Kashmir Conflict

The Kashmir dispute is a core issue in South Asia that has bedeviled the relations between the two neighboring countries, India and Pakistan, since 1947. Both countries have different perceptions of this conflict. Pakistan holds it as an unfinished partition of the subcontinent in 1947 and sees it as an issue for the determination of self-right about Kashmir. The United Nations has also passed a resolution to give Kashmiris the right to self-determination. India regards this conflict as a territorial issue and stuck to a stance that Pakistan is occupying an Indian territory as Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. Kashmir is a landlocked state with a total area of 222,236 kilometers squares. The line of control (LoC), which divides Jammu and Kashmir into Indian and Pakistani administered, is 1,001 kilometers long in the Siachen area. British sold the valley of Kashmir to a Sikh Nawab, Gulab Singh, for 7.5 million rupees in 1846. Pakistan administrates one-third area of Jammu and Kashmir while India occupies two-thirds territory. Both countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1949 after the first fight over Kashmir. After that, the original land of Jammu and Kashmir was divided into the following four political units:

• Azad Kashmir (area under the administration of Pakistan)
• Northern Area including Gilgit Baltistan (under the administration of Pakistan)
• Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir valley (area under the administration of India)
• Aksai Chin area which is controlled by China

Both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers, and their conflict in Kashmir can lead to a disaster. After the Pulwama incident in occupied Jammu and Kashmir in the current year, India threatened Pakistan with a nuclear attack or any other invasion made on Pakistan. Indian pilots also came into Pakistani territory and bombed an area near Kashmir. 

Some Highlights of the Kashmir Conflict

• Jammu and Kashmir states comprise Ludukh, dominated by Buddhists, the Area of Jammu, dominated by Hindus and Kashmir valley dominated by Muslims. After the first anglo-Sikh war in 1845 to 1956, the Kashmir war surrendered to East India Company under the Treaty of Lahore. English sold this territory soon to Maharaja Gulab Singh for 7.5 million rupees under the Treaty of Amritsar.
• Partab Singh and Hari Singh succeeded Maharaja Gulab Singh, respectively. Sikh rulers in Kashmir were always brutal to the Muslims in their valley. They took many steps to suppress the Muslims in Kashmir like banning cow slaughter and Azaan, closing the Srinagar Jamia Masjid, saddled the Muslims with heavy taxes. All these situations resulted in Muslims’ rebellion against Sikhs in the valley in 1931. But Sikhs brutally crushed the uprising.
• In 1931, some superior Muslims thought of establishing a political party. In this regard, Sheikh Abdullah lined up for the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference in 1939. The party changed its name to the National Conference in 1939. 
• The first legislative assembly in Kashmir was configured in 1934.
• Partition of the subcontinent in 1947 was based on the principles of geographical bordering and contiguity and religious majority. According to these principles, Kashmir was to innately annex Pakistan as the valley has a majority of Muslims in the area. However, the Sikh Maharaja delayed the accession of Kashmir with either country and wanted to remain independent. Muslims in Kashmir came to know about his intentions, and they stood against him. The people areas near Kashmir also supported Kashmiri Muslims. Maharaja called for help from the Indian army to sort out this conflict. In response, Indians made a condition to help them. They offer to help Raja if he signs the accession agreement of Kashmir with India. Maharaja signed it on 27 October 1947, and the Indian army invaded the valley.
• Indian troops in Kashmir drove all Pakistani segments from the valley. Maharaja of Kashmir appointed Sheikh Abdullah for the administration of the state in an emergency. He ensured the people that this annexation was ad-hoc and that the people of the country would decide it.
• The government of Pakistan immediately fought for this fraudulent accession with India. Both forces from India and Pakistan faced each other in Kashmir, and it was the start of conflict over Kashmir for both countries.
• There was a war between the two countries over Kashmir started in October 1947. India brought this conflict to the United Nations in January 1948. 
• The United Nations formed a commission for India and Pakistan to resolve this conflict. Moreover, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to hold a democratic referendum in Kashmir to know the will of the people.
• The United Nations also passed a further resolution and called both countries for the abolition of forces from the valley and to hold a free referendum in the state. 
• The United Nations presented proposals to both countries to demilitarize the area. Pakistan accepted these proposals but rejected them from India.
• The United Nations Security Council presented a resolution on 230 July 1962. That resolution was an attempt to make India hold a plebiscite in Kashmir according to the decision that was taken into UNSC in 1949. But Russia vetoed the judgment in favor of India.

After the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, both countries signed an agreement in Simla, which is also called the Simla Agreement. According to this agreement, Pakistan agreed to settle the Kashmir dispute bilaterally and recognized the Line of Control (LoC) as an international borderline. Zulifqar Ali Bhutto signed this agreement with the Prime Minister of India, Indra Gandhi, in 1972. However, the Simla Accord can not turn the status of the valley of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmir will be a disputed territory until it is resolved according to the United Nations Security Council recommendations. And the following points in the Simla Agreement are proof of that:

