Kashmir issue:

“There is no greater tyranny than that which is

perpetrated under the shield of law and in the name of
justice” Montesquieu.
Introduction: The Jammu and Kashmir dispute referred to as
Kashmir dispute is the core issue between Pakistan and India
that has strained relations between the 2 countries since Aug
1947. It is also a known fact that the perceptions of India and
Pakistan about what constitutes the dispute are totally
different. Pakistan regards it as an unfinished agenda of the
partition of the sub-continent in 1947. India on the other hand
regards it as a territorial issue and asserts that Jammu and
Kashmir is an integral part of India and that Pakistan is
occupying Indian Territory. The impasse has resulted with India
occupying 2/3rd of the territory of Jammu and Kashmir and
Pakistan administering 1/3rd with an UN recognized ceasefire
line separating them. Pakistan has always maintained the
stance for holding a plebiscite in Kashmir as stipulated in a UN
resolution. India after abrogation of Article 370 of its
constitution has stripped Kashmir of its status of an
independent state. The move has strengthened India’s stance at
international level giving it flexibility to move around legal
obligations. Pakistan utilizing its political, diplomatic and
economic resources can move around only so much bearing
limited fruits as India enjoys cordial diplomatic relations with
major powers.
Importance of Kashmir: Kashmir has been referred to as the
most dangerous place on Earth, The prospects of 2 nuclear
powers facing off across such a comparatively small space is
frightening. The 3 major wars have been fought over the years
only heighten the fear that now exists given their advanced
technology. Global and regional implications aside the
instability and lack of any conclusive resolution to the political
dispute have left the population of Kashmir divided and
uncertain about their future.
Geography of Kashmir: The state of Jammu and Kashmir is
landlocked region with a total area of 2, 22,236 sq.km. Of this
78,114 sq.km falls under Pakistan administered Kashmir and
37,555 sq.km under China. In addition to this 5,180 sq.km of
J&K territory were ceded to China by Pakistan under the March
1963 Sino-Pak boundary agreement. The state’s share a 221 km
international boundary with Pakistan in the Jammu region and
365 km with China along Ladakh. The line of Control which
divides the Indian and Pakistan administered parts of Jammu
and Kashmir is 1001 km long border.
History: The modern state of J&K evolved from the Dogra
heartland in Jammu as the home of many different ethnic
groups and a diverse set of cultures. In 1834 Ladakh was
conquered and incorporated into the state. Baltistan was
conquered and annexed by the Dogras in 1840. The valley of
Kashmir joined in 1846 when the British sold it to the Sikh ruler
Gulab Singh for 7.5 million rs. In 1935 Gilgit was leased to the
British for 60 years. The British terminated the lease in 1947.
Aksai Chin came under the Chinese control in 1962 following
the Sino Indian war that year. Poonch joined the state in 1936
as the result of a judicial agreement. After their 1st war over
Kashmir in 1947-48 India and Pakistan signed a cease fire
agreement on Jan 1st 1949 and Pakistan went to war over
Kashmir again in 1965 and the resulting line of control divided
old Jammu and Kashmir into 4 political units:
 Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir valley (Indian
administered Kashmir)
 Azad Kashmir (Pakistan administered Kashmir)
 Northern areas i.e. Gilgit,Baltistan (administered by
Pakistan)
 Aksai Chin (Controlled by China)
History of conflicts: State of Jammu and Kashmir consist of
Valley which is dominated by Muslim, Laadakh which is
dominated by Buddhists and Jammu which is dominated by
Hindus. After the 1st Angelo-Sikh war of 1845-46 Kashmir was
ceded to the EIC under the Treaty of Lahore and after a short
while the British then sold it to Maharaja Gulab Singh for an
amount of 7.5 million Rs under the Treaty of Amritsar. Gulab
Singh was succeeded by Pratab and Hari Singh respectively. The
Sikh rulers of the state were tyrannical towards their Muslim
subjects. They closed the Srinagar Jamia Masjid, banned cow
slaughter and Azan and imposed heavy taxes on the Muslims.
