India gives Kashmir on platter, but to whom

 Written by :Ishfaqullah Shawl

India gives Kashmir in a platter and pave way for freedom of Kashmir from Indian occupation but the question arises will Kashmiris across the globe are in a position to avail this golden opportunity or they will remain in panic. It is responsibility of lawyer who always claimed to provide moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri nation now it is high time to activate all its diplomatic brigade to highlight the latest development across the globe and in United Nations in particular. This is high time for Kashmiris living abroad to get united and build a world opinion.

After Indian government issued a presidential order to abrogate Article 370 and section 35A of Indian Constitution has made the path easy for Kashmiris to rebuild their case in the United Nation to get freedom from illegal occupation forces of India.

As per Indian own claims, Maharaja Hari Singh has acceded Kashmir with India making the instrument of accession conditional to after brining peace in Kashmir a plebiscite will be arranged in Kashmir to know the will of Kashmiri and Indian leadership entered Article 370 giving special status to Kashmir. Now Indian Government  has repealed this Article which was baseline of Kashmir’s conditional accession to India, and it has lose its claim (no question true or false) on Kashmir and Kashmir is standing on August 15, 1947 position and this Indian move has turned Indian and aggressor and an occupational force on Kashmir.

Keeping in view this latest development Kashmiris across the globe get united and revoke world conscience against illegal Indian occupation and build world opinion for their birth right of freedom from occupational forces. Here is a very important as Pakistan is party to Kashmir dispute. In view of latest development it should suspend its diplomatic relations with India and use its efforts to put forward a move in the United Nations to summon Security Council moot where it has to raise the issue of illegal Indian occupation, bombardment on Kashmir soil and heavy deployment of Indian troops.

Pakistan also raise the issue that Indian attitude will prove a big threat to peace in entire South Asian region. It has to ask United Nations to send its forces to Kashmir till its final solution.

Here let me mention if not bother to someone Pakistan has to follow the path given by former President of Azad Kashmir, asking Pakistan to declare Azad Kashmir an independent state and support its move in United Nations, If at this stage Pakistan leadership made this move it will further push India into corner and help get Kashmiri liberated from Indian occupation.

Though it is difficult for Pakistani leadership at this stage but it will prove a panacea for Pakistan it its ‘leadership’ took this bold step which will help resolve many issue of Pakistan too.

Political pundits are of the view that it looks all what is happening after Pakistani ‘leadership’ met US President Trump so there might be some assurances for give and take regarding Afghanistan, the main weak point of the US as for many years the US is eager to get a bail out from Afghanistan. The recent meeting of Pakistani leadership was because all the latest development and in the wake of Indian ‘love’ with Trump this latest move was made.

Here let we talk about abrogated Article 370 which was the basis of Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to the India at a time when erstwhile princely states had the choice to join either India or Pakistan after their independence from the British rule in 1947. The article, which came into effect in 1949, exempts Kashmir from the Indian Constitution. It allows the Indian-administered region jurisdiction to make its own laws in all matters except finance, defense, foreign affairs and communications. It established a separate constitution and a separate flag and denied property rights in the region to the outsiders. That means the residents of the state live under different laws from the rest of the country in matters such as property ownership and citizenship.

Similarly the Article 35A was introduced through a presidential order in 1954 to continue the old provisions of the territory regulations under Article 370 of the Indian constitution. The article permits the local legislature in Indian-administered Kashmir to define permanent residents of the region. It forbids outsiders from permanently settling, buying land, holding local government jobs or winning education scholarships in the region. The article, referred to as the Permanent Residents Law, also bars female residents of Jammu and Kashmir from property rights in the event that they marry a person from outside the state. The provision also extends to such women’s children.

While Article 35A has remained unchanged, some aspects of Article 370 have been diluted over the decades. Critics of Article 35A say the provision did not have any parliamentary sanction, and that it discriminates against women.

Now the ruling BJP and its right-wing allies have challenged Article 35A which it calls discriminatory, through a series of petitions. Last month, a senior BJP leader hinted that the government was planning to form exclusive Hindu settlements in the region.

Some political pundits are of the view that President Trumps plea to mediate Kashmir and its conditionality if India and Pakistan request is giving signals and now the US asks to ensure peace and stability after latest Indian move of first deploying more troops to reinforce already stationed more than 700,000 Indian military and para-military personnel, creating panic not only in Kashmir but across the globe and then repealing the Article 370 and 35A conspicuously.

Now the ball is in the court of Pakistan and Kashmiris and let’s see how they can play, either to take it as a panic making Kashmiris center point or took it positively to move international community,