Original Approach

Jammu Kashmir: A Resolution with Peace, Understanding and Dignity-An Original Approach
(By Rao Farman Ali)
Politics is art of possible, and it becomes a method at the times of conflict and crisis for reconciliation , and yoking together the contending forces of opinion -the inclination or a belief that may or may not be backed up with evidence, but which cannot be proved with that evidence: is neither right nor wrong, it is normally a subjective statement and may be the result of an emotion or an interpretation of facts. In clash and confrontation of political nature no solution is possible unless and until the confronting parties espouse a flexible approach, growing within or outside forces –same is true of India and Pakistan who are able to resist the persistent demands of solution of Kashmir conflict . In reality the prospect of internal pressure is missing- within the populace of the two countries, who could compel governments for settlement but sarcastically the civil society opinion is segregated. The matter of fact is that stances of people alter with the change in government strategies.
The Genesis of Conflict ?
The sea of factors contributed to the emergence of Kashmir conflict, whether one is talking to a Kashmiri, Indian or a Pakistani, they share different perceptions even about the genesis conflict. The Kashmir conflict soon turned into a struggle for strategic superiority. The dispute got entangled in the definitions of sovereignty and the right to self-determination-the viability of using military force to resolve border disputes, especially those embedded in the Kashmir conflict-this aspect is significant as the conflict exists in a weaponized environment. These factors points to the need for evolving new approaches to deal with this problem: Kashmir gives a description of the two sides of the LOC – the Indian administered Jammu Kashmir and the Pakistan administered Jammu Kashmir. The Kashmir conflict refers to the political dispute over Kashmir, the northwestern most region of the subcontinent. The parties to the dispute are India, Pakistan, people of Jammu Kashmir and even China also.

A Socio –historical Summary of Kashmir Conflict
India claims the entire former Dogra princely state of Jammu Kashmir spread over an area of 80,900 Square miles or approximately 2,22,236 Square kilometers extended from 32° 17′ to 36° 58′ N and from 73° 26′ to 80° 30′ E, and presently administers approximately 43% of the region including most of Jammu, Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and the Siachen Glacier. However India's claim is contested by Pakistan which controls approximately 37% of Kashmir, mainly Azad Kashmir and the northern areas of Gilgit and Baltistan. In addition, China controls 20% of Kashmir including Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract, also known as the Shaksam Valley.
Kashmir Conflict and Global priorities
Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq are predicted to be the dangerous places on earth says Obama . The exclusion of Kashmir from conflicts in other countries refers to political and strategic myopia because Kashmir at present has emerged more dangerous region than prospected about Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq as a possibility of nuclear war is looming at there is surging realization within stubborn approach that an alternative system has to be looked for that would be great service to humanity .The point is that external and some internal causes are to be taken care of .It should be tried out. The perception is dawning on both sides is that we need non-conventional approaches to look at the problem. Thus Non-Westphalia approaches is emerging as a dominant force to reckon with .
Even after sixty two years of independence of India – Pakistan: Kashmiris are still captive to the hidebound stand of the two countries ,although Pakistan has offered some concessions by means of willy-nilly course (Out of Box) but many observers find it perplexing that in the last six decades , India failed to offer any plan officially for the solution of the Kashmir imbroglio. In politically correct lexicon Kashmir issue is neither a communal conflict nor combat to protect secular symbol of India or to shield the jugular vein of Pakistan . Kashmir is an area of diverse religious , it is a habitat to huge majority of inhabitants belonging to different traditions like Muslims in Kashmir., Hindus and Dogras of Jammu and Buddhists of Ladakh.
The contradictory observation of different parties to a dispute gives origin to the contrary set of elucidations or solutions for which harmonized approach is to be developed. Jammu Kashmir for India is a symbol of secular identification and demonstrates the co-subsistence of a chiefly Muslim state within a Hindu majority country and for Pakistan it is a nationwide sentiment. In Kashmir the politicians and intellectuals have remained polarized since 1947 into Pro-Pak, Pro-India or Pro-independence. More often the politicians, thinkers and academicians have been unsuccessful to stand for local wishes, aspirations and desires. The provincial measures which have failed due to Indo-Pak stalemate like ASEAN, SAARC etc.: would further go to build India, Pakistan, Kashmir even whole South Asia a new continent of peace and progress on the globe, when core issue is solved. If at all Kashmiris want to play a role in the crisis they need to comprehend the magnitude of bilateral and regional cooperation by promoting a viewpoint of dialogue, serenity and peace. The origin of Indo-Pak variance is Kashmir- thus solution to the sticky situation lies here only , therefore Kashmiri politics has more pivotal role to play rather than international pulls or pressures which is mounting on India and Pakistan , because West and its allies seem to be partial while dealing Kashmir , which might not befit all the three (Indians, Pakistanis and even Kashmiris) .
