Kashmir: A new opportunity beckons

A heartening piece of news came from London last night. A dispatch by the wire service said 13 Kashmiri political groups in the UK, who have been functioning under the umbrella of the Kashmiri National Party and is an important voice in matters relating to the Kashmir dispute, passed a resolution condemning Pakistan’s tribal invasion of the Kashmir Valley in 1947! What a turnaround for the Kashmiri diaspora which, for the past six decades, has been commemorating October 22 as a black day against India forces marching into Srinagar on that day in 1947. These Kashmiri groups mainly comprise of those who have mainly settled in UK after leaving the PoK. The resolution acknowledged that the tribal invasion was designed to force the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir to join Pakistan and that Pakistan had made the territorial acquisition of Kashmir a form of jihad. It went on to reject the “genie of extremism and hatred released in the name of jihad in October 1947 to advance political agenda”. Equally heartening news has come from those involved in the process of finding a solution to the vexed Kashmir problem. It has been revealed that some of the key groups from PoK are also disturbed about the precarious political situation in Pakistan and the battle with the Talibans. The strident voice in support of Pakistan has died down. Though all these Kashmiri groups still pitch for independent statehood for Jammu and Kashmir (that includes PoK), the statement emerging from October 22 meeting in London it is illuminating. One participant said that over the years Kashmiris remained confused about their identity: “We don’t know if we are Pakistanis or Kashmiris.” Now, this indicates that the time has come for a fresh round of initiative, an aggressive one at that, for India to push forward its case at bilateral and international levels for peaceful solution of the Kashmir issue. We may not be ready for a composite dialogue yet, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t raise the issue at international fora. In fact, this is the best time in decades when we can take the initiative away from Pakistan on the Kashmir issues and utilize the disillusionment of the Kashmiri groups to our advantage. This can then be used to pressure Pakistan to act in a manner that brings peace to the Valley. One caveat: We must think through and plan the peace offensive carefully for a positive result.