Intervention not mediation

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that there was no military solution to the decades old Kashmir conflict and military confrontation between the two would be a disaster of unmitigated proportions for both countries and for the whole world, in a press conference last Thursday, while responding to a question. He also urged India and Pakistan to come together and seriously discuss their problems stemming from the unresolved Kashmir dispute. adding that his  good offices were always available for mediation. He further said he stood by his statement of 8 August 2019, which called for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute based on UN resolutions and the UN Charter.

It is pertinent to mention that during his visit to Pakistan last year the Secretary General, while reiterating the need for resolution of THE Kashmir ISSUE in consonance with UN resolutions, added, “Another important aspect, which needs full respect of human rights and continental freedom in Jammu and Kashmir, is that people should have free movement as [they have] in Pakistan’s side. I hope this will also be achieved on the other side (India). I have offered my good offices in relation to the situation and our position is that the Security Council’s resolutions be implemented.” His office, in a statement after revocation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution by the Modi regime, ending the special status of the state, had also urged India to refrain from taking steps that could affect the status of Jammu and Kashmir.

What he has said and has been saying is very encouraging. But he must realize that responsibility for the implementation of resolutions on Kashmir lies with the UN and he as Secretary General was under obligation to ensure it. Mediation is carried out only where the two parties to a dispute agree for the third party to play a role in the resolution of a dispute between them. The idea of mediation is a non-starter proposition as India has shown extreme aversion to any such suggestion. Resolution of the dispute bilaterally as envisioned in the Simla Agreement also remains elusive even after 48 years.

India, encouraged by inaction by the UN and the indifference of the global community, has been using its military muscle since 1989 to suppress the freedom movement in Kashmir. Indian security force according to reports complied by international human rights organizations  like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have been involved in abuse of human rights and have killed nearly 100,000 Kashmiris between January 1989 and 31 December 2020, besides gang-raping 11226 women, through extra-judicial killings and fake encounters.

Thousands have gone missing during this period. The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), a human rights group in Indian Occupied Kashmir, discovered 3844 mass graves in different parts of the state in 2007 and brought them to the notice of the state-run Human Rights Commission in Indian-Occupied Kashmir. The Commission, after verifying those claims and identifying 38 such sites, asked the state government to hold an investigation into these mass graves. Human Rights Watch repeatedly called upon the Indian government for a probe. The European Parliament also adopted a resolution in July 2008 calling on the Indian government to ensure independent and impartial investigations into all mass graves. But the Indian government has not heeded these calls so far. International media, in spite of denial of access to the Valley, has also been unmasking the abuse of human rights and incidents of mass killings by the Indian security forces.

The UN Secretary General must act to fulfill his responsibilities to ensure peace in the world by having the UN resolutions implemented. That is the only way forward in resolving the Kashmir dispute and dissuading India from spilling the blood of Kashmiris who are fighting for their right of self-determination as enshrined in the relevant UN resolutions.

The Modi government, by revoking article 370 of the Indian constitution which ended special status of the state, by bifurcating it into two territories and annexing them to the Indian Union followed by promulgating laws to change the demographic realities of the state, has patently nullified the UN resolutions, breached international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. The message to the UN and the world community is that India does not care about her international obligations under the UN resolutions on these issues. It undoubtedly constitutes an affront to the UN and the world community.

Notwithstanding the fact that the international community and the UN have not accepted the Indian narrative about the issue being her internal affair, has expressed concern about the human rights situation in the state and has reaffirmed the need for resolving the Kashmir dispute through the implementation of the UN resolutions, India refuses to listen. Its security forces continue their killing spree in the state. Reportedly since 5 August 2019 more than 300 Kashmiris have been killed during cordon and search operations and fake encounters. The entire population is under military siege and lockdown, and is living a miserable life.

Not only that, the Indian government has also adopted a belligerent and hostile posture towards Pakistan, scuttling any chance of a dialogue between the two states for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. It has created a situation which can easily push the two nuclear countries into a military confrontation, as is evident from persistent violation of the ceasefire Agreement along the LoC by the Indian security forces targeting civilians, and the aggression committed against Pakistan on 26 February 2019 when India sent planes to attack imaginary terrorist camps at Balakot. Pakistan showed remarkable restraint in the face of this naked aggression. While proving her resolve and capability to thwart any aggression against her by downing two planes and capturing Indian pilot Abhinandan, it also established her credentials as a peace loving country by repatriating the pilot. Friendly countries also played a part in defusing the situation.

However India is persisting with her threatening posture towards Pakistan. Therefore, Pakistan justifiably feels that India was planning yet another false-flag operation against it, and Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly cautioned the world about the Indian designs. Any such eventuality can easily push the two countries into a military confrontation with disastrous consequences for both countries and for the world, as rightly observed by the UN Secretary General.

The situation therefore demands immediate intervention of the UN for the implementation of its resolutions and not mere sermons and offers for mediation. India has shown it is not amenable to such exhortations and offers. It has scant respect for the opinion of the world. Therefore the UN Secretary General must act to fulfill his responsibilities to ensure peace in the world by having the UN resolutions implemented. That is the only way forward in resolving the Kashmir dispute and dissuading India from spilling the blood of Kashmiris who are fighting for their right of self-determination as enshrined in the relevant UN resolutions.