Political settlement amongst the power brokers of India, Pakistan and Kashmir will collapse if it is not accompanied by a movement of faith-based reconciliation among the people by :
(1) Restoring a condition in which numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural groups are present and tolerated within a society :
(2) Furthering Individual and accumulated absolution;
(3) Promoting social justice- which affords individuals and groups fair treatment and an impartial share of the benefits of society;
(4) Re-establishing a sense of community across boundaries rather a social group sharing an environment, normally with shared interests;
(5) Addressing the historical wounds associated with anxiety of culture , physical and mental trauma ;
(6) Inculcating a new basis for political order and civil society;
(7) Seeks to provide an alternative identity for Kashmiris by means of a larger geo-political order;
(8)De-escalation followed by significant development which may technically called
management (withdrawal of troops) with the establishment of governments for a specific purpose and promoting free movement of people and goods.
After 9/11 world political priorities observed a paradigm shift the West and its policy makers developed bigoted approach towards all the conflict engagements across the globe including Kashmir and Palestine still seeking settlement. The pressure over India and Pakistan is mounting to settle Kashmir and other related issues. 9/11 proved to be vantage in global politics and rethought was given by the world community especially US over the supreme will of India and Pakistan for the resolution over Kashmir? The answer surely is confusing and difficult as Pakistan is a key partner in U.S war against anti-U.S. forces and the India is an emerging U.S. partner whom some U.S strategists prospect a counter to the emerging Chinese influence in the Asian Region . Indo-American nuclear deal is the brain child of this rising realm. Both India and Pakistan have maneuvered by their influence, created out of their individual significance to American; benefits to diffuse the pressure for settlement of Kashmir tangle. In spite of the growing American apprehensions that region may emerge as the anti-American strong hold , so Americas take measured steps vis-à-vis resolution of global conflicts like Kashmir , however the ground position remains unchanged: reason that can persuade the fate of this dispute is the polity of Kashmir itself. It is frequently said that Jammu Kashmir is an uncompleted schema` of division.
Some New Answers for Solution:
At all levels demilitarization must be achieved in a much more holistic and integrated way. The approach involves several dimensions and obligations on the part of Pakistan and India.. It is not never-to -be-repeated affair and that is not how demilitarization works. The real space for civil society will emerge only after demilitarization. The police force in Kashmir has to be humanized, if the Kashmiris have to decide their own future.
India, under the Chenab Plan, will then have to forgo all its claims to Pakistan administered Kashmir, and the Northern Areas of Gilgit and Baltistan. In turn, Pakistan would be called on to accept Indian sovereignty over the Hindu-majority Jammu region of the State. The Jammu region is made up of the eight districts of Jammu, Doda, Kathua, Udhampur, Rajouri , Poonch, Ramban and Kishtwar. But the Chenab Plan calls for a further division of Poonch, Doda, and Rajouri, all Muslim-majority areas. They will all go to Pakistan if the LoC is extended eastward and then becomes the border between India and Pakistan. In return, Pakistan would also forgo any claim over Ladakh, leaving a decision on the future of the region to be made between India and China at their mutual convenience.
Schemes for a partitioning of Jammu Kashmir have been in the air for some years now. During the Kargil War, back-channel negotiators Niaz Naik, a former Pakistani foreign secretary and RK Mishra, a leading Indian journalist, had been reported to have exchanged papers on the Chenab Plan, documented in a Pakistani proposal, an Indian counter-proposal, and a Pakistani response. Later, Pakistani negotiators demanded of their US interlocutors that a withdrawal from Kargil by Pakistan be premised on Indian reciprocity, in the form of the acceptance of the Chenab Plan- in February 2000, the then Kashmir Chief Minister, Abdullah and his key Cabinet Ministers held discussions with US-based businessman Farooq Kathwari, the author of detailed plans to divide Jammu and Kashmir. Kathwari's Kashmir Studies Group (KSG) had, in a series of reports collectively called "Kashmir: A Way Forward", called for the creation of a new sovereign state but without an international personality.
