News Analysis |
The picturesque yet militarized Kashmir valley is in the headlines for various reasons, be it the brazen resistance movement; the mourning of Burhan Wani’s death or the resulting tensions with Pakistan. The Kashmir issue has started to get international traction once again.
Much to the dismay of Delhi, an article in the Global Times has stated that a “third country’s” Army could enter Kashmir at Pakistan’s request, using the “same logic” the Indian Army used to stop the Chinese military from constructing a road in the Doklam area in the Sikkim sector on behalf of Bhutan.
China and India are amid a serious border stand-off at Sikkim over Chinese construction of a motorable road in Doklam. Both countries are eyeball to eyeball with provocative statements coming from both sides and Bhutan, which claims the area as its own.
China has supported Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir issue but this the reference to helping Pakistan, albeit from a scholar will not go down well with India. New Delhi is more likely to see as a direct threat and a breach of the red line.
“Even if India were requested to defend Bhutan’s territory, this could only be limited to its established territory, not the disputed area,” Long Xingchun, Director at the Centre for Indian Studies at China West Normal University, said in the article he wrote in the Global Times.”Otherwise, under India’s logic, if the Pakistani government requests, a third country’s Army can enter the area disputed by India and Pakistan,” the article said.
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China has supported Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir issue but this the reference to helping Pakistan, albeit from a scholar will not go down well with India. New Delhi is more likely to see as a direct threat and a breach of the red line. It has objected to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) a flagship project of the One-Belt-One-Road (OBOR) initiative, terming it as an infringement of Indian sovereignty. India has raised eyebrows on the CPEC route passing through what they call as the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir(POK).
Washington’s brief romance with Beijing is over as both countries are battling it out in the South China Sea and on the issue of North Korea.It is expected that the Indo-Sino rivalry will be used by the US to confront China in the region.
At the mercy of geopolitics
The indomitable resolve of the common Kashmiris in Indian Occupied Kashmir(IOK) is unmatched.Despite all the odds stacked against them, the Kashmiris are resisting Indian State control with boldness. The cult of Burhan Wani has given new bite to the movement, which has jostled Delhi. India blames Pakistan for stirring up trouble in Kashmir; this has led to skirmishes on the Line of Control(LoC). The US which has officially maintained neutrality in the matter recently ratified the Indian narrative. Last month the US listed Hizbul Mujahideen leader Syed Salahuddin as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, a move termed by India as evidence of US cooperation against terrorism.Much to the jubilation of Delhi, the joint statement was strongly-worded and echoed India’s long-held narrative about Pakistan.
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Both leaders called upon Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used for acts of terrorism. It is widely believed that bolstered Indo-US ties are aimed to curtail China’s ascendancy in the region. Washington’s brief romance with Beijing is over as both countries are battling it out in the South China Sea and on the issue of North Korea.It is expected that the Indo-Sino rivalry will be used by the US to confront China in the region.
China, in all likelihood, has referred to Kashmir as part of its efforts to further strengthen its ties with Pakistan and also to manifest that it can take strike India’s sensitivities.
The anti-Iran and anti-China surge is well underway in the region and beyond.Some deft diplomacy may very well see the emergence of a bloc of four countries in Iran, Pakistan, China, and Russia.
Earlier, Iran took up the Kashmir issue and called upon the Muslims to rid Kashmir from oppressive rulers. The reference to Kashmir by the Supreme Leader twice in the past two weeks has been a new development but is easy to understand. India’s growing ties with Tel Aviv and Washington have compelled Iran to openly speak up for the Kashmir cause.Despite being supportive of Pakistan’s narrative, Iran mollified India by not raking up the issue publically.
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Pundits see this as a window for Islamabad and Tehran to mend their differences. The anti-Iran and anti-China surge is well underway in the region and beyond.Some deft diplomacy may very well see the emergence of a bloc of four countries in Iran, Pakistan, China, and Russia.
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However, in spite of support, the innocent Kashmiris bear the brunt of the Indian State machinery, while regional and world powers wrestle it out in the arena of global politics.