UNCIP Resolution Day on
Kashmir by Sajjad Shaukat(JR115SS14)
Every year,
January 5 is celebrated in remembrance of the pledges of the UNO, as on this
very day in 1949, UNCIP (United Nations Commission for Indian Pakistan)
resolution adopted in which Kashmiris’ right of self-determination was granted
through a free and impartial plebiscite, while these people have still
been living under Indian occupation.
During the
partition of the Sub-continent, the people of the State of Jammu and Kashmir
(J&K) which comprised Muslim majority decided to join Pakistan according to
the British-led formula. But, Dogra Raja, Sir Hari Singh, a Hindu who was
ruling over the J&K in connivance with the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru and Governor General Lord Mountbatten joined India.
The design to
forcibly wrest Kashmir began to unfold on August 16, 1947, with the
announcement of the Radcliffe Boundary Award. It gave the Gurdaspur District—a
majority Muslim area to India to provide a land route to the Indian armed forces
to move into Kashmir. There was a rebellion in the state forces, which revolted
against the Maharaja and were joined by Pathan tribesmen. Lord Mountbatten
ordered armed forces to land in Srinagar.
However, Indian
forces invaded Srinagar on October 27, 1947 and forcibly occupied Jammu and
Kashmir in utter violation of the partition plan and against the wishes of the
Kashmiri people.
When Pakistan
responded militarily against the Indian aggression, on December 31, 1947, India
made an appeal to the UN Security Council to intervene and a ceasefire which
ultimately came into effect on January 01, 1949, following UN resolutions
calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir.
It is
mentionable that the Security Council adopted resolution 47 (1948) of 21 April
21, 1948, which promised a plebiscite under UN auspices to enable the people of
Jammu and Kashmir to determine whether they wish to join Pakistan or India. On
February 5, 1964, India backed out of its promise of holding plebiscite.
Instead, in March 1965, the Indian Parliament passed a bill, declaring Kashmir
a province of India-an integral part of the Indian union.
The very tragedy
of Kashmiris had started after 1947 when they were denied their genuine right
of self-determination. They organised themselves against the injustices of
India and launched a war of liberation which New Delhi tried to suppress
through various forms of state terrorism.
Passing through
various phases, the struggle of Kashmiris which has become an interaction
between the Indian state terrorism led by the Indian security forces and war of
liberation by the freedom fighters keeps on going unabated.
It is notable
that since 1947, in order to maintain its illegal control, India has continued
its repressive regime in the Occupied Kashmir through various machinations. In
this regard, as already mentioned that India forcibly occupied Kashmir in gross
violation of the “Partition Plan of the Indian Subcontinent, but, through the
so-called-Instrument of Accession of October 27, 1947 which is illegal, and
remains controversial, New Delhi justifies its hold on the Kashmir.
Nevertheless,
various forms of state terrorism have been part of a deliberate campaign by the
Indian army and paramilitary forces against Muslim Kashmiris, especially since 1989.
It has been manifested in brutal tactics like crackdowns, curfews, illegal
detentions, massacre, targeted killings, sieges, burning the houses, torture,
disappearances, rape, breaking the legs, molestation of Muslim women and
killing of persons through fake encounter.
According to a
report on human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, since 1989,
there have been deaths of 1,00000 innocent Kashmiris, 7,023 custodial killings,
1,22,771 arrests, 1,05,996 destruction of houses or buildings, 22,776 women
widowed, 1,07,466 children orphaned and 10,086 women gang-raped/molested.
Indian brutal securities forces have continue these atrocities.
In fact, Indian
forces have employed various draconian laws like the Jammu and Kashmir
Disturbed Areas Act, and the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers
Act and Public Safety Act in killing the Kashmiri people, and for the
arbitrarily arrest of any individual for an indefinite period.
Besides Human
Rights Watch, in its various reports, Amnesty International has also pointed
out grave human rights violations in the Indian controlled Kashmir, indicating,
“The Muslim majority population in the Kashmir Valley suffers from the
repressive tactics of the security forces”.
In its report on
July 2, 2015, the Amnesty International has highlighted extrajudicial killings
of the innocent persons at the hands of Indian security forces in the Indian
Held Kashmir. The report points out, “Tens of thousands of security forces are
deployed in Indian-administered Kashmir…the Armed Forces Special Powers Act
allows troops to shoot to kill suspected militants or arrest them without a
warrant…not a single member of the armed forces has been tried in a civilian
court for violating human rights in Kashmir…this lack of accountability has in
turn facilitated other serious abuses…India has martyred one 100,000 people.
More than 8,000 disappeared (while) in the custody of army and state police.”
In this respect,
European Union has passed a resolution about human rights abuses committed by
Indian forces in the Indian held Kashmir.
It is of
particular attention that in 2008, a rights group reported unmarked graves in
55 villages across the northern regions of the Indian-held Kashmir. Then
researchers and other groups reported finding thousands of mass graves without
markers. In this respect, in August, 2011, Indian Jammu and Kashmir State Human
Rights Commission officially acknowledged in its report that innocent civilians
killed in the two-decade conflict have been buried in unmarked graves.
Foreign sources
and human rights organisations have revealed that unnamed graves include those
innocent persons, killed by the Indian military and paramilitary troops in the
fake encounters including those who were tortured to death by the Indian secret
agency RAW. In the recent past, more unmarked graves have been discovered.