Consequently the first Muslim uprising took place in Doda
district in 1931 which was brutally crushed by the Sikhs. In 1931
Sheikh Abdullah formed the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim
Conference which was later renamed ass National conference in
1939. In 1934 the first legislative assembly of Kashmir was
formed. In 1947 when the partition took place according to the
principle of religious majority and geography Kashmir was
naturally to be annexed with Pakistan. However the Sikh
Maharaja thought that a delay in accession will be helpful in
remaining independent. Meanwhile Kashmiri Muslims sensing
his intentions rose against him and were joined by the
tribesmen from Pakistan. The Maharaja called Indian army for
help but India promised help on the condition that the
Maharaja sign an instrument of Accession which was signed on
Oct 25 1947 and Indian forces landed in Kashmir on Oct 27
1947. Due to the insurgency India took the issue to UN on Jan 1
1948. Following the formation of UNCIP the UNSC resolution of
April 24 1948 came into being and stated that both India and
Pakistan desire that the question of accession of Jammu and
Kashmir should be decided through the democratic method of
free and impartial plebiscite. Over the next 4 years 4 new
resolutions were passed by the UN which called for the
withdrawal of forces by both Indian and Pakistan for the
holding of a free and fair plebiscite. 11 proposals for
demilitarization were also presented which were accepted by
Pakistan and rejected by India. On July 23rd 1962 UNSC tried to
pass a resolution that would enable the council to impose its
decision regarding plebiscite in Kashmir on both the parties.
Russia vetoed it to favor India. In the wake of 1971 war India
and Pakistan signed the Simla agreement. Indians accuse that
under this agreement Pakistan accepted LOC as an
international border and the dispute to be settled bilaterally.
However the facts are that this agreement did not alter the
status of Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory because:
1. Para 6 of the agreement list a final settle of Jammu and
Kashmir as one of the outstanding questions awaiting a
settlement.
2. Para 4 (ii) talks of a line of control as distinguished from an
international border. Furthermore it protects the
recognized position of either sides.
3. Article 1 (IV) refers to the Kashmir issue when it talks of
the basic issues and causes of conflict which have ruined
the relations between the 2 countries for the last 25 years.
In 1987 following a controversial state election in Kashmir the
Kashmiri people rose up against the Indian government and a
people’s revolt began. During 90’s almost 100k Kashmiris lost
their lives a vast majority of whom were civilians. Currently 750
million Indian security personnel are deployed there that means
one Indian soldier for every 3 Kashmiris. In 1999 Kargil conflict
again brought Kashmir to limelight. This dispute continues till
date and is now considered a flash point between the 2
countries.
Population distribution in J&K:
  Jammu total 15.29 lac:
1. 107489 Muslims
2. 1289240 Hindu
3. 133229 Others
 Ladakh total 1.33 lac:
1. 19057 Muslims
2. 88635 Buddhist
3. 22882 Hindu
4. 2913 Others
 Srinagar total 12.79 lac:
1. 1238829 Muslims
2. 42450 Hindu
 Kargil total 1.40 lac:
1. Hindu 10341
2. Buddhists 20126
3. Others 2296
Events that led up to the conflict:
In 2016 a series of violent protests erupted in the Muslim-
majority Kashmir valley in the Indian administered state of J&K.
It started with the killing of Burhan Wani a militant commander
of the Kashmir based Hizbul Mujahideen by Indian security
forces on July 8 2016. After his killing anti-Indian protests
started in all 10 districts of the Kashmir valley. Protesters defied
curfew with attacks on security forces and public properties.
Curfew was imposed in all 10 districts of the valley on July 15
and mobile services were suspended by the government.
Kashmir valley remained under 53 days of consecutive curfew
which was lifted from all areas on August 31st however was re
imposed in some areas the next day. J&K police and Indian
paramilitary forces used pellet guns, tear gas shells, rubber
bullets as well as assault rifles resulting in the deaths of more
than 90 civilians with over 15k injured. 2 security personnel also
died while over 4k personnel were injured in the riots. On 14 th
Feb 2019 a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the
Jammu and Srinagar highway was attacked by a vehicle borne
suicide bomber at Lethopra in the Pulwama district J&K. The
attacke resulted in the deaths of 49 CRPF personnel and the
attacker. The responsibility for the attack was allegedly claimed
by Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed. The attacker
was Adil Ahmad Dar a local from Pulwama district and an
allegedly member of Jaish-e-Mohammed. India blamed
Pakistan for the attack which Pakistan condemned and denied.
Kashmiri students living in other parts of India faced backlash
after the attack including violence and harassment and eviction
from their homes. On 26 Feb 2019 India claimed that 12 Mirage
2000 jets of the IAF crossed the LOC and dropped bombs into
Balakot, Pakistan. India also claimed that it attacked a Jaish-e-
Mohammed training camp and killed a large number of
terrorists reported to be between 300 and 350. Pakistan
claimed that they quickly scrambled jets to intercept the IAF jets
which dropped their payloads in forest bordering areas to
quickly return over the LOC. On 27 Feb 2019 PAF conducted
airstrike in J&K in retaliation for the Indian airstrike the day
before. Both Pakistan and India agreed that no damage was
caused by Pakistan’s airstrike. However in an ensuing dogfight
between Indian and Pakistan jets 2 Indian Mig-21 jets were
shot down by Pakistan and one of the plane’s pilot was
captured. Pakistan released the pilot on 1st March 2019 as a
good will gesture. Following this India deployed tens of
thousands of additional Indian troops and everything was shut
down after which the government stunned everyone by saying
it was revoking nearly all of the articles which had been the
basis of Kashmir’s complex relationship.