Many observers find the Chenab Plan a variation of the "Dixon Plan." Sir Owen Dixon, a Judge of the Australian High Court had come to the subcontinent as the United Nations' Representative for India and Pakistan pursuant to the Security Council's Resolution of March 14, 1950. “The report he submitted to the UN Security Council on September 15, 1950.
The "Dixon Plan" assigned Ladakh to India, the Northern Areas and Pakistan-administered Kashmir (PAK) to Pakistan, split Jammu between the two, and envisaged a plebiscite in the Kashmir Valley. Pakistan objected at first, but agreed later. It fell through because Pandit Nehru did not accept the conditions under which the plebiscite could be held. He wanted that the plebiscite to determine the future of the Kashmir Valley should be held under the then Prime Minister of the State, Sheikh Abdullah, something Dixon did not agree to. Otherwise, Nehru, Sardar Patel, Rajendra Prasad and Abdul Kalam – had agreed with the Australian jurist that major portions of the pre-1948 J&K could be divided between India and Pakistan, with the Kashmir Valley given the option to decide for itself whether to join India or Pakistan through a plebiscite.
On the other hand, 2009 is not 1950. Situation has changed considerably. Therefore, neither the Chenab Plan nor the KSG formula nor the old thesis which are talking of the possibility of the solution. Instead, each of them would settle for a semi-independent status for the Valley. It is against this background that many think tanks and intellectuals of both India and Pakistan – the professional Track II personnel – have now floated in 2003-2004, what is called the Andorra model for Jammu Kashmir.
Andorra is a co-principality of the Bishop of Urgel (Spain) and the French President. Under a 1993 agreement, Andorra has near autonomy with its own constitution and currency. France and Spain both share responsibility for its defence. Applied to the Kashmir Valley, the Andorra model would suggest that its defence and foreign affairs would be the joint responsibility of India and Pakistan and its borders would be soft enough to allow the movements of both Indians and Pakistanis in and out of it.
General Musharraf propounded the matter by suggesting a four -point outline for resolving the Kashmir imbroglio permanently. At one time addressing Pakistani editors and columnists, he gave arguable “proposal, a food for thought”. He said that Pakistanis must discuss a “change of status” for Kashmir. “Change in status could be independent status- joint control (with India), it can be a UN mandate also,” he reportedly said, adding “We’ll have to sit down with legal experts who can give their opinion on what other status are possible”. And divided the pre-1948 Jammu Kashmir into seven regions. Two regions –“Azad Kashmir” and the Northern Areas – are under the control of Pakistan, whereas five regions are under Indian control. According to him, of these five, the first part comprises Jammu, Sambha and Kathua and in them Hindus are in majority. The second part also comprises Jammu but the areas include Doda, Kisthwar , Ramban , Poonch and Rajouri ;where the Muslim population is in a majority, which includes Gujjars, Sidhans and Rajas, “who are associated with Azad Kashmir”. The third part is the area of Kashmir Valley, which includes Srinagar and also has a Muslim majority. The fourth part is Indian administered area, which includes Kargil and has Shia and Balti population in a majority and the fifth area is Ladakh and adjoining areas where Buddhists live.
The second leg of Musharraf’s formula is that after their identification, these regions need to be demilitarized, following which, and this is the third leg, their status should be changed. According to him, the possibility of jointly controlling the area (by this he was referring to the Kashmir Valley) as an Indo-Pak condominium or giving it under the control of the United Nations could also be discussed. Musharraf said India, ”…because of its secular façade”, was opposed to a division of the territory on religious basis. But, he pointed out, “The beauty of this option for a Kashmir solution was that the same regions emerge even if you consider geography or ethnicity as the basis of division.”
From India’s point of view Musharraf’s Kashmir formula wants to take from India through peace offensive - the winning position. If his formula of regions is realized, then Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas will legally merge with Pakistan. In addition, Pakistan will also gain ceded areas from Jammu and Ladakh. And as for the Kashmir Valley, it would either go for independence or remain under joint India-Pakistan control. That means, India will either lose the Valley or retain partial control over it along with Pakistan. Pakistan gains here as well which Indians say.
