PM Modi has jailed the Kashmiris in
the largest cage of the world instead of giving them the legal right of
self-determination which they rightfully deserve. The world and UN are sleeping
and our reactions against the illegal acts of India are not sufficient enough
to fulfill the expectations of the nation.
It is about time that Pakistan has
to adopt aggressive, pragmatic and result oriented approach to get the implementation
of UN resolutions.
It is unfortunate that the
abolition of Article 370 by Indian Government has inflamed tensions further
between Pakistan and India since August adding more problems for Kashmiris. For
over a month, curfew is imposed in IOK further dismantling the fate of innocent
people of Kashmir. It is a need of hour that we stand with our brothers and
sisters living in Kashmir and take them out of this state of distress and misery
that Indian Govt has put them in.
Before moving forward to the steps
and provisions we can adopt to do so, let’s first present the whole background
of the scenario for those who might not know about what actually has happened
in Kashmir. On 5 August 2019, India’s Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah
announced that the President had signed a decree abolishing Article 370 of the
constitution, shedding away is the significant autonomy of Kashmiris, curfew
was imposed across the IOK which is still in imposition. By scrapping the
special status of Kashmiris the Indian Government violated the 11 resolutions
of UNSC.
Article 35A of the Indian
Constitution is an article that allows the Jammu and Kashmir state’s
legislature to define “permanent resident” of the state in Indian constitution
whereas, the Article 370 gives autonomous status to the state of Jammu and
Kashmir. The article is drafted as Temporary, Transitional and Special
Provisions and as a result of this provision, Indian citizens from other states
cannot purchase land or property in Jammu & Kashmir.
It gives the Jammu and Kashmir
legislature to define permanent residents of the state. It was also inserted in
Indian Constitution through the Constitution Order, 1954, which was issued by
President Rajendra Prasad under Article 370, on the advice of the Nehru-led
Union Government. It also protected the demographic status of the Jammu and
Kashmir state in its prescribed constitutional form.
Since Indian Occupied Kashmir is
the only Muslim-majority state controversially annexed by India, Hindu
Extremist groups are encouraging Hindus to migrate to the state. The main
motive of India behind this move is the ethnic Cleansing of Muslims in order to
achieve the success of Hindutva Ideology by achieving majority in plebiscite in
which the state subjects will only participate. They want to curb the freedom
movement and restrict the Muslim Leadership from approaching the people so that
they can achieve supremacy in the region of South Asia. They are intending to
dominate the Pakistan and Chinese boarders adjacent to Kashmir.
The abrogation of Article 370 is
obstructive for the people of Kashmir in many ways. As a consequence of
cancellation of article, the people from the rest of India would have the right
to acquire property in Jammu and Kashmir and settle there permanently. It would
lead to a demographic transformation of region from majority Muslim to majority
Hindu state which is a clear indication of ethnic cleansing of Muslims from
Kashmir.
I have following suggestions for
the Government to wisely take up this matter to the concerned authorities and
address the fundamental cause of the matter:
a. Government of Pakistan
immediately bring a resolution demanding the UNSC to get its own resolutions
implemented in the same spirit as UN resolution on 9/11 was implemented. This
should not only be demanded in speech of the PM but also he must manage to get
the date of self-determination announced by the UN during this UN session.
b. The resolutions of UNSC have
never been persuaded seriously by the UN and no fix date and time for the
plebiscite as right of Kashmiris had ever been announced. It is of Paramount
importance to urge the UN to announce the date for the plebiscite.
c. According to the UN charter, if
a resolution is adopted then its implementation becomes mandatory to the
Secretary General of United Nation. In this case UNSG has not played his due
role by not announcing and arranging the date of plebiscite for oppressed
Kashmiris which is undermining the capability of UN.
d. The speech of the Prime Minister
undoubtedly will be a routine right of Pakistan being a member and I am sure
Prime Minister is expected to emphasis in his speech demanding the SG UN to
direct his office to initiate the process of plebiscite and fix a date for the
voting under UN peace keeping mission. It is a legitimate demand post any such
resolution.
e. I have been stating since 1 year
that the anti-Pakistan Syndrome of Indian PM Modi is increasing day by day and
he will harm Pakistan which I had stated it in my multiple columns. I had given
my assessment even before Pulwama about the anti-Pakistan actions been taken by
PM Modi and his NSA Ajeet Doval.
f. The President of the United
Nations Human Rights Commission was of the firm view that the brutalities by
the Indian Government are unprecedented and copy of the Human Rights Violation
report may be used as a charge sheet against Indian Government, PM Modi and his
NSA Ajeet Doval.
g. We have identified that in
actual PM Modi is our main enemy and hence he needs to be exposed and punished
for his misdeeds. Here are few proposals to ensure the trial of PM Modi as war
criminal:
i. Government of Pakistan must take
the case to the ICC under Rome Statute/ convention. We need to move
simultaneously in ICC and ICJ. Both have almost the same mandate but different
procedures.
ii. PM Modi can be dragged as war
criminal by the Kashmiri victims through other Human rights bodies to the
International Criminal Court under Rome Convention.
iii. The statements of the victims
of the killings of their loved ones , forced disappearances, rape, genocide,
pelleting and ethnic cleansing etc. Must be backed by the Copy of Charge Sheet
along with the Human Rights Commission report to strengthen the case against PM
Modi.
Our narrative abroad is very weak
as compared to India as we are not prepared to counter it with effective
projection against massive Indian propaganda.
I further propose that a Committee
comprising of Senior Journalists and Media Experts may be formulated with
officials from the Information and Foreign Affairs Ministries to be made
responsible to highlight the issue of Kashmir and the brutalities being carried
out by the Indian Occupational Forces under the direct command of PM Modi in
International media/ competent. The Local media/ all TV channel should be
directed by PEMERA to dedicate at least 20 minutes a day for the cause of
Kashmir. The MOFA should organize a Seminar fortnightly inviting the foreign
diplomats and Journalists to apprise them about the current situation of the
Kashmir Under siege.
I hope the government pays some
attention on my proposals as we need to fight hard on diplomatic and legal
fronts. I would also like to propose to the govt to ban Pak airspace for Indian
aircraft. It should be opened only if PM Modi lifts the curfew from IHK.
Prime Minister should spend more
time in lobbying to get the date of self- determination for Kashmiris as the
Kashmiris & Pakistanis will not like if he returns empty handed without the
decision of fate of Kashmiris.
The Article was published by The Nation on September 15, 2019 and the link to the original Article is https://nation.com.pk/15-Sep-2019/mr-pm-nation-wants-self-determination-not-another-speech-at-un
