It is a Struggle for Human Rights

By Rafique A. Khan

The current uprising in Kashmir is the Kashmiris' continued struggle for basic human rights: self-determination and personal freedom.

The freedom struggle in Kashmir started in 1931 and ran parallel to the freedom movement in the Indian sub-continent. Kashmir at that time was ruled by a Maharaja under the protection of the British Raj. For Kashmiris then it was a struggle for economic and social justice against the feudal and colonial order. For Kashmiris now it is a struggle for the same reasons.

In 1947, when the sub-continent of India gained freedom from colonial rule, a major part of Kashmir was annexed to India, and a portion was taken by Pakistan.

The Kashmir dispute has been in the United Nations since 1947, when India first brought the dispute before this world body to resolve its conflict with Pakistan. In the UN, the right of self-determination of Kashmiris was agreed upon by all parties to the dispute. However, the UN-mandated plebiscite for the people in Kashmir never took place. Instead, a few UN observers and about 500,000 Indian military and para-military forces are still stationed in Kashmir.

India, the largest democracy in the world, continues to govern Kashmir in an undemocratic manner. Free elections are not a norm in Kashmir. Leaders and governments have been created and removed by India with disregard to popular will. Whenever a voice is raised against such governance, it is dubbed traitorous, separatist and fundamentalist. The focus thus shifts from a fight for the basic human right to self-determination, to that of an uprising of religious force against secular India.

The Indian leadership, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru at the time of Kashmir's annexation to India, assured the Kashmiris that the desire to preserve their distinct linguistic and cultural identity would be fully respected and maintained. Kashmir was to have a separate constitution, a separate flag and an elected governor. The fundamental right to own property was modified so that only the residents of Kashmir state can acquire and own immovable property in Kashmir. To safeguard the special status of Kashmir, a special provision, Article 370, was made part of the Constitution of India.

The state's autonomy has been, and continues to be, diluted and eroded on one pretext or the other. A substantial part of the current leadership in India now wants abolition of Article 370. The demographic pattern of Kashmir is being changed: over half a million non-Kashmiris have been settled in Kashmir. The Indian census now shows a proportional decline of the Muslim population of Kashmir. Kashmir, once a breadbasket for the neighboring areas, is now a net importer of consumer and agricultural products.

Member nations of the UN have a moral obligation towards the eight million people of Kashmir. The UN must assure that pledges made by India in the world forum are honored. Kashmiris must have their basic human right of self-determination.

Rafique A. Khan is deputy director of planning for the Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles. He was born in Kashmir and came to the US in 1968. He writes on human rights and on participation in the American political process by foreign-born citizens.

It is a Question of Self-Determination

By Sahabzada Yaqub Khan

Pakistan cannot forsake its principled stand on Kashmir and would never compromise on the basic rights of Kashmiris, particularly their right to self-determination. Nor will Pakistan accept pressure or threats coming from any quarter in this context. The Kashmir issue should be amicably resolved through negotiations, and Pakistan will concentrate on this, in the best interest of peace in the region.

It is imperative for all of the neighboring countries to maintain peace and tranquility so that our respective nations could continue marching toward socioeconomic uplift and all-round development.

Jammu and Kashmir is disputed. It is an outstanding issue which is to be resolved through plebiscite under the supervision of the United Nations and in accordance with the resolutions of the Security Council. The recent developments in occupied Kashmir have aroused a wave of deep resentment and anguish all over Pakistan. The struggle of the Kashmiri people has assumed a new direction with a fundamental change.

The freedom fighters have offered to sacrifice their lives by staging civil disobedience and strikes to prove to India and the rest of the world that the Kashmiri people cannot be deprived of their basic right to self-determination, by resort to subjugation and repressive policies.

The Indian government has tried to suppress the movement through atrocities which resulted in deaths of hundreds of Kashmiris and injuries to many more. Besides this, thousands are being detained and put behind bars. But resort to these repressive measures has resulted in an increase in the determination and spirit of the Kashmiris to continue their struggle for a plebiscite.

The Indian government, in a bid to hide the actual reasons for the freedom movement, has leveled baseless allegations of Pakistani involvement in the matter.

The world is being given the impression that occupied Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, and that Pakistan is interfering in its internal affairs.

The Indian attitude in this regard and accusations against Pakistan are in conflict with the realities. This peculiar situation warrants that Pakistan once again underwrite its clear cut policy on the issue.

During my recent visit to India, and at meetings with the Indian personalities, I made it clear that Jammu and Kashmir was a disputed area, and a resolution of the problem was possible only through a plebiscite under the United Nations supervision, in the light of the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council. I stated clearly that the freedom movement in Kashmir reflects the natural urge of the people there, and it has erupted out of the domestic circumstances.

By leveling wild accusations against Pakistan, the facts can neither be changed nor a befitting solution found to the Kashmir problem. The only solution of the issue is to accept the Kashmiris' basic right to self-determination and to grant them the opportunity to determine their own fate.

The Washington Report originally set out to obtain four views on this question. The first Kashmiri Muslim contacted and the press counselor for the Pakistani Embassy responded promptly. The press counselor for the Indian Embassy did not return our phone calls and the first Kashmiri Hindu contacted requested time to think it over. We went to press with only two views. Space is available for the other two in a subsequent issue.

Sahabzada Yaqub Khan is foreign minister of Pakistan. This is an abridged version of his statement prepared Jan. 30 and made available by the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, DC.