How it all began:
India/ BJP led government reversed the special status of
Kashmir given in the Indian constitution (Article 370 & 35A).
The special status given to Kashmir was primarily under 2
articles:
 Article 370: With the exception of defense, foreign policy,
communication and currency which will be with New Delhi
rest of the affairs will be with Kashmir and they will be
autonomous in this matter.
 Article 35A: Every non-Kashmiri Indian citizen was not
allowed to have a domicile of Kashmir or its citizenship.
Citizenship would be only given based on domicile which
would be given based on property i.e. if they have property
in Kashmir they would get the citizenship. Indians cannot
have the privileges of citizenship in Kashmir such as voting
in Kashmir, contesting election in Kashmir for any form of
 government, becoming a member of the public service
commission of Kashmir etc.
Following the abrogation of article 370 and 35-A the dynamics
of Kashmir would now verge towards establishing a status quo
by India along the Line of Control. India’s action with respect to
Kashmir highlight the fact that India wanted to drag the
Kashmir issue to that extent where Pakistan is diplomatically
and politically weak enough to yield before India’s will.
Policies adopted by Modi Government:
The policies adopted by Modi for reversal of this special status
were:
 Legal policies: Governor of Kashmir advised the president
of India to issue an ordinance in which the special status of
Kashmir should be reversed by removing the articles 370
and 35A. Ordinance is an executive order but has the
power of law for 3 months and is always issued by the
president. If within 3 month the parliament endorses it
becomes a law, if not it is considered null and void and dies
down. Following the instructions of the governor the
president issued the ordinance and was endorsed by the
Indian parliament (lok Sabha and Rajiya Sabha) by 2/3rd
majority.
 Administrative policies: The special status of Kashmir has
been taken away. Not even that the status of a state is
also taken away and has been converted/divided into 2
union territories namely Jammu and Kashmir valley which
would have its own elected assembly and government but
the governor would be more powerful and the government
would be basically a puppet government. Second union
territory namely Ladakh which would not have its own
assembly and government but would be governed by a
deputy governor who would be the all in all. All the means
that directly the President would control Kashmir and
would be the all in all. Even if we agree that one country
one law even though according to UN it is not India’s
territory and is disputed but still Modi has not only
removed the special status of Kashmir but also removed
the status of a state from Kashmir. Secondly the restriction
on citizenship in Kashmir for Indians and non-Kashmiri has
been taken away and abolished. Now any Indian can
become the citizen of Kashmir. How? If any Indian is
allowed to purchase land in Kashmir meaning they would
be given its domicile and eventually its citizenship and
ultimately they would be able to join and entertain all the
benefits and privileges that the Kashmiri citizens are given.
The other part is that there has been imposed prolonged
curfew. Since August 5th 2019 there is nonstop curfew in
Kashmir which is the longest ever in the history of Kashmir
which was not even lifted off during the cold seasons of
December, January and Feb during which the life stops in
Kashmir due to cold weather. Also there is communication
black out i.e. mainstream media is closed both national
 and international, electronic or non-electronic. Similarly
social media, telephone service (certain areas restrictively
open i.e. only for incoming calls but over whelming closed)
closed. Excessive use of force by India military and para
military troops under special protection act. There are
around 900 thousand military and para military troops
deployed in Kashmir. 700 thousand plus troops were
deployed before reversing the special status. An addition 1
lac 80K were then brought after reversing. Total
population of Kashmir 8 lac meaning 1 military troop for 1
citizen. Police is not mentioned here. The military and para
military has the policing power. They enjoy special powers
i.e. they can capture any individuals which is the job of the
police, any person could be picked up and taken and
imprisoned for 2 years without any charge. All these are
under special protection act. 13 thousand plus Kashmiris
have been picked up along with their political leadership
that was in favor of Pakistan such as PDP and National
conference. Security personals are not responsible in court
of law for killing or violating any other human right
violation and are not answerable for it.
