Indian military actions in Kashmir: Can a war be ruled out?

by Tauqeer Abbas
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Shafaqna Pakistan:Raja Farooq Haider Khan, Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), said on Sunday that Kashmir was a nuclear flash-point in South Asia and the possibility of war between India and Pakistan over Kashmir could not be ruled out. Prime Minister Imran Khan has also repeatedly warned India of dire consequence in case of any misadventure.

Mr. Haider Khan was talking to the delegation of newly elected office bearers of District Bar Association Rawalpindi and High Court Bar Association that called on him at Jammu and Kashmir House in the federal capital on Sunday, an AJK government official statement released to the media Sunday night said.

In January, the Indian army chief had said that the Indian army will move to claim AJK if it is given orders in this regard by the parliament. His statement was dismissed by the Pakistan Army’s media wing as “routine rhetoric for domestic audiences to get out of ongoing internal turmoil”.

“If you are under the false impression that you will take any action against Pakistan to strengthen your Hindu voter base, it will be the last mistake you make,” said PM Khan in a grave warning to his Indian counterpart.

The AJK prime minister stressed the need for an immediate increase of military power to foil the expansionist and nefarious designs of India. “No diplomacy can survive without power and Pakistan is the only country capable to stop India from its expansionist motives in the region”, he added.

He also said that India despite all its efforts miserably failed to buy the loyalties of the Kashmiris. “It is high time for us to do whatever we can for our brethren who are the victims of worst state terrorism in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK)”, he added.

The AJK prime minister said Kashmiris were rendering matchless sacrifices for the freedom of their motherland.

It is important to note that on august 5, 2019, with an indefinite security lockdown in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK) and elected representatives under house arrest, India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stripped Kashmiris of the special autonomy they had for seven decades through a rushed presidential order.

By repealing Article 370 of the constitution, people from the rest of India will now have the right to acquire property in occupied Kashmir and settle there permanently. Kashmiris as well as critics of India’s Hindu nationalist-led government see the move as an attempt to dilute the demographics of Muslim-majority Kashmir with Hindu settlers.

Human Rights Violations in Kashmir
Pakistan has been making all possible efforts to highlight the state of human rights in Indian occupied Kashmir where innocent Kashmiris are being targeted. Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan had called upon the United Nations Human Rights Council to immediately set up an independent investigation commission to probe human rights abuses in occupied Kashmir as recommended in the two OHCHR reports on the disputed territory.

Read more: Kashmir Solidarity Day: Pakistan will Always Stand by Kashmir

A report was also issued by the UN expressing severe reservations over human rights violations in the valley. The report of the United Nations’ Office of High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) on Kashmir concluded that the situation in India occupied Kashmir is worst. Christine Chung, one of the authors of the report was invited to the event by the sub-committee.

It is worth noting here that the OHCHR issued its first-ever report on the situation in Kashmir on June 14, 2018. The report highlights the protests after the martyrdom of Burhan Wani in 2016 and the brutal use of pellet guns against protesters among the human rights violations in Indian-held Kashmir. The report noted that Indian armed forces not only use force indiscriminately but also rape and humiliate Kashmiri women. A member of the European Parliament also called on India “to end violence against women & children in IOK. Voices of Kashmiri women & children must be heard.”

The international community has raised its concerns over the brutalities being committed by India. Recently, the European Parliament stood up for the people of Kashmir. “Members of the European Parliament called on India to immediately put a halt to its atrocities in Indian Occupied Kashmir and carry out investigations into the incidents of grave human rights violations.”

It is yet to be seen whether the international community will look into Kashmir and forces the fascist Indian regime to end relentless wave of terror and violence or not. Many experts fear that the Western country, otherwise champion of human rights, are likely to remain silent due to their economic as well and strategic interests.

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