Kashmir Paradise On Earth or Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint
Laura Schuurmans
KASHMIR SOLIDARITY FORUM JAKARTA - INDONESIA
Laura Schuurmans
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Map of Kashmirs disputed territory

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First printed in 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the author. She can be contacted at schuurmans.laura@gmail.com Design and layout by PT Schuurmans Indonesia Printed in Indonesia
This publication is not for sale
KASHMIR SOLIDARITY FORUM Jl. Danau Agung 2, Blok E13/IB Sunter Agung Podomoro Jakarta Utara INDONESIA Phone/Fax +62 21 647 15976
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To my father, himself a victim of injustice, war and oppression
Credits
Kashmir Media Cell Front cover photograph Map on page III Photographs on the following pages: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 20, 24, 25, 26, 27, 38, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 43
The Jakarta Post Articles on the following pages: 15, 30, 47
Laura Schuurmans Photographs on the following pages: X, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 36, 38, 40
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Contents
Foreword Authors note Prelude Kashmirs religious divide The Two Nation Theory Militancy in Kashmir Indias stance on Kashmir Pakistans stance on Kashmir The State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Refugees from Indian-held Kashmir Present conditions in Indian-held Kashmir
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Aksai Chin & Chinese views on Kashmir The opinion of the Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control United Nations Bilateral talks Kashmir; a problem with global dimensions The way forward Appendix - The Mumbai attacks: A new hypothesis - Timor Leste a model for Kashmir - Understanding India: Myth or reality - China views Kashmir as a major dispute - Indias commercial interests vs the Kashmir dispute References
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36 43 45 48 51 52 56 60 64 67 71
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Foreword By Drs Zahir Khan, SH. Dipl. TEFL Lecturer Legal Consultant Director of Iqbal Academy Indonesia Chairman of Kashmir Solidarity Forum Chairman of Indonesia Institute for Christology
It is with immense pleasure that I pen down my thoughts on this research paper Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint. I am highly impressed with the utmost passion and objectivity of Laura Schuurmans, who has traced the genesis of the Kashmir Dispute, its protracted fallout on the suffering humanity for the past six decades and a resolute need for its solution. The world generally understands the Kashmir problem as a border dispute between two nuclear rivals, India and Pakistan. This, however, is not the only dimension of the issue, a fact well researched by Laura not from a political angle but from a human rights view point, of which not much is known to the world due to the presence of 700.000 Indian troops and draconian laws applied to the daily life in Indian occupied Kashmir. This research paper makes an interesting reading as an introduction to the conflict and it gives a convincing argument for a quick and meaningful solution to the Kashmir Dispute. Drs Zahir Khan
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The writer, Laura Schuurmans
Authors note
Located between the vast mountainous ranges of the Himalayas, the Karakoram and Pir Panjal lays the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir which once was a popular tourist destination known for its serene beauty. The Mughal Emperor Jehangir rightfully called Kashmir a Paradise on Earth. Unfortunately the beauty and serenity of Kashmir has been overshadowed by decades of armed conflict. Although the Kashmir dispute is a conflict between India and Pakistan, those who have been suffering are the Kashmiris. During the interviews which I conducted during my research, many spoke of the agony without any emotion, as though it was normal and part of their everyday life. After more than six decades the Kashmiris are still waiting for the plebiscite promised by the United Nations. I staunchly believe that it is the moral obligation of the international community to seek a solution to the ongoing Kashmir dispute.
Laura Schuurmans September 2010 Email: schuurmans.laura@gmail.com
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Prelude
In the seventeenth century the British founded the East India Company and established trade routes with the South Asian subcontinent and South East Asia. The East India Company eventually created the British Raj stretching from todays Pakistan, India to Bangladesh which ruled the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947. The British Raj comprised British India and 584 Princely States scattered throughout the subcontinent. Earlier in 1846 the East India Company had sold one of the Princely States to Maharaja Gulab Singh
Maharaja Gulab Singh who purchased Kashmir from the British Raj
through the Treaty of Amritsar. Maharaja Gulab Singh was the great grandfather of Hari Singh, who was Maharaja of Kashmir at the time of partition in 1947. 1
Maharaja Hari Singh The Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir, usually referred to as Kashmir comprised Jammu, the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh. Hunza, Gilgit and Nagar known as the Northern Areas are located in todays Pakistan. Kashmir only refers to the Kashmir Valley with the capital Srinagar where the majority of the people live and which is now located on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LOC).
