Shahid Rashid Rather
Kashmir issue is about honouring the political and human rights of the people of Kashmir in accord with international law, justice and morality. The issue of Kashmir is by no definition a border dispute between India and Pakistan .It is a problem that includes 22 million people of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.Neither India nor Pakistan should make themselves buffer between so called super powers of the world .Best idea will be solve the problems with bilateral dialogue. For this to happen effectively, people who can see the larger picture and have broad vision are needed as leaders on the both sides of the border. First up, people to people connection should be improved and that can salvage the situation and reduce the provocation initiated by politicians to score political brownies.
Also business should try to find possible ways to partner each other to reduce financial burden caused by imports. More import and export within will save money and increase employment. If negativity reduces day by day, both countries will save more on the defence and can add it to the progress. At the end of the day why not to dream for peaceful and progressive subcontinent like Europe.When the two nations separated in 1947, Kashmir was a matter of conflict as both claimed their authority on the land. India was officially stating that it believes that Kashmir to be an integral part of India and Pakistan maintaing that Kashmir is the ‘’ jugular vein of Pakistan” and a currently disputed territory whose status must be determined by the people of Kashmir.
The best way out is to forget politics for a moment and start investing in peace. Kashmir issue has always been in the cause and consequences of the bitter relations between these two neighbours. When the world has realised the futility of wars and battles, these neighbours are ready to inflict damages on each other. North and South Korea also shunned their hard line approaches of decades and started negotiating, why cannot these neighbours who have shared history of struggles, culture, geography, resilience. We must also bear in mind the fact that both Narendra Modi and Imran khan enjoy mass support in their respective countries and have been crowned for a purpose. They must show statesmanship and not shy away from taking decisions that can change the course of the future for better. They have those skills and authority to bring in sweeping changes and the time for these changes is apt now.
The leaders can’t dare wait for another decade since the loss in terms of lives and finances is enormous .We have lost generations to this conflict and we can’t afford lose one more. Talks are beneficial for both countries unless political forces don’t stop milking conflict. Delhi should stop selling this conflict to its voters and so should Pakistan stop playing the sentiment card. However, this time around, the onus of cancellation of talks lies with India. There shall always be reasons to hold talks because there is nothing than can work as an alternative. Both countries should let good sense prevail and work on the dialogue process as soon as possible.
There is only one way forward to solve Kashmir issue, that’s, indeed an open dialogue between the two Asian heavyweights should be there. They should not resort to blame game, or try to overcome each other by harder means. They need to end this culture of denialism once for all, and should accept the fact, that Kashmir issue is the root cause of all the problems. They should take concert and confidence building measures to have that atmosphere of freedom, understanding, and love.
( The author is a freelancer. Views are his own)