 Political policies: Meaning within India and Kashmir. First
the Kashmir based policies were that India claimed that
Kashmir political leadership were corrupt. They did not
play their role in the development of socio economic areas
of Kashmiri people and instead made themselves
billionaires such as National Conference led by Sheikh
 Abdullah etc, PDP led by Mufti legacy. Therefor to bring
socio economic development in Kashmir it is a must to get
rid of this political leadership at national level and can only
be done when the role of the center is increased in Kashmir
as till now center has only limited power regarding matters
of money, defense etc. In 2014 elections in Kashmir BJP
political mantra was this and also that one country one
law why special status. In addition Modi government at
national level continued to follow the hinduotwa policy i.e.
Hindu superiority. One of the demand of hinduotwa was to
remove the special status of Kashmir. In 2019 they had the
same policy and was this time one of the key point of
electoral manfestative. In addition in 2014 mission 44 was
planned which fortunately failed. In this mission BJP to
secure 44 seats out of 87 seats in Kashmir. In short they
wanted simple majority and then would collation
government with independent members and would then
remove the special status by passing a resolution from the
Kashmir assembly. BJP managed to only get 27 seats.
During this election only 2% people voted. It was a fully
engineered election still though they managed only to get
27 seats. In Dec 2018 before going to national elections in
2019 in India governor rule was imposed.
 Diplomatic policies: To reduce/neutralize international
backlash Indian government used its economic card very
well. Neither US nor UK nor France nor Germany nor even
Muslim countries like UAE, KSA and Iran opposed India.
 The reason for this was because of the economic
importance of India for the respective countries. India is
the 2nd largest market for US defense goods after KSA.
After Japan and China India is the 3rd largest exporting
market for US goods. Citizen of US industrialists have been
installing their industries in India. The same applies on
other European countries and other Middle Eastern
countries. India has been on the major exporting market
for countries like KSA, Iran etc. In addition they have major
investments in India. E.g. 26% share bought by KSA in
reliance. In addition to this Modi stance was that this
reversal was an internal matter of India and no one would
be allowed to intervene of interfere in the internal matters
of India. Thirdly they argued that the unrest in Kashmir
was caused due to involvement of Pakistan. They tried to
externalize the Kashmir issue. Modi government like his
tried to blame to Pakistan e.g. like Pulwama attack, Uri
attack even though it was later proved that it was locally
done. They also did Arial strikes in Pakistan which was a
failed attempt in Feb 2019. Similarly in 2016 they did
surgical strikes which was wrongfully claimed and was
proved by Pakistan. Thus this was how India successfully
portrayed the Kashmir freedom movement as terrorism a
global environment was in its favor.
Indian Narrative:
 Supporters: The supporters of Modi and the one who want
a strong central known as centralists and followers of
hinduotawa supported the procedure adopted by Modi
stating that the special status given to Kashmir is reversed
just as it was added in the constitution i.e. article 370 was
added in the constitution in 1949 through presidential
ordinances endorsed by the parliament. Similarly 35A was
added in 1954 through presidential ordinance endorsed by
the Parliament. Both were brought in through this
procedure and were removed through the same
procedure. This is one of the argument given by them. The
other argument that was given was that when Kashmir
assembly is not in session and there is governor rule/raj,
the governor has the power to advice the president to
issue an ordinance and that is what he did. Hence India
used its legal power. Thirdly one country one law no
special status and everybody is equal so why should
Kashmir have a special status being a part of India. These
were the opinion of the supporters. In addition they also
claim that the decision of the Maharaja Hari Singh to
accede to the Indian Union regardless of its circumstances
is final and legal and it cannot be disputed. If there is any
unfinished business of partition it is the requirement that
Pakistan relinquish control of the part of Jammu and
Kashmir that it illegally occupies. They also claim that the
UN resolution calling for the will of the people are no
longer tenable because Pakistan has not fulfilled the
 precondition of withdrawal from the territory it occupied
through aggression. According to them one of the major
problems in the Kashmir issue is one of terrorism
sponsored by Pakistan.
 Against: In turn the ones who opposed them were
federalists those who want weak centers strong unit,
seculars who want that religion should not have role in
government, liberals, international jurists a.k.a legal
experts. They state that the legal procedure adopted by
Modi is illegal and is not constitutionally correct. Though it
was added through a presidential ordinance and endorsed
by parliament in 1949 and 1954 but it can only be reversed
by the will of the Kashmiri public and Kashmir elected
representative assembly which consist of Kashmiri public
and which represent the will of the Kashmiri public. If the
pass a resolution with 2/3rd majority which would then go
to upper house which would also have to pass it with 2/3rd
majority and then the president would have to sign it and
this is the legal procedure. Only then will the special status
of Kashmir be reversed. Secondly they state that during
governor raj the governor does have the power to issue an
ordinance but on matters of administrative and financial
issues and not constitutional issues. Thirdly they argue
that the way the special status was reversed is violation of
the accession treaty which was signed between ruler of
Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh and Indian governor general
in which India agreed and promised that Kashmir would
 retain and enjoy its special status with the exception of 4
matters. It was also stated in this treaty that non-Indian
citizens would not be given citizenship in Kashmir. They
also argue that it is violation against the fore fathers of
Indian constitution because Mr Nehru the then PM of India
1954 added 35A and said on the floor of the lok Sabha
said, “Special status given to Kashmir is iron-clad.” What
he meant by it was that it was permanent and center
could not reverse it. It could only be reversed with the will
of the Kashmiri people and their 2/3rd majority. The
international jurist further argue that reversing the special
status and implementing the Indian administrative laws in
Kashmir is even the violation of UN charter i.e. 1949 UN
resolution of UN security council in which they said that
neither India not Pakistan are allowed to make
administrative changes in Kashmir and that is exactly what
Indians did by giving Non-kashmiri’s the right of citizenship
and purchasing properties.