The biggest human migration of the 20th century, refugee trains to Pakistan in 1947. After the partition of India under the British Empire in 1947, Pakistan and India became two independent nations. The treaty of partition was based on the Two Nation Theory which clearly stated that all parts of India with a majority Muslim population would become part of Pakistan and those with a Hindu majority would become part of Hindustan, todays India. In addition there were the Princely States with different geographic and demographic patterns. Some of these Princely States were ruled by Muslims called Nizam but the majority was ruled by Hindu Kings called Raja or Maharaja. These Princely States were given the choice to accede to India, Pakistan or in some cases to become independent on the basic premise of their demographic
patterns as well as geographic contiguity. Those States whose location was deep inside present India became part of India due to unavoidable geographic compulsions, even if the demography favored to join Pakistan. Jammu and Kashmir was one region that was contiguous to both India and Pakistan, but at the time of partition in 1947, the vast majority favored to join Pakistan as declared by representatives of the working party in Kashmir on July 19, 1947 2.
Refugees fleeing from India to their newly formed country, Pakistan, 1947 The majority Muslim population of this Princely State was ruled by Maharaja Hari Singh who instead of joining Pakistan signed a controversial treaty of accession with India after which its armed forces positioned themselves in Kashmir. Consequently war between
India and Pakistan broke out in October 1947. India accused Pakistan for initiating this armed conflict to move Pathan (also known as Pashtun) tribesmen from Pakistans North West Frontier Province presently called Khyber Pukhtunkhwa into Kashmir, whereas Pakistan has always claimed it was a spontaneous counter-reaction by the people. Alastair Lamb, a British historian and one of the leading authorities on Kashmir wrote in The Incomplete Partition that with the arrival of the Pathan tribesmen into what is today Azad Kashmir, Mountbatten had concluded that Jawaharlal Nehru himself a Kashmiri - was using this event as an excuse to extend permanent Indian control over as much of the State as could be brought about by force of Indian arms. 3
The natural beauty of Azad Jammu and Kashmir
In 1948 India brought the matter to the United Nations and the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan was established to mediate and investigate the dispute. India and Pakistan wanted peace and order to be restored in Kashmir and both also agreed to hold a plebiscite for the Kashmiri people to decide on the future of the State as enshrined in the UN resolutions. However, mistrust started growing between the two countries, two more wars were fought and more than sixty years after the first attempt to restore peace and order a plebiscite has not yet been held. After India and Pakistan became nuclear powers in the following decades, the Kashmir dispute potentially turned into one of the worlds most dangerous conflicts.
Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan with Kashmiri leaders in Srinagar, 1944
Pakistan has been accused of its alleged support for militancy, but India has never succeeded in winning the hearts and minds of the Muslim majority in Kashmir. Torture, killing and rape of innocent civilians by the Indian security forces have deeply frustrated the Kashmiri people who after more than six decades of waiting are still deprived of their right to self determination. As the world has been faced with economic challenges, growing food insecurity in the developing world and the global war against terrorism, the Kashmir dispute has further endangered regional peace and security. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Israel-Palestine conflict and the Kashmir dispute have been a grave threat to world peace. These conflicts are part of the bigger problem of peaceful coexistence, but they are also part of the solution. If no immediate action is taken to move towards a settlement of Kashmir dispute, the conflict may ultimately have dire repercussions for international peace.
