News Analysis |
Indian forces have killed three Kashmiri youths in the city of Islamabad in Kashmir, on March 12, 2018, according to local and international media reports. Several houses were raided in a village known as Anantnag where militants, supposedly, were hiding.
Two of the deceased were engineering students and the third was a B.Tech student at Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University in Rajouri district, according to the ToI report. Officials ordered schools to be closed on Monday and a curfew was imposed on some parts of Srinagar and Islamabad district in Kashmir against Indian occupation and violence.
India’s unprovoked firing across the Line of Control and working boundary in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir is not a new phenomenon. There were around 1900 India’s ceasefire violations in 2017 while around 400 violations in 2018, that has resulted in several deaths of civilians and children.
In the words of Stephen King, “Some birds are not meant to be caged, that’s all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you.
Pakistan has taken certain measures to stop violence across the LOC in the AJK such as it has taken the defense attaches of six countries (UK, US, France, Turkey, Malaysia, China) to visit the region in order to provide them the firsthand knowledge of India’s brutal activities there.
The officials met with the families of injured people and martyred. Apart from this, the President of AJK, Sardar Masood Khan has raised the Kashmir conflict in the United Kingdom claiming that the conflict is an international issue.
Read more: Indian misconduct continues to fuel conflict in Kashmir
He emphasized that bilaterally, India and Pakistan cannot resolve this matter because of India’ rigid behavior. World is moving towards an integrated economy and countries are increasing their trade relations. Pakistan and India are least integrated countries in the world. Both countries are cannot cooperate in trade and economy because of the Kashmir conflict between them.
Both countries have been playing blame games against each other since their inception /independence in 1947. India accuses Islamabad for sponsoring terrorism in the region and claims that trade and terror cannot go together while Pakistan wants to resolve Kashmir matter first. Up till now, only civilians have been killed and human rights violations have become fate of the local people living there.
Pakistan has approved a proposal to release or expatriate the prisoners above 70 years of age including women, mentally retarded people in the jails of both countries. Through taking baby steps, India Pakistan bilateral relations may move towards normalization.
Furthermore, India’s Chief of Army Staff, Bipin Rawat said in the last month of February that India has various options including surgical strikes against Pakistan. It reflects that India is not well-thoughtful on a political solution of the ongoing violations across the AJK. That’s why, Kashmir seeks international attention. India’s harsh attitude could generate major misperceptions between the two countries which could lead to misadventures or war escalation.
There should be an implementation of “Ceasefire Agreement 2003” by both sides: India and Pakistan in order to save the lives of people living in Kashmir. The conflict must be solved through a plebiscite and right of self- determination of its people.
Read more: US encourages Indo-Pak talks on Kashmir
Many positive instances have occurred in the last month such as the Chief Minister of Indian held Kashmir suggested that both Pakistan and India needs to hold peace talks in order to end the ongoing bloodshed in the region, because only the people living in that region suffers. Moreover, Pakistan has approved a proposal to release or expatriate the prisoners above 70 years of age including women, mentally retarded people in the jails of both countries. Through taking baby steps, India Pakistan bilateral relations may move towards normalization.
In the words of Stephen King, “Some birds are not meant to be caged, that’s all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure.”