Pakistani Narrative: Pakistan has always supported Kashmiris
struggle in letter and spirit. They have maintained that J&K has
been a disputed territory.
Response of Kashmiri’s: For the first time in History of Kashmir
all the political leadership has turned against India. They would
always be divided into 2 major categories:
 That are against India that are a combination of political
parties consisting of Gillani sab, Asyan andrabi, Yaseen
 Malik etc. They have always been in favor of independence
from India and part of Pakistan
 Those who were in favor of India e.g. PDP, National
conference and consists of Mehbooba mufti. They have
even turned against the Indians as stated in her tweet and
press conference that reversing the special status of
Kashmir has made me realize not going with Pakistan in
1947 on the basis of 2 nation theory was a blunder made
by our elders which the present generation of Kashmir is
suffering for. She was the Ex Cm of Indian occupied of
Kashmir. Umar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah had almost
the same opinion that there was only 1 major reason for
Kashmir to be with India which was its special status and
Modi has stabbed us in the back and we would fight till the
end to get this special status back. Resultantly the political
leader was imprisoned under the special protection act.
In addition the intensity of the response is unknown because
there is media blackout and curfew and communication black
out but still there are numerous instances that there is
intensified response of the public. 13K plus Kashmiri’s have
been picked up. The opposition leader in Indian parliament
Ghulam Nabi Azad after visiting Jammu and Kashmir said, “The
prisons in Kashmir are full. The rest houses in Kashmir are being
declared as jail. There are unidentified houses that have been
converted to jails. Many of the Kashmiri’s have been
transferred to jail in other parts of India.” Once the curfew is
lifted the intensity of the reaction will be known but India is not
lifting the curfew.
Response of the world: Majority of the countries did not
oppose India but some did such as China, Turkey, and Malaysia.
Major Powers can do little as India for them in economic terms
is the single largest trading partner with its growing economic
prospects as compared to Pakistan that is currently facing a
crumbling economy. China can only help Pakistan to the extent
that it can support the Kashmir cause under the guidelines of
the UN while it lacks any significant influence over New Delhi
itself. Russia and India have a significant bilateral relationship.
The changing tilt of India towards the US and the emerging
political and military relationship between Pakistan and Russia
can come into play for Pakistan during the current scenario
however it should be kept in mind that Russia’s tilt towards us is
minimal. However despite all this there has been certain
responses by the world such as:
 UN Security Council after 54 years brought forward the
issue of Kashmir. A meeting was convened twice after 54
years. Its statement included its curfew must be lifted,
human violations must be stopped, both countries should
solve the problem of Kashmir together.
 UN security general (UNSG) said it again and again the
same thing
 International court of Justice press release said that the
reversal of special status and human rights violation is not
 only the violation of UN charter but also the violation of
Indian constitution, we are looking forward to the decision
of Indian Supreme Court. Till today Supreme Court is quiet
and will remain quiet.
 UN human rights commission said that curfew is the
human right violation and the international community
should force the Modi government to stop it. The amnesty
commission said the same. Genocide watch 2019
December report stated that Modi government is involved
in organized killings and crimes against Kashmiris.
 Media organizations such as BBC, CNN, Al-Jazeera etc is of
the same opinion
 President Donald Trump offered to mediate the issue of
Kashmir.
Response of Pakistan: Pakistan’s parliamentary special
Kashmir committee has neglected the Kashmir cause at political
and diplomatic level. It has suffered a major loss at the
international level in the content of propagating Indian political
and military atrocities in the region. Kashmir being a major
water source to the region hold a key strategic importance for
Pakistan. However despite all this Pakistan has had their fair
share of opportunities and they have seized it correctly.