Kashmirs religious divide

Muslims and Hindus had lived in a relative peaceful fashion during the British Raj, but the small and influential Hindu upper class known as the Brahmins or Pandits had always maintained powerful positions in Kashmir which generated resentment particularly among the Muslim elite. This led to separation between Hindus and Muslims in the Princely State. Muslim landlords had been distressed over the fact that under non-Muslim rule Pandits controlled more land than them and although Pandits had been less than 5 percent of the valleys population since at least the eighteenth century, they had never loosened their grip on the job market. Muslim traders were also resentful of their Hindu counterparts. 4 The Muslims, toiling on their land, had to pay such high taxes that economic crisis bordering on starvation became more or less a regular affair. 5 Its history over the past six centuries ensured that it faced inter-religious violence and ethnic and sectarian suspicions more sharply than most. 6 Moreover, Muslims in Kashmir overall were disadvantaged by education, they were excluded from the states armed forces and the state administration was dominated by Hindus. The vast majority of Muslims were illiterate, lived in dire poverty and they did not relate with the Hindu rulers. 7 According to the 1941 census 93.4 percent of the population was illiterate. 8 As dissatisfaction continued to grow among the Muslims, in 1931 they came up with a plan to oust the Maharaja.
The Two Nation Theory

The end of WWII also marked the end of colonization, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah succeeded persuading the British India Government with his plans to create a separate Muslim nation in a Hindu dominated subcontinent.
Two leaders of independence, Gandhi of India and Muhammad Ali Jinnah of Pakistan
The basic principles behind the Two Nation Theory were actually initiated by Veer Savarkar, an Indian revolutionary and politician who developed the ideology of Hindu nationalism called Hindutva. While the Americans developed the Marshall plan to help rebuilding war-torn Europe with one of the conditions to decolonize, in 1947 the British hastily demarcated the final borders which divided British India into two new states. According to the Two Nation Theory, the strategically important Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir was expected to accede to Pakistan owing to its predominantly Muslim population as enshrined in the partition plan brokered by the British Raj, but Maharaja Hari Singh, who also thought of declaring an independent nation, finally decided to join India through a controversial treaty of accession. Pakistan felt frustrated and angry. Based on the Two Nation Theory, Kashmir should have acceded to Pakistan just like Hyderabad and Junagadh had to join India because of its predominant Hindu population. The late Josef Korbel, father of former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who went to Kashmir on behalf of the UN Security Council to find a settlement for Kashmir in 1948 stated in his book Danger in Kashmir that Junagadh, with a Muslim ruler but with a Hindu population of about 700,000 acceded in September 1947 through the act of its Nawab to Pakistan, but the Indian army entered the country and assured the people of their right to express themselves about their future. They voted for India. 9 The same happened in Hyderabad. According to the census of 1941, a total of 77.1 percent were Muslims, 20.12 percent Hindus, and 1.64 percent Sikhs in Kashmir. The rate of increase of population has been estimated at 1 percent per year. 10 The
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region of Ladakh adjacent to Tibet was home to some 40.939 Buddhists. 11 Due to its geostrategic location and close proximity to China, Pakistan and India, Kashmir is of strategic importance to all.
Nehru of India and Muhammad Ali Jinnah of Pakistan in Simla, 1946 In addition, the politics of waters of the Jhelum, Chenab and Indus Rivers also play an important role for India and Pakistan. These rivers start in the Himalayan Mountains and flow from or through Kashmir to Pakistan into the Arabian Sea on which Pakistans and Indias agrarian land and economy heavily depends. Given the Radcliffe Line demarcated by the British which defined the border between India and Pakistan, the geographic location of Kashmir and the flow of the rivers, it would have been logical for Kashmir to become part of
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Pakistan. Moreover, India had no direct land access to Kashmir and at the last moment the British altered the border at Gurdaspur giving India the land access which was crucial to them.
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Militancy in Kashmir
Although militancy in Kashmir also include some former Afghan mujahideen who started with an armed struggle in Kashmir after the end of the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan in 1989, in fact the freedom struggle in Kashmir mainly comprises Kashmiri youth who resorted to armed struggle only when the Kashmiri people failed to secure their right to self-determination through peaceful means. They held demonstrations, made representations and even contested the elections. Further, the armed struggle in Kashmir is based on international covenants and the United Nations resolutions which have categorically justified even use of military means to end illegal occupation.