It is
worth-mentioning that report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) released on June 14, 2018-“Situation
in Kashmir” pointed out Indian atrocities in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK). It said: “From July 2016, the High
Commissioner for Human Rights has on numerous occasions requested the
Governments of India and Pakistan that his Office be given unconditional access
to Kashmir to assess the human rights situation. India rejected this request;
while Pakistan offered access…The refusal to allow unhindered access to United
Nations team into Indian-Administered-Kashmir gave rise to an idea of “Remote
Monitoring”. The report was then compiled by doing “remote monitoring” on the
situation of Human Rights in Kashmir. The report by the independent authority
is an eye-opener for many. The focus of the report is on the situation of human
rights in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir from July 2016 to April 2018.
During this period ‘OHCHR’ received reports of allegations of widespread and
serious human rights violations by Indian security forces that led to numerous
civilian casualties.
It is noteworthy
that in his address at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 29, 2018, Pakistan’s
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi
said, “The neighbouring country [India] rejected the Pakistani offer of
resuming peace talks on ‘flimsy grounds…We are ready to talk to India on all
issues but with respect…Kashmir issue is the biggest obstacle to regional
peace…the Indian forces subjecting Kashmiris to atrocities for seven decades.
India should not test Pakistan’s patience…we will respond to Indian
aggression…The latest UN report on the occupied Kashmir has exposed Indian
atrocities on innocent civilians…the meeting between the Pakistani and Indian
foreign ministers would’ve been a great opportunity for dialogue. But, the Modi
government chose politics over dialogue…India would have to bear the brunt of
Pakistan’s retaliation if it makes the mistake of any misadventure on the Line
of Control (LoC)”.
Nonetheless, this
time, this very day has come at time when the people of Kashmir have
accelerated their legitimate struggle in the aftermath of the martyrdom of the
young Kashmir leader Burhan Wani by the Indian security forces in the Indian
Held Kashmir in wake of continued sieges, prolonged curfews, arrests and
detentions of the Kashmiri leaders. Since July 8, 2016, Indian forces have
martyred more than 1500 innocent persons who have been protesting against the
martyrdom of Burhan Wani.
Some online
authentic sources suggest that recent wave of Kashmiri intifada has witnessed
repression of Indian armed forces; large numbers of the dead and injured have
been youngsters. The pellet guns used by security forces have damaged the faces
of 1600 people and more than 1100 people have partially or wholly lost their
eyesight making 2016 as the year of dead eyes.
In 2017, reports
also disclosed that Indian security forces have
also used chemical weapons against the Kashmiri civilians in violation of
international law and
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Due to mounting causalities in IOK, Indian security forces
have started giving collective punishment to Kashmiri civilians. In a
development on 4 July 2017, the Indian Army had destroyed houses in Pulwama and
killed 3 Kashmiri civilians. Upon recovery of the bodies, it was discovered
that they were burnt beyond recognition.
Sources report that Indian Army is emulating Israeli tactics
by using white phosphorus bombs to destroy houses of Kashmiris suspected of
harboring Mujahideen. The same tactics was used by Israel during its attacks on
Gaza and it seems that these weapons have been provided by Israel to India for
use in IOK.
As a matter of
fact, Indian authorities are not willing to talk with Kashmiri people on
political grounds. New Delhi reached to a conclusion that only bullet is the
right way of dealing with Kashmiris, demanding their right of
self-determination. Surprisingly, Indian successive governments are trying to
ignore the dynamics of the freedom movement of Kashmiris for the sake of their
alien rule.
And New Delhi is
still showing its intransigence in order to resolve Kashmir issue with Pakistan
by neglecting the fact that Kashmir remains a nuclear flashpoint between both
the neighbouring countries. While, by manipulating the false flag terror
attacks at a military base in Uri and Baramulla, the BJP-led Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has intensified war-hysteria against Pakistan. Indian forces have continued violation of the
LoC) by shelling in Pakistani side of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan’s Army has been
compelled to give a matching response. New Delhi’s main aim is to deflect the
attention of the international community from the new phase of Kashmiri
Intifada, while in this regard; pressure has been mounting on the Modi
government both domestically and internationally to resolve the dispute of
Kashmir with Pakistan.
Notably, Egbert
Jahn in his book, “Kashmir: Flashpoint for a Nuclear War or Even a Third World
War?” has pointed out, “The Kashmir conflict is embedded in the wider conflict
over the incomplete creation of nations and states on the Indian subcontinent,
which during the east-west conflict even threatened at times to escalate into a
nuclear world war between Pakistan and the USA on the one side and India and
the USSR on the other. Until now, there have been three wars between India and
Pakistan over the Jammu and Kashmir: in 1947–49, 1965 and 1999… finally, the
Indo-Chinese border war of 1962…after these wars…and could unexpectedly again
lead to a regional and under certain circumstances…even a major nuclear war or
a Third World War.”
We can conclude
that every year, the Kashmiris and their brethren in Pakistan, and those living
all over the world observe January 5 as the day of remembrance of the pledges
of the UNO which had guaranteed the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri
people through plebiscite. But, India remains obstinate in violation of the UN
resolution.
Sajjad Shaukat
writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic
Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International
Relations
Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com
