Pakistan isolated on Kashmir The Statesman 11 Aug 2020
https://epaper.thestatesman.com/2781681/Kolkata-The-Statesman/11TH-AUGUST-2020#page/7/2
Pakistan isolated on Kashmir 11 Aug 2020
The decisions taken by Pakistan to commemorate the abrogation of article 370 was a global flop show. It termed the day as Yaum-e-Istehsal (day of exploitation). Its DG ISPR released a song from a Pak artist, a few days before the event. Pak announced a one-minute silence in protest and a km march in solidarity with Kashmiri’s. There are no inputs on whether this was observed nationally and levels of participation.
Pak renamed the Kashmir Highway as the Srinagar Highway. SM Qureshi, stated, ‘Our focus is on Srinagar. We are therefore changing the name of the Kashmir Highway to Srinagar Highway from August 5.’ Would changing names make any difference, other than a moment of media attention.
Qureshi visited Chirikot, along the LoC. accompanied by the defence minister. Addressing villagers, he stated, ‘Prime Minister Imran Khan as an ambassador of Kashmir and I as a foreign minister are fighting your case at every forum.’ The fact is Pakistan has failed to win any global support.
Pak also conferred the country’s top civilian award, Nishan-e-Pakistan, to Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Geelani was chairman of Hurriyat Conference and resigned last month, citing the present state and condition of the party. Realistically he resigned because the Hurriyat was dumped by Pak, after being exploited for decades.
Imran Khan addressed the POK assembly and admitted, ‘there has been lukewarm response’ to Kashmir at the world stage due to commercial interests of western countries in India.’ This is global reality. Silence on China for its handling of Uighurs by the OIC made the world ignore such biased calls. Pak hired mass billboards in Times Square, New York, to project the Kashmir cause to the global community. There was no mention in any media network on it.
Pakistan released a modified map, on similar lines as Nepal, including J and K, Sir Creek, Siachen and Junagadh as part of it. The map did not include Shaksam valley and Aksai China, which though a part of J and K are ceded/occupied by China. The map was left open ended in J and K, as Pak was unwilling to risk Chinese anger by including their held territory.
India termed the action as ‘political absurdity’ and stated that these ‘ridiculous assertions’ have neither legal validity nor international credibility. The statement read, ‘this new effort only confirms the reality of Pakistan’s obsession with territorial aggrandizement supported by cross-border terrorism.’ The map was only for internal consumption as it has no legal ramification.
Pak announced it would term J and K as Indian Illegally Occupied J and K (IIOJK). Would re-terming make any difference?
China, supporting Pak raised the issue in the UNSC under ‘any other business.’ Permanent members of the UNSC stated that Kashmir was not a matter for them being a bilateral issue between India and Pak. Qureshi termed this as a victory, tweeting, ‘Today, as the world witnesses one year of India’s illegal occupation of Kashmir, Pakistan welcomes meeting the UNSC meeting. This is a mark of the international community’s and UNSC members’ solidarity with the Kashmiri people who are facing a savage military siege.’ Whom was he fooling?
The Indian permanent representative to the UN, TS Tirumurti, tweeted, ‘Another attempt by Pakistan fails! In today’s meeting of UN Security Council (UNSC) which was closed, informal, not recorded, and without any outcome, almost all countries underlined that J&K was bilateral issue and did not deserve time and attention of Council.’ Hong Kong, despite Chinese objections, was also discussed in a similar manner in the same forum, with a similar outcome.
With the OIC dumping Pak on Kashmir, SM Qureshi warned Saudi Arabia, which historically heads OIC, to call a foreign minister’s meet for passing a Kashmir resolution, failing which Pak would take unilateral action and invite nations which back it. He stated, ‘If you cannot convene it, then I’ll be compelled to ask Prime Minister Imran Khan to call a meeting of Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir and support oppressed Kashmiris.’ In retaliation, Saudis compelled Pak to repay USD 1 Billion from the 3 Billion loan which they had granted. Pak had to borrow from China. Saudi has also not renewed the deferred payment for oil pact with Pak. Pak knows that Saudis are their financial backers and they cannot anger them beyond a point.
It is aware that its Saudi threat is hollow. It only has support of Turkey and possibly Iran. Malaysia is doubtful with a change in government. With Saudi’s unwilling to support, there would be scarce attendance. Pak felt cheated because Saudi pressure compelled Imran to skip the Kuala Lumpur summit involving Turkey and Malaysia on this promise itself, which was then ignored.
Pak has unsuccessfully been pushing for a summit for the past one year. OIC nations are unwilling to discuss only Kashmir, due to ties with India. Imran had stated during his visit to Malaysia, ‘The reason is that we have no voice and there is a total division amongst [us]. We can’t even come together as a whole on the OIC meeting on Kashmir.’
Most of Pak’s announcements had no relevance outside the country. Only Turkey and China responded to its call. Its announcements were for its domestic audience as Imran faces criticism for his Kashmir policy, which remains in tatters. The opposition had been accusing him of failing to enhance global pressure on India. His recent comments and tweets have only harped on false flag operations and escalation of tensions with India, none for resolution and peace. His anti-Modi comments have displayed immaturity and poor understanding of international relations.
With Pakistan remaining on the ‘Grey List’ of the FATF, accused of sponsoring terrorism, facing an economic crisis not witnessed in its history, it currently is a lonely nation. Hence, its actions on Aug 05th was another political game, played and lost. For India, Pak’s actions were a display of childishness and immaturity, aimed for their local audience, while globally it was a flop.
About the Author
Maj Gen Harsha Kakkar
Retired Major General Indian Army