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Indias stance on Kashmir

India has been taking a different stance on the Kashmir dispute than Pakistan and it has always continued to claim that Kashmir is an integral part of the Indian Union which was legalized by successive democratic elections in Kashmir. The vast majority of Kashmiri people however, have never accepted to be part of India. India, moreover, had initially agreed to hold a plebiscite to give the legal right to the Kashmiri people for self determination but it has always accused Pakistan of not having met the preconditions to hold a plebiscite. India also claims that the Tashkent Declaration of 1966 and the Simla Agreement of 1972 laid the foundation to solve the dispute through bilateral dialogue. Despite these bilateral declarations, India- Pakistan relations have always remained strained.
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The Jakarta Post 08/12/2010
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Pakistans stance on Kashmir

Pakistan is of the view that the United Nations resolutions on Kashmir are the core basis for a peaceful solution to the Kashmir dispute which should be settled in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. Pakistan has always taken the Kashmiri leadership in confidence before having talks with India on Kashmir who were and would always remain the main aggrieved party in the whole spectrum of this dispute and therefore should never be ignored. Contrary to India, Pakistan has always maintained Kashmir to be a disputed territory between India and Pakistan and rejects Indian claims on Kashmir being an inseparable part of India. Pakistans stance also revolves around the legal dimensions of the conflict which is embedded in the United Nations resolutions on Kashmir. According to Pakistan the Tashkent Declaration and Simla Agreement did not change the legal position of the dispute as was enshrined in all UN resolutions on Kashmir
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The State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir
A view from Azad Jammu and Kashmir Pakistans administered part is called Azad Jammu and Kashmir which means Free Jammu and Kashmir. Until the partition of 1947, Azad Jammu and Kashmir was not easily accessible and had remained underdeveloped. Despite financial constraints, the Pakistan government has made continued efforts to improve living standards of the Kashmiri people. Since the state has been under Pakistans administration, two airports and many major roads have been constructed, piped water supplies, electricity and healthcare has significantly improved. Presently infant mortality stands at approx 56 per 1000 live births and the immunization rate for children under 5
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years of age is more than 80 percent. 12 Pakistan together with Azad Kashmirs government has also worked hard to eradicate illiteracy. Literacy rate stands for over 60 percent which is higher than Pakistan where the literacy rate is at least 10 percent lower according to UNESCO. 13 In addition, enrolment rates at primary schools in Azad Kashmir are 95 percent for boys and 88 percent for girls. 14
Writer with the President of Azad Jammu & Kashmir and presidential staff
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Development in Azad Jammu & Kashmir 15 Development Airport Road Electricity Piped water supply rural areas Piped water supply urban areas Healthcare 1947 265 km non-existent non-existent non-existent 30 beds 2002 non-existent 2 9816 km 360,000 homes 62 percent 77 percent 1731 beds
Writer at a school for the children of Kashmiri refugees in Muzaffarabad Ethnic Kashmiri people whose grandparents migrated to Pakistan long ago have fully integrated in Pakistans society of which some examples are former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz
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Sharif, General Aziz Khan (ex chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee) and many more. More than 30.000 Kashmiris are serving in Pakistans armed forces and have reached the ranks up to four stars generals. Kashmiris have no restrictions to move or find jobs in Pakistan. In fact they can and do serve in all major ministries and government departments.
Pakistans ex Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, taking oath of office Kashmiri families have been divided on both sides of the Line of Control (LOC) and are not allowed to visit each other. Pakistan has repeatedly requested to allow free cross border travel across the Line of Control. India, however, has not agreed to the proposal. As a humanitarian gesture to the Kashmiris in 2005 the first bus service started operating between Muzaffarabad (capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir) across the Line of Control to Srinagar. Former Pakistans
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President Pervez Musharraf initiated this idea to enable the divided families to meet and build people to people contact and to build trust between India and Pakistan.