 Severing relations with India. Downsizing diplomatic
relations by calling back our high commissioner and
sending back their high commissioner. We closed our
borders with India i.e. all crossing points. We closed the
 train services. Around 800 million dollars imports from
Pakistan to India were stopped. We are not allowing India
to use its airspace. Indian PM and President has repeatedly
requested Pakistan to allow India to use their airspace.
 For the 1st time Pakistan has comparatively adopted a
much comprehensive approach to counter Modi. We
downsized our relations with India. This was a hard core
step. In addition Pakistan has been continuously launching
protests across Pakistan, Rallies in AJK especially from
Muzaffarabad to Rallies which got international coverage
and even UN representatives came, PM Khan spoke in the
rallies in Muzaffarabad, Protest in UK in front of Indian
high commission which had Pakistani’s, Sikhs, Kashmiris. In
addition we have had protests in different parts of the
world e.g. Berlin etc. The driving force was government of
Pakistan. We accessed the international media and made
them write articles i.e. in Al-Jazeera, Washington times,
World times etc. We accessed humanitarians and made
them write articles. New York time in its history for the first
time gave pectoral representation of 4 pages and 8 sides
about the story of Kashmir. Respective leaders of countries
who were allies and non-allies were approached so that
governments and parliamentary members of that country
could be influenced.
 The foreign ministry of Pakistan played a vibrant role. They
arranged protests. They succeeded in bringing the Kashmir
dispute on international forum especially the UN Security
 Council platform after 54 years. Also it was brought in OIC.
The foreign minister of Pakistan and President of Kashmir
played a major role in bringing Kashmir issue in UK.
 The PM of Pakistan Mr. Khan has played a leading role in
internationalizing the Kashmir dispute once again. The
Modi government also played a role by using of force and
removal of special status of Kashmir but the PM played a
bigger role because Mr. Khan used the global forums quiet
effectively to uphold the Kashmir issue against India. The
speech of Mr. Khan in UNGA for 23 minutes was excellent.
In UN general assembly he did side line meetings with 70
different leaders. In world economic forum platform he
successfully/ vibrantly used it and also did side line
meetings. He personally accessed the world political
leaders of almost all the countries. The PM said that he
would become the voice of Kashmiris and he has been
trying to be the voice of Kashmiris for some time.
 Pakistan engaged with the international community
including the US, China, Russia, EU and the Arab states to
urge India to lessen the hostility, reduce military and air
force alert level and demobilization of its military assets
across the LoC and the international border with Pakistan.
Kashmir issue solutions: Overall there had been some 49
different kinds of solutions for Kashmir issue but no one has
been accepted. Few popular ones were:
1. Owen Dixon Plan: Sir Owen Dixon a judge of the Australia
high court came to the sub-continent in 1950 proposed:
 Hindu Majority Jammy and Ladakh to be annexed
with India
 AJK and Gilgit Baltistan were to be retained by
Pakistan
 While in the valley after a referendum the areas north
of river Chenab shall join Pakistan and those located
shouth shall join India.
2. Chenab Formula: It was presented in 1960’s which would
see Kashmir divided along the line of river Chenab. This
would give the cast majority of land to Pakistan and the
entire Muslim majority valley would be brought in to
Pakistan. Under this plan 6 districts of Kashmir valley i.e.
Srinagar, Baramulla, Budgam, Kupwara, Pulwama and
Anantang are to be granted sovereign status except for
foreign policy. POL and the northern areas would become
part of Pakistan. In return India would get the Hindu
dominated districts of Jammu, Kathua and Udhampur as
well as Ladakh. The LOC would shift east wards to include
Pooch, Rijouri and Doda to Pakistan and be deemed the
international border.
3. Musharraf’s 4 point formula. In 2006 General Musharraf
who believed both Pakistan and India would have to
retreat from positions held since 1948 came up with 4
point formula. This 4 point solution to Kashmir issue
 included the demilitarization and self-governance with
joint supervision mechanism. The 4 point formula included:
 Kashmir should have the same borders but free
movement across the region be allowed for people on
both sides of LOC.
 There should be self-governance or autonomy but not
independence
 Region should be demilitarized i.e. phased wised
withdrawal of troops from the region.
 A mechanism should be devised jointly so that the
road map for Kashmir is implemented smoothly.
Musharraf’s 4 point formula brought 5 major shifts in Pakistan
decades long stand on Kashmir. These 5 major changes were:
 Setting aside the UN’s resolution on plebiscite
 Self-governance substation for self-determination
 Pakistan’s advice to Kashmiris to talk to new Delhi
 Forsaking religion as criterion
 Accepting the LOC provided it is combined with joint
management an issue pre-eminently liable to compromise
He suggested 4 step approach for implementation of solution.
