Matrix Report
Arrests and detentions of scores of Kashmiri political and social activists, movement restrictions, communications’ lockdown , an assault on Kashmir’s special ethno-linguistic identity along with tens of thousands of additional Indian troops since August 5, 2019 – when India revoked the Article 370 and 35-A – have unfortunately evoked little global condemnation. This has only encouraged New Delhi to further flout the provisional instrument of accession (of Kashmir to India) of 26 October 1947. The move has also violated the UN template on Kashmir first created on 6 January 1948 (S/636). Both do not entitle India to decide the destiny of the people of Jammu and Kashmir at its discretion.
These observations are part of a recent report by the Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR), highlighting all the engagements and advancements that have taken place between Pakistan and India during the 631 days since the annexation of Kashmir.
This move by the Indian Government has deprived people of the territory of the rights which they have been guaranteed by the international law.
While condemning the international community’s silence over India’s unjust advancements in the region, the report called for a collective response not just from the parties directly involved in the conflict, but also from those with vested interests in the matter along with the people who are directly impacted by the conflict i.e. the Kashmiris.
The comprehensive document aimed to remind the directly involved states and all the other member nations of UN of their historic involvement in the issue and drags their attention towards the grave offense India has committed not only against Pakistan and the right of self-determination of IOK’s people, but also against the UN and its resolutions on Kashmir.
The report compares the Indian actions of August 5, 2019 somewhat similar to the Indian military intervention in East Pakistan in 1971, and urges Pakistan to continue advocating the rights of the Kashmiris and highlight Indian aggressive and colonial designs at international forums.
The JKCHR report suggests that India should not be allowed to run away with the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination without facing accountability for its wrongs done to the people and habitat of Kashmir. It recommends that India be forced to pay a reparation, as a compensation to the damages that people have faced under the military repression.
Pakistan should help the Kashmiri political and rights activists and advocates of fundamental liberties to reconnect with all those countries, who have remained fully involved in developing a UN template for the political future of Kashmir i.e. the realization of the Indian pledge of a plebiscite to allow Kashmiri Muslims determine their political future.
Until the UN revises its framework for Kashmir, the people of the region should be provided greater protection against Indian political engineering and aggression. This could be possible through a review of the role of United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), the report suggests.