Bus service from Muzaffarabad to Srinagar
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Refugees from Indian-held Kashmir
A Kashmiri refugee from Indian-held Kashmir who lost his leg to the Indian landmine laid on the Line of Control
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Thousands of Kashmiris who were forced to flee Indian-held Kashmir in 1989 have since been living in a Manak Payan refugee camp in Muzaffarabad. One refugee who had fled his home town in Indianheld Kashmir after the Indian security forces accused him of being a terrorist and he faced persecution, does not want his name to be mentioned. In an interview he quoted by saying You must know what is truly happening in Kashmir. The international media does not properly cover the Kashmir dispute. India should stop committing atrocities against innocent Kashmiris. In Indian-held Kashmir people have no access to basic human rights. India must stop with its state terror. Its forces must leave the territory and the United Nations must fulfill its responsibility for a referendum. It is obvious that we Kashmiris dont want to be part of India. We never wanted to become part of India in the first place. 16
Refugee camp in Muzaffarabad
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Present conditions in Indian-held Kashmir
Natures blessing - Serenity of the Kashmir Valley Although Kashmir used to be referred to as Paradise on Earth Jammu and Kashmir is everything but a paradise. This is evident from the fact that out of over one million soldiers of the Indian army, 700.000 are only deployed in the disputed region of Kashmir to control 7 million Kashmiris. This is about one soldier for every ten civilians. Indian-held Kashmir is one of the heaviest militarized regions in the world and Indian armed forces have been committing atrocities on large scale against innocent civilians for over two decades.
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The Kashmiri people The New York Times published an article in February 2007 stating that Kashmiris have long accused Indian authorities of disappearances and extrajudicial killings; one local human rights group estimates that 10.000 people have disappeared since the anti-Indian insurgency began in 1989. Nor have civilians been immune to savagery of militants; beheadings are among their favored tactics. 17 It has remained hard to estimate the total number of deaths since 1989. Human Rights Watch stated the State of Jammu and Kashmir has been in conflict for the last two decades, and tens of thousands of civilians have died, caught between separatist militants and Indian security forces. While militants too have been responsible for human rights abuses, Kashmiris have long complained about violations by Indian troops who go unpunished for serious crimes including extrajudicial executions, torture, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances. 18 The UK Guardian quoted
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qthat the conflict has cost at least 40.000 lives. 19 The International Herald Tribune stated that more than 68.000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the conflict. 20
Human atrocities by Indian security forces unleashed on Kashmiris
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Against all odds, Kashmiris struggle hard to achieve their independence from India
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Human resilience versus state terror A Kashmiri businessman from Indian-held Kashmir who wishes to remain anonymous as he fears reprisal from Indian security forces has estimated that the actual death toll is much higher than those quoted in the media. In an interview he told that the Indian armed forces have successfully intimidated the Kashmiris who by nature are too scared to pick up a gun and fight. 21 He continued saying Kashmiris actually have a lot of goodwill for Sheikh Abdullahs family. As long as they speak the right words, they will get many followers in Kashmir. Unfortunately his grandson Omar Abdullah, todays Chief Minister has been too close to India. More than sixty years after the partition, the situation has not changed. The Indians have never succeeded winning over the hearts and minds of the vast majority of Kashmiris. If the international community had cared about us and about democracy, there would have been a referendum for the Kashmiris to decide on their future. But the international community obviously has no interest in us which is also one of the reasons why many
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Kashmiri families have given money to the freedom fighters in Indian-held Kashmir. The West considers these rebels religious terrorists, but we Kashmiris simply call them freedom fighters. After the insurgency started in 1989 thousands of alleged freedom fighters were forced to cross the border into Pakistan as they feared torture, arbitrary arrests or death.
What does the future hold for him?