 There should be an agreement that Kashmir is the central
problem between the 2 states
 Identification of those loci and plans that are unacceptable
to the other side
 Take up considerations of other proposals
  Solutions acceptable to Pakistan, India and Kashmiri
people should be agreed
There was also an appraisal clause in the Musharraf formula
that after 7 or 15 or more years it would be discussed to the
people and if they agree with it the arrangement will be
deemed as final settlement on the Kashmir problem. But if they
say no then another mechanism will have to be advanced to
determine the desire of the people in all these regions
comprising of Jammu and Kashmir and India and Pakistan. Thus
there are certain obstacle in implementing 4 point formula of
Musharraf especially when Musharraf himself is not in power
but the fact remains there that Musharraf 4 point formula
showed the willingness of Pakistan from its historical stance of
seeking a plebiscite for Kashmiri people according to the UN
resolutions.
4. PM Nawaz Sharif 4 point solution. PM Nawaz Sharif
addressed the 70th session of UNGA on Sep 30 2015. He
proposed a 4 points agenda to initiate peace with India.
 Pakistan and India formalize respect 2003
understanding of complete ceasefire on LOC
 Pakistan and India reaffirm they will not resort to or
threat to use force
 Steps to demilitarize Kashmir
 Steps to withdraw troops from Siachen.
What can Pakistan do? It’s up to Pakistan to devise a solution
to the Kashmir issue. There is significant decrease in support of
Kashmiri struggle and there is subsequent division on Kashmiri
armed resistance by India including mainstream political
leadership. Pakistan can use electronic and print media along
with diplomatic and political platform to further the
implications of Kashmir issue. Pakistan for a long time has
shown military restraint toward Indian aggression in Kashmir
along the LoC but it should be understood by New Delhi not to
test our resolves any further. While Pakistan holds significant
military capability to engage Indian military the only reason for
abstaining from exercising a military option is to avoid a
conflict that would result in the suffering of the millions of
people in the region. Pakistan has the following options:
 Projecting the hard image of India. Modi government has
repeatedly given an opportunity to Pakistan and the world
leaders to comment or to make an opinion of India. India is
being governed by RSS led ideology hinduotwa. BJP is the
off-shot of RSS and is faithfully following its ideology. RSS
promotes Hindu nationalism that India is for Hindus and
not for the members of other religions. Muslims and
Christians are either invaders, settlers or converters and
that is why they should not have equal citizenship rights.
Indian government/ state must promote Hinduism in India.
Indian state must expand beyond its borders or its original
borders I.e. full South Asia. They also want to destroy the
mosques. There are 1400 + mosques. These all are the
ideology of RSS and BJP within their written document.
 Gandhi was killed by the then leader of RSS. They were
banned and came forward with multiple names. The rise of
BJP b/w 1985-1989 was because in Gujrat assembly there
were 2 seats of BJP in 1985 and in 1988 it was 89 seats
because they continued to follow the policy of hinduotawa.
Their main point was to demolish the Babari masjid and
make in its place the Ram Mandir. The increasing
hinduotawa or Hindu nationalism in Hindu judiciary
especially in judiciary court. All the political leaders of BJP
have been from RSS e.g. Wajpayee, Anterior minister amit
shah, PM Modi etc. In 2019 citizenship act was amended
and the amendments was that anyone who settled in India
5 or more years ago would be given citizenship but not to
Muslims. The Muslims of Asam would prove their identity
according to the National register of citizenship (NRC).
Amit Shah says after Asam this will apply on Bengal. Their
main idea is to convert a Muslim majority state into Hindu
majority state.
 Modi is trying to convert Muslim majority state into Hindu
majority state by bringing demographic change in Kashmir
by removing the restrictions of citizenship and now any
Indian can become the member of Kashmir. As per UN
resolution 1949 India is bound for a referendum but in
present Kashmir 67% + population is of Kashmir. If now
referendum is done or was done before it won’t be in India
favor that’s why they arnt conducting the referendum.
India is trying to become a member of the UN Security
 Council and can’t become a member until it keeps on
violating this resolution. So India wants to bring
demographic change before the referendum. Hence we
should access every international body. International civil
society should be approached through diplomats,
delegates, social and main media and even lobbyists to
draw their attention towards the unprecedented
difficulties being faced by Kashmiri women, children and
men.
 Human rights violation is the weak point for India. We
have to score on this point and are scoring on this point in
the past 3-4 years. We have to continue pressurizing India
on this point. International human rights organization
should be requested and convinced to further emphasize
the importance of ending all violations and need for visit of
neutral entities.
