K.N. Pandita
What prompted Nawaz Sharif to appeal to Obama for his intervention on Kashmir before actually meeting with him on 23rd instant?
Is he let down by Pakistani Army and ISI who have escalated firing and tension along LoC and IB in J&K? Is it an indirect way of telling Obama to rein in Pakistani army because he is unable to deliver? Is it the condition Sharif is putting for the US while approving the candidate Obama proposes to take the place of General Kayani after he passes on the baton?
In any case, the move is unprecedented because it is explicit. The US has been very much in the background picture of Indo-Pak dispute on Kashmir. Her interest has deepened with the pull back time from Afghanistan coming closer.
Pakistan’s role in post-withdrawal period in Afghanistan is vital. Pakistan is vital to US’ Middle East and South Asian strategy. By and large, the US has discounted India’s stakes in Afghanistan as against that of Pakistan. But the need to keep India on her side in South East-Pacific policy is also one of the ingredients of her diplomatic chemistry.
India has officially rejected third party intervention in Kashmir. The opposition in the Parliament has lent its support to the government for rejecting the US intervention in Kashmir as unwanted and uncalled for.
The opposition has come out with the stand that the US has no locus standi in Kashmir issue and should desist from interfering in our internal affairs as Kashmir is an integral part of the Indian Union.
To say that the US has no role in our or Pakistan’s internal affairs is a guffaw with no takers. But for US’ huge alms and donations, Pakistan would have turned pauper years ago.
Nawaz Sharif cannot be faulted for asking US’ intervention in Kashmir. We also want that the US should intervene. The US should help Nawaz Sharif in latter’s predicament in the shape of deep-seated animus between the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and the rulers in Islamabad. Making good use of this scenario, China jumped into the fray during the regime of General Musharraf and is consolidating her position there. This s gall to the US as it is developing into an irritant between Islamabad and Washington. All that Sharif is asking Obama to do is to pave the way for his regime to impose its and not Pak Army’s diktat in GB. The same is true about “Azad Kashmir” where the once active JKLF has met with strong opposition from Islamabad. Dissatisfaction among the large sections of people in “AK” was reflected in a recent event in which the people in Neelam Valley (Kishen Ganga Valley) came out on the streets to protest against the Pakistani jihadis using their land and routes for infiltration into Kashmir. These two regions have become festering sore for Pakistan.
Previous regimes in Pakistan used two-pronged strategy in the PoK. One was to suppress the people and deny them the rights of self-determination. The second was to indoctrinate them with hatred against India. After the LoC was opened at a couple of places for trans-LoC communication, the reality of immense economic, material and political progress in our part of the State has become clear to the oppressed and suppressed people of “AK” and Gilgit Baltistan. It is the colonial status of these areas to which Pak Army has reduced them to that forces Nawaz Sharif to seek intervention of the US.
On his own he is unable to grant them self-determination rights. If he takes even the smallest step in that direction, the army will repeat its treatment of 1999 to him. He no more wants to be the “honoured guests of the Saudis”.
Sharif’s appeal to Obama has another dimension. It was on the behest of the US that the two prime ministers met in NY on the sidelines of GA session. Sharif was advised to rein in the jihadis infiltrating into Kashmir. On the ground he could not. Contrarily, the Army accelerated firing along the border and LoC. India made it clear that Pakistan was trying a foolish adventure. Nawaz Sharif wants face saving, hence an appeal to Obama.
It is now clear that Nawaz Sharif is not and may not be in control of things in his country. The army and jihadi nexus has outwitted him. So let it be.
For us, things are clearer with this apologetic appeal of Mian Nawaz to Obama. We need to keep our powder dry. We also need to explore options. Two days ago, the government announced it was putting the Contingency Plan in place in Jammu and Kashmir in view of unabated firing by Pak Rangers. According to this plan, civilian population at vulnerable habitats and destinations along the LoC will be withdrawn to safer places. It means making space for the army to perform its defence-offence role more effectively. The message has gone across the border.
But other options, too, should be pressed into service. Strong and extensive activity to reach freedom fighters in PoK including GB and Baluchistan should be undertaken. We have every right to support the oppressed and suppressed people in our neighbourhood because their continued suppression endangers our security. The clauses of the UN Charter also provide for support to oppressed nations to liberate themselves from occupational forces. But this support has to be tangible, effective and result oriented. Let us not shy away from it. Once we know where and how to strike, it will reduce and liquidate enemy’s conspiracies in countries adjoining us like Nepal and Bangladesh.
We hope that President Obama will assure Nawaz Sharif that the US supports the freedom movement in Gilgit Baltistan and Baluchistan and implores on Nawaz Sharif to take concrete steps for granting the right of self-determination to the people of these areas. As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, it remains an integral part of the Indian Union till eternity. With Nawaz Sharif asking US to intervene in Kashmir, Kashmir leadership of all hues finds itself disarmed. Now neither the ruling nor the opposition groups have any right to ask the Union government to talk to Pakistan for solving Kashmir issue. They should know that Pakistan wants the US to decide their fate and not the people in Kashmir.
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