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Aksai Chin & Chinese views on Kashmir

A part of Kashmirs disputed region that is usually ignored but which should be briefly highlighted is called Aksai Chin and occupies roughly 20 percent of Kashmir. In 1962, China and India fought a brief war over Aruanachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin. Aksai Chin is largely inaccessible, almost uninhabited and located right behind the Karakoram Mountains. It is divided from Kashmir through the Line of Actual Contact and is under Chinese administration. The following article which was published in the Jakarta Post on Friday, February 5, 2010 elaborates more on Aksai Chin. (text can be read in the appendix)
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The opinion of Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control

Kashmir is divided into different regions, ethnic groups and religions. The opinion of the Kashmiris should be classified into the following sub-regions: - Valley of Kashmir - Jammu - Ladakh - Northern Areas - Azad Jammu & Kashmir
A glimpse of the natural beauty
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Religious/demographic pattern in Indian-held Kashmir 22
Region
Kashmir Valley Jammu Ladakh
Buddhists
/// /// 50%
H indus
4% 66% ///
Muslims Others
95% 30% 46% /// 4% 3%
Religious/demographic pattern in Pakistans administered Kashmir 23
Region
Northern Areas Azad J & K
Buddhists
/// ///
H indus
/// ///
Muslims Others
99% 99% /// ///
A view from the paradise Anti-Indian sentiment is deeply rooted in the Kashmir Valley where the majority of the people live. In the latest elections of 2008 people went to poll amid heavy security but most Kashmiris boycotted the elections. The Indian government claimed that the total voter turnout was more than 60 percent, but in Srinagar, capital of the Kashmir
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Valley, the voter turnout was only about 20 percent. 24 In Jammu the voter turnout was about 70 percent. 25 Jammu is the only region which has a predominantly Hindu population. The area is known for its many temples and Hindu shrines and is a famous pilgrimage destination for Hindus. Ladakh borders with China in the north and is predominantly Buddhist. The region has been strongly influenced by the Tibetan culture. Victoria Schofield, a British historian and author of several books on Kashmir stated that neither the Buddhists of Ladakh nor the Hindus of Jammu share the objectives of the Muslim Kashmiris of the valley. Their main concern has been to press for autonomy against dominance from the more populous valley. 26 Pakistans administered Kashmir has been divided in the Northern Areas - the new name is Gilgit Baltistan - and Azad Kashmir.
Dudipatsar lake Azad Jammu and Kashmir
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Serenity of Azad Jammu & Kashmir
Although people in the Northern Areas have been living amidst poverty and their needs have often been neglected, Victoria Schofield stated that people in the Northern Areas are generally believed to favor full integration with Pakistan. 27 In Azad Kashmir there is a strong sentiment among the people who still believe that a plebiscite according to the UN resolutions is the only solution. Although there is a faction of Kashmiris in Azad Jammu and Kashmir who may desire independence, they also are aware that an independent Kashmir has to confront difficulties of survival. Therefore, they generally accept to become part of Pakistan which has provided them with access to the basic facilities like healthcare, education and jobs.
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View from the window
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United Nations
A banner in Muzaffarabad shows the popular public sentiment
During the initial stages the United Nations actually did play an important role in maintaining law and order in Kashmir. In one of the resolutions it even included to settle Kashmir through arbitration. Unfortunately it has never been in the position to press for a settlement and more than 60 years later the United Nations has hardly shown any interest in the Kashmir dispute. The following are excerpts of some of the resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security Council:
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Resolution of January 17, 1948 The Security Council calls upon both the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan to take immediately all measures within their power (including public appeals to their people) calculated to improve the situation, and to refrain from making any statements and from doing or causing to be done or permitting any acts which might aggravate the situation. 28 Resolution of January 20, 1948 The Security Council, considering that it may investigate any dispute or any situation which, by its continuance, endanger the maintenance of international peace and security and that, in the existing state of affairs between India and Pakistan, such an investigation is a matter of urgency, adopts the resolution that a Commission of the Security Council (UNCIP) is hereby established. 29 Resolution of April 21, 1948 The Security Council is strongly of the opinion that the early restoration of peace and order in Jammu and Kashmir is essential and that India and Pakistan should do their utmost to bring about a cessation in all fighting. 30 The Security Council noted with satisfaction that both India and Pakistan desire that the question of the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India and Pakistan should be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite, considering that
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the continuation of the dispute is likely to endanger international peace and security. 31
Refugee camp in Muzaffarabad
