Karachi, The ongoing conflict in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir is a direct result of historical mistakes, particularly those made by the British during the partition of India, asserts a recent report. The report highlights the continued suffering of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and criticizes the international community’s apparent indifference to their plight.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the report scrutinizes the complex history and current dynamics of the Jammu and Kashmir (JandK) dispute. It outlines the differing stances of India and Pakistan on the issue: India’s insistence on JandK being an internal matter and its refusal to accept third-party mediation, contrasted with Pakistan’s view of JandK as a disputed territory requiring resolution under UN resolutions and granting self-determination rights to its people.
The report critically analyzes India’s unilateral actions on August 5, 2019, such as the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A of its Constitution, which granted special status to Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. These actions, it argues, have decolonized the issue by repudiating historical agreements and changing the status quo. India’s new political maps, incorporating Pakistan’s Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan as Union Territories, and its aggressive political rhetoric, are seen as escalatory moves.
The report also delves into the historical context, noting the ‘instrument of accession’ signed by Raja Hari Singh, the then-ruler of Kashmir, and India’s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947, which was supposed to be a temporary arrangement. The report argues that India’s recent actions and the Supreme Court’s verdict declaring the special status of Kashmir as a “temporary provision” represent a significant shift in India’s long-standing strategy on JandK.
Furthermore, the report laments the international community’s lack of action on human rights violations in Kashmir and Palestine, attributing this to historical errors by the British and supported by Western powers. It criticizes the international institutions’ inability to provide justice to the people of these disputed territories and notes the continued support by the public in developed countries for the causes of Kashmir and Palestine.
The release of this report draws attention to the complex and enduring nature of the Kashmir dispute and underscores the need for a concerted international effort to address the historical and contemporary aspects of this conflict.