Government should counter propaganda alleging compromise on Kashmir

Certain
elements with vested interests are spreading baseless rumours regarding the
handling of the Kashmir crisis by the Pakistan government and it should play a
proactive role in countering the propaganda. The army chief recently said there
will never be a compromise on Kashmir whatever the cost, which has sent across
a very positive message, said the participants of a meeting held at Institute
of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad on December 24, 2019.

The
fifth meeting of the working group on Kashmir, formed by IPS to discuss the
latest developments in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK) post 5 August 2019, was
chaired by Executive President IPS, Khalid Rahman and included Maj Gen (r)
Sardar Muhammad Anwar Khan, former president, Azad Jammu & Kashmir
(AJ&K), Raja Sajjad Khan, director, Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Cell,
Farzana Yaqoob, former AJ&K minister, Ambassador (r) Syed Abrar Hussain,
Shakil Turabi, senior journalist and head of South Asian Broadcasting Agency
(Sabah), Amanullah Khan, former president, Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce &
Industry, Muhammad Ali, research scholar, and Advocate Nasir Qadri,
international law expert, among others.

The
participants of the meeting were of the view that Pakistan has a major asset in
the form of national consensus on Kashmir and all sections of society,
including ulema, should be engaged to further mobilize public opinion on the
issue. A well thought-out narrative should be formulated after discussions and
this should be promoted globally through all available channels such as
embassies, media, etc. The speakers opined that experts of Islamic
jurisprudence should be engaged to discuss the Islamic viewpoint regarding
Kashmir’s disputed status and its occupation by India.

The
panelists said the conditions after August 5 present an opening for stakeholders
to mobilize people through rallies, art exhibitions, conferences, etc. This is
also an ideal situation for political and religious parties, students, civil
society and social media to come together and devise a plan of action. This
should be in the form of a two-pronged strategy, domestic and international,
and needs to be long term.

The
speakers opined that we have to navigate through faulty global governance which
is serving the interests of the powerful. This needs innovation, creativity and
hard work and all stakeholders have to make efforts in this regard in their
respective domains.

The
current Kashmir situation was classified under six domains: Psychological or
humanitarian, for which international media can be exploited to further
highlight the issue while substantive relationships should be developed with
international NGOs and human rights organizations so that they generate reports
on a regular basis; diplomatic, for which there is a need to synergize and
mobilize the other stakeholders of society such as youth, media, NGOs, think
tanks, academia as this will reinforce the work that Track I does on diplomacy;
political, for which growing polarization between Muslims and Hindus in India
should be seen as a strategic opportunity which needs to be exploited; social,
for which the Kashmir Committee needs to develop close relationships with
media, think tanks and academia; strategic, these options are not viable at
this stage; and legal, as there are many international avenues available that
can be utilized.

Giving
examples of legal avenues, the speakers said recently the International Criminal
Court announced to probe war crimes committed by Israel in the Palestinian
territories. The tribunal decided to skip the statehood dispute for the time
being and go ahead with the investigation. They said this case can serve as a
precedent for IoK as both situations are very similar. Pakistan’s foreign
office and legal experts should work on this aspect and the AJ&K government
can represent IoK at the international forum.

Another
example, they said, is the Rohingya genocide case against Myanmar filed by
Gambia at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which had a
preliminary hearing earlier this month.

There are at least four UN resolutions that
clearly allow armed struggle against forces of occupation, they added.