 Undertake purely diplomatic actions. Stronger diplomatic
moves to send out delegates to all important world
capitals to table a resolution at the UNSC. Political and
military leadership should immediately embark upon visit
to friendly and neutral countries to sensitize them about
the likely outcomes of the recent Indian move. Before
tabling any resolution at the UNSC hectic efforts would be
required to discuss the likely statement with all permanent
and non-permanent members.
 Keeping Kashmir struggle alive. There has been heavy
induction of fresh troops by India in the IOK. With total
 media blackout these troops maybe decapitating the
young Kashmiri leadership thus delivering a mortal blow to
the freedom movement. The more days they get to
undertake this ominous operation the chances of survival
of existing freedom struggle leadership will keep
diminishing. It gives India clear advantage in troop ratios
giving them the capability to overwhelm some territories
at least temporarily and then ask the world to arbitrate.
 Confidence Building measures. There is severe trust deficit
between Pakistan and India. Both countries don’t trust
each other. Hence international community should play a
role to minimize this trust deficit. There are certain low
hanging fruits i.e. issues that don’t cause hate between the
2 countries, should be used to build trust. Siachin and Sir
Creek are such issues which were inch close to being solved
but the then PM of India was assassinated. Similarly Gen
Musharraf and Manmohan Singh were nearing solving this
issue but again it suffered a set-back. Hence these 2 are
certain issues which can be solved first and then proceeded
towards Kashmir.
 Pakistan needs to restore its credibility. Pakistan as a
nation has lost its credibility. Recently Modi laid the
foundation of Ram Mandir in Babri Masjid. People in
Pakistan condemned it calling it a fascist government.
However in Islamabad recently a mandir was planned to
be built and as soon as it was to be implemented upon
people went and destroyed the location. This ruined our
 credibility when the news reached international
community. There is no difference between what we are
doing and what they are doing. Secondly we preach
human rights whereas ourselves we don’t give them.
Thirdly our government instead of doing something serious
about it are playing blame game and trying to over throw
the other government. The damage that was caused due
to the stance of our minister of aviation about fake
licenses was immeasurable. There is serious leadership
crisis. We don’t have people who can think beyond their
personal interests. In addition there is terrorism. No
country has suffered so much from terrorism like that of
Pakistan. India is using all of this against us.
What Can the World do?
 The international community needs to jump in as this is no
longer a regional issue but a global crisis as all its
implications are global. Hence its solution also lies in
global. They need to apply restrain on India against its
provocations. USA, EU, Britain all have to play their role in
it.
 At the heart of this problem lies the issue of Kashmir hence
till Kashmir remains unresolved the 2 countries will always
have a possibility of entering into an armed conflict which
will eventually turned into a nuclear stand-off. The way
Kashmir issue can be solved is by direct way i.e. both
countries should sit and discuss a solution which is
 acceptable to both countries. The international community
should play their role in this.
Future of Kashmir cause: The future of Kashmir struggle is in
disarray. There was a research done by a foreign university who
created a stimulation of the possibility of a war between India
and Pakistan and its repercussions. The document states that
researchers warn that India Pakistan war could kill 100 million
immediately. The year is 2025 and militants have attacked
India’s parliament killing most of its leaders. New Delhi
retaliates by sending tanks into AJK. Fearing it will be overrun
Islamabad hits the invading forces with its battlefield nuclear
weapons triggering the deadliest conflict in history with
temperatures not seen since last ice age. The mushroom cloud
will be so thick and over lapping that sun rays for the next 10
years will not be able to penetrate it hence the mentioning of
global cooling. Similarly recently Al-Jazeera while conducting an
interview with PM IK was asked a question that could the 2
countries enter into a nuclear war and the PM answered yes.
Another important personality named Henry Kissinger stated
that if there could be a nuclear war between any 2 countries it
could be India and Pakistan. Pakistan will continue, as has been
the case throughout history, to extend its moral, political and
diplomatic support to the people of the Kashmir. Pakistan is
prepared to discuss the issue openly with an open heart for a
meaningful discussion with the Indian side if it is prepared.
Pakistan will continue to raise the issue and only time will tell
what the outcome will be.
Conclusion: For preservation as a community people of Kashmir
have no option but to resist unlawful actions of India. In their
darkest hour Pakistan cannot leave them to Indian devices.
Islamabad thus should project the Kashmir issue to the world
with a renewed vigor. Time for aggressive diplomacy is now.
There are various proposals aimed at resolving the dispute and
the issue needs to be solved quickly and everyone needs to play
their part because Kashmir is a flash point between India and
Pakistan and if things continue the way they are it will
ultimately result in a nuclear stand-off that will cause damage
not only to the region but also globally.