Indo Pak Rapprochement and Kashmir

 

Pakistan’s foreign minister, Hina Rabbabi Khar, has in a Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has averred that, ‘building trust and reversing the negative narrative is key to resolving core issues with India, including Jammu and Kashmir’. She added that normalizing trade with India is a step in that direction. Meanwhile, India’s defence minister A.K Antony asserted that while India is talking to China and Pakistan, there will be no compromise on India’s territorial integrity’.  Antony’s statement is a clear cut indication of the limits, boundaries and extent of negotiations with Pakistan or even China. The reference is to the border disputes with China and the core sticking point between India and Pakistan: Kashmir.

 

Antony’s statement reflects what amounts to a principle in interstate relations and sovereignty: nation states hardly, if ever, cede their sovereign remit and control over a territory or peoples they believe are theirs. So while Pakistan may be making the right noises and even making steps in normalizing relations with India, it should realize and keep this fact in mind. There will be no altering of maps, territory or in a nutshell, the status quo. What options does this leave to Pakistan, the Kashmiri’s and the Indian state?

 

Pakistan has tried wresting away Kashmir from India since it its independence. Three wars, an insurgency supported by Pakistan and a mini war, conducted under the shadow of nukes have been fought over Kashmir. Diplomatic efforts have been made my Pakistan to internationalize the Kashmir issue and seek international intervention. All this has come to naught. At a time when Pakistan finds itself in a weak structural condition and neither has no leverage over Kashmir except through its proxies which are disconnected from the aspirations and the sentiments of the people, Pakistan should read the writing on the wall. What does this mean? The clear cut inference to be drawn from this is no effort- war, insurgency, diplomatic pressure- can make India budge and cede its sovereignty over Kashmir. Or, in other words, the Indian state can countenance any sort and form of pressure to maintain its sovereignty over Kashmir. What options does this leave for Pakistan?

 

 None is the blunt answer. The only option or way forward for the Pakistani state is to drop its Kashmir obsession and focus on its internal travails and maintain its sovereign remit over the territories it has. However, Pakistan may need a face saving exit. This is where the Indian state can come into the picture. The Indian state should adopt a more vigorous approach to Kashmir and explicitly come out in favor of comprehensive empowerment of Kashmiris and embrace a human security approach towards Kashmir. It may also be prudent to accept the line of Control (LoC) as an international border and then seal the status quo. A fresh approach buttressed by sincerity should inform the Indian state’s approach towards Kashmir. The aim should be to win the hearts and minds of Kashmiri’s employing a soft power approach.

 

This constitutes an opportunity or more accurately an opening for Kashmir’s leadership and political class. It should review and stock stake the contemporary condition, read the tea leaves and assert itself. This does not and should not mean confrontation with the Indian state.  The international situation and politics coupled with the regional political dynamic and indications of a fresh approach toward Kashmir by the Indian state should concentrate minds. A sober and a sincere proposal to the Indian state that is informed by sincerity should be made. Again, the premise and the heart of the proposal should be a plea for comprehensive empowerment of Kashmiris and an approach which improves the life chances of Kashmiris. Or, in other words, a human security approach.

 

India is an emerging power and its sovereignty and democracy has consolidated itself over the years. It can and should countenance proposals which accord room for maneuver for ethnic groups constituting its firmament. This room for maneuver would naturally be within the sovereign remit and constitutional framework of India. According this room for maneuver would mean and imply that India is a confident, multi cultural federation which is not paranoid about the so called centrifugal forces eroding its sovereignty. This is the pitch that the political leadership of Kashmir should make to powers that be in the Indian state. Of course, they should be sincere about this.

 

In combination and in concert, the elements and factors identified here may lead to a bold and beautiful subcontinent. The peoples of the subcontinent, especially Kashmiris deserve this. The international and regional equations are propitious. It is time that these are grasped and a new dynamic is injected into the politics of the subcontinent. The opportunity is too good to be squandered. Is anybody listening?