• Article 1(iv) of the Simla Accord states that Kashmir is the primary reason for conflict between the two countries, India and Pakistan, and it is also causing to disturb the relations between the two countries, India and Pakistan. So, the agreement clearly says that Kashmir is a disputed territory.
• The second paragraph of the agreement discusses the line of control (LoC), and it clearly states that LoC is not an international border. The United Nations and the world community recognize Pakistan in one position.
• Simla Accord mentions in its sixth paragraph that this accord is the ultimate bargain over Jammu and Kashmir. It is still a question to answer, and the Kashmir dispute is awaiting settlement.
• Indian government put the state into disputable elections in 1987. The people of Kashmir stood up against those elections and the state went on a rampage. People revolted against the Indian government. The Indian army killed many people in this revolt. During the 1990s, almost 100,000 civilians in Kashmir were murdered. Currently, nearly 600,000 soldiers of the Indian Army are present in the valley to suppress any revolt by the people.
• Both countries again went into the war in 1999. The argil conflict brought Kashmir into the limelight.
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used a proposal for demographic change in the valley. Other Hindu nationalist organizations have also proposed this radical change in the population of Kashmir as a solution for the Kashmir conflict with Pakistan. In the past, the BJP has always called for the annulment of Article 370 in the Indian constitution. The reason behind this is that Article 370 gave Kashmir a special status among other Indian states. According to it, no one can purchase any property in Kashmir. Further, it also elaborates that no one other than Kashmiris can seek residence in the territory. 
• But, BJP has done so in 2019. Bharatiya Janata Party kept its promise that they shall demolish the special status of Kashmir by provoking Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. On 5 August 2019, the BJP Government put the valley under curfew, and continues to date.

Indian Stance Over Kashmir

The Indian government has a say over Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh decided to accede the valley with India. It is final and legal, regardless of the circumstances. There is only one unfinished thing is Pakistan should give up over the part of Jammu and Kashmir that is illegally occupied. Further, India has a stance that Pakistan has not withdrawn the forces from the occupied valley, which is a precondition of the UN Resolutions to hold a referendum in Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi further maintains that Pakistan has lost the right to call for the implementation of the UN Resolutions in Jammu and Kashmir after the war of 1965. There is no need to get to know the will of the people through a plebiscite in Kashmir

Pakistani Stance over Kashmir

Pakistani government always holds a stance that Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory. Moreover, the UN Security Council has also recognized it and passed resolutions of 13 August 1948, and 5 January 1949 to which both India and Pakistan agreed, and either state cannot disregard it.

Solutions for the Kashmir Conflict

International leaders and different organizations have proposed many solutions for the Kashmir conflict to resolve, but none of the single ones was accepted. Some popular plans or formulas are discussed below:

Owen Dixon Plan

It is named after Sir Owen Dixon, who was a Judge of an Australian High Court. Sir Owen came to the region according to the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions for the Kashmir dispute in 1950. The whole crux of the solution presented is the following:

• Areas with a Hindu majority, i.e., Ladakh and Jammu, were to be annexed by India.
• Pakistan will keep a hold on Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
• South areas of the valley river Chenab shall join India, and North areas of the valley shall join Pakistan after the referendum.

Chenab Formula                                                                                                                                 

This plan for the solution of Kashmir was presented in 1960. According to the Chenab Formula, Kashmir will be divided along the river Chenab. Then a vast area with a Muslim majority will join Pakistan, including six districts of Kashmir Srinagar, Baramullah, Badgam, Pulwama, Kupwara, and Anantnag. And India would get the Hindu dominated areas, including Jammu, Kathua, Udhampur, and Ladakh. All the regions of Jammu and Kashmir shall be granted sovereign status, and the country shall maintain the only foreign policy. As a result, the Line of Control (LoC) will be shifted towards the east and will include the Poonch, Rajouri, and Doda districts to Pakistan and be considered as the international border. 

Musharraf’s 4 Points Formula

 Musharraf presented 4 points formula in 2006 for the solution. He believed that both India and Pakistan should retreat their troops from Jammu and Kashmir and join hands for 4 4-point formula. It included the following points:

• The state of Kashmir should have the same borders as Loc, but the Kashmiris on both sides should be allowed to move freely in the country.
• Kashmir should be a self-governed state but not an independent one.
• Both countries should demilitarize the Kashmir region in phases.
• Joint involvement in the withdrawal of troops

Musharraf’s 4 point formula shows the stand of Pakistan on the Kashmir issue over decades. It was a shift in Kashmir policy in Pakistan. These changes or alterations towards Pakistan are listed below:

• Musharraf’s 4 point formula shows that Pakistan put the United Nations resolution of plebiscite in Kashmir aside.
• Pakistan made a move toward self-determination
• These points drop the religion as a criterion for the solution of the Kashmir conflict
• There was another shift that Pakistan guided the Kashmiris that they should talk to New Delhi
• Pakistan accepted LoC for the joint management of Kashmir.

Musharraf also suggested the four-step approach to implementing the 4 points formula. These are the following:

• Musharraf said that an agreement between both countries should be made that Kashmir is the core issue between India and Pakistan, so Musharraf tried to nullify that paragraph of the Simla Accord that the Kashmir conflict is resolved yet it was not in real life.
• It also suggested that both countries or regions should identify the things or plans that are unacceptable for both.
• And emphasize that Pakistan and India should also consider other proposals for a permanent solution to the Kashmir conflict.
• And look for a solution that is acceptable to Kashmir, Pakistan, and India. And the people of Kashmir should agree with it.
• Musharraf also suggested that after some years of the exercise of this plan, it would be again discussed with the people of Kashmir and ask them if they agree with or want some other solution. If they allow it, then this plan will be the final settlement of the Kashmir issue. But if they do not agree, both countries should look for another solution for the future of Jammu and Kashmir.

Kashmir in 2019

Narendra Modi of India revoked Article 370 of the Indian constitution after coming into power in the 2019 General Elections with a two-thirds majority and put the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir in curfew. Modi government sent more troops to the valley, and their total number is 600,000 IJK. They are killing are arresting Kashmiri Muslims brutally. And put the Kashmiri leaders under house arrest. Modi government even stopped the transportation of medicines and medical equipment, food, and other things to the valley. The Prime Minister of Pakistan has raised their voice against Indian brutality in Kashmir on different platforms. US President Donald Trump has offered mediation over the dispute for both countries, but India did not give any encouraging response. The United Nations and the world should force India to stop violating human rights in IJK and find a solution according to the will of the Kashmiri people.