Historically speaking, undivided Kashmir has consisted of five regions – Punjabi-speaking Azad Kashmir(PAK), Northern Areas, Ladakh, the Kashmir Valley and Jammu. Now the first two areas are under Pakistan’s control and the last three administered by India. Musharraf wanted to carve out two separate areas dominated by Muslims, one each from Hindu-majority Jammu and Buddhist dominated Ladakh. Instead, he uses the terms “geography” and “ethnicity”.
According to the Neelam Plan, the Northern Areas (Gilgit and Baltistan) will become a free country and will have to obtain appropriate work visas to remain there.
Both India and Pakistan would need to officially obtain transit rights through this land. This would bring about a demilitarization of the Deosai Plain and thus effect a natural stabilization in places like Siachen, Kargil and Drass.
The specific Steps of Neelam Valley Plan are:
1. Move the LoC north of Gurais till it covers all the routes emerging from the
Burzil Pass.
2. Move the LoC in the Kupwara area to enclose the Neelam valley segment north of Muzaffarabad.
3. Move the Haji Pir Pass within India,
4. Move the LoC south of Poonch closer to New Mirpur, perhaps along the Poonch River.
5. Have UN troops to guard the rest of 'Azad Kashmir.'
6. The independence of Gilgit and Baltistan to the north will bring about a closure the entire scuffles (Indian point of View) .
However these points are unacceptable to Pakistan and Kashmiris in totality. Other than the decades-old unrealistic parliamentary resolution Taking back Azad Kashmir(PAK), New Delhi has never bothered to give any counterproposal to Pakistan , although it is said privately that Indira Gandhi had reached an understanding with ZA Bhutto in 1972 at Shimla that India would like the exiting LoC converted into an international border. On the other hand, Pakistan has consistently defined the Kashmir imbroglio. Pakistanis have defined the problem, they have defined the issues, they have taken a lead in actions and now they are defining the solution. Which is splendid in nature but the proposals should come from Kashmiri leadership which matters at present .
Viable Solution
While seeking an acceptable and durable solution of Kashmir , it is obligatory to respect the sentiments and wishes of people of, Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh, validity of UN resolutions does not fade-in but capable of being done with means at hand and circumstances as they are, so:
1. Immediate arrangements for simultaneous demilitarization on both sides of LOC should be made in the whole area of ts of hould be done i approximately 2,02236 Sq. Kms . However the security related arrangements should be given to local police on both sides of present divide
2. Administrative control of all districts of Kashmir valley, district of Jammu which include Doda, Kishtawar , Reasi , Ramban, Poonch , Rajouri, and some areas of Udhampur which include Chenani and on Azad Kashmir side , districts of Muzffarabad, Mirpur , Poonch , Rawalkot , Bagh ,and some areas of Gilghit which include Astoor -will be called as mostly war effected or violence effected areas - should be given to Kashmiris by means of self governance with the establishment of joint parliament and granting a specific cooling period.
However representatives from the areas must be in the joint Parliament headed by President but each district mentioned above must be one constituency for parliamentary affairs .
Two governments will exist each headed by Chief Minister, in the two parts of Kashmir, but two assemblies will comprise of representatives elected from the constituencies which exist presently in both Kashmirs .
3. Jointly India and Pakistan must support development projects in whole of Jammu Kashmir in a way of joint mechanism over an area of approximately 2,02236 Sq. Kms with the validity of both currencies.
4. People of Jammu Kashmir most be granted dual citizenship rights viz:
Citizens of Jammu Kashmir can get simultaneously citizenship of Pakistan or India ,by if they wish but:
a) People from present Pakistan Administered Kashmir whose area has be mentioned above can be the citizens of whole Jammu Kashmir –even Pakistan (specific period)
b) People of present Indian Administered Kashmir whose areas have also been mentioned above can be the citizens of whole Jammu Kashmir –even India (specific period)
5. After the end of the cooling period necessary arrangements for referendum must be made asking people of Jammu Kashmir to accede with India or Pakistan or have the status quo, which they would witness then.
6. For Justice delivery system their will be a single supreme court and two high courts in two Kashmirs
(N.B: Foreign Policy and Defense shall be managed jointly by India and Pakistan through the process of Joint Mechanism till the referendum is accomplished and the cooling period ends up but Ladakh, Jammu Kathua and Udhampur will be under the direct control of India while as Gilgit and Baltistan will continue to remain under the direct control of Pakistan )
Author is Chief Editor “ON THE TRACK GROUP OF COMMUNICATIONS” based at Srinager and can be reached at email: raofarmanali@gmail.com.
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