Restoration of peace and order The Government of Pakistan should undertake to use its best endeavors to secure the withdrawal from the State of Jammu and Kashmir of tribesmen and Pakistani nationals not normally resident therein who have entered to State for the purpose of fighting, and to prevent any intrusion into the State of such elements and any furnishing of material aid to those fighting in the State. 32
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The Government of Pakistan should make known to all concerned that the measures indicated in this and the following paragraphs provide full freedom to all subjects of the State, regardless of creed, caste, or party, to express their views and to vote on the question of the accession of the State, and that therefore they should co-operate in the maintenance of peace and order. 33 The Government of India should, when it is established to the satisfaction of the Commission set up in accordance with the Councils resolution 39 (1948) that the tribesmen are withdrawing and that arrangements for the cessation of the fighting have become effective, put into operation in consultation with the Commission a plan for withdrawing their own forces from Jammu and Kashmir and reducing them progressively to the minimum strength required for the support of the civil power in the maintenance of law and order. 34 The Government of India should undertake to ensure that the Government of the State invites the major political groups to designate responsible representatives to share equitably and fully in the conduct of the administration at the ministerial level while the plebiscite is being prepared and carried out. 35
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Kashmiri refugees who are waiting for their promised plebiscite
The Government of India should undertake that there will be established in Jammu and Kashmir a Plebiscite Administration to hold a plebiscite as soon as possible on the question of the accession of the State to India or Pakistan. 36 The Government of India should ensure that the Government of the State released all political prisoners and take all possible steps so that a) All citizens of the State who have left it on account of disturbances are invited, and are free, to return to their homes and to exercise their rights as such citizens b) There is no victimization c) Minorities in all parts of the State are accorded adequate protection. 37
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Resolution of March 30, 1951 The Security Council calls upon the parties, in the event of their discussion with the United Nations Representative failing in his opinion to result in full agreement, to accept arbitration upon all outstanding points of difference reported by the United Nations Representative (in accordance with paragraph 5 above), such arbitration to be carried out by an arbitrator, or a panel of arbitrators, to be appointed by the President of the International Court of Justice after consultation with the parties. 38 In one of the resolutions of December 2, 1957, however, the United Nations Security Council expressed concerns over the lack of progress towards a settlement of the dispute. 39 Throughout much of the Cold War, Indias relations with the Soviet Union were friendlier than those with the United States. 40 Since 1957 the Soviet Union had become increasingly involved in the UNSC on issues related to Kashmir and vetoed many proposals and resolutions put on the agenda. The Kashmir dispute was put again on the agenda of the Security Council in 1965 following the war over Kashmir. Steadily the United Nations started losing interest in the conflict, and in December 1971 the Security Council discussed the grave situation in the South Asian subcontinent for one last time. Although the East-Timor question in Indonesia is a different conflict compared to Kashmir, with pressure from the international community, however, Indonesia did open its doors and held a referendum under the auspices of the United Nations. The article
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Timor Leste a model for Kashmir draws a parallel between the two disputes and also underscores the importance of the United Nations in conflict resolution. The article was published in the Jakarta Post and can be read in the appendix.
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Bilateral talks
Foreign Secretary level Indo-Pak talks in New Delhi, February 25, 2010 The Composite Dialogue and Confidence Building Measures known as CMBs were positive steps taken by India and Pakistan to enter into a bilateral dialogue to address different issues. The CMBs were steps taken in mutual agreement with each other to bridge the gulf of mistrust of which some examples are the ceasefire along the Line of Control, a bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, and the train service between Khokhrapar and Monabao. The CMBs are put in place only as steps to help remove mistrust, establish and improve confidence in each other so as to pave way for a resolution of the core issue of Kashmir. It, however, does not define the mechanism for a solution to the dispute.
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The Composite Dialogue is meant to address all issues including the Kashmir dispute. Although the Kashmir dispute is the core issue of all problems between India and Pakistan, the Siachen issue, Sir Creek issue and the water dispute also need to be resolved to obtain lasting and durable peace between the two states.
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Kashmir: a problem with global dimensions

A graver threat than the militants in Kashmir is the fact that both Pakistan and India are nuclear giants. Before the partition, India established its first nuclear facility for research purposes in 1945 under professor Bhabha with assistance from the West. India, however, continued expanding its research center into weapons producing fissile material facility. In 1962 India and China fought a war over Aksai Chin and in 1971 a bloody war between India and Pakistan led to the dismemberment of Pakistan. Serious alarm was raised in the region when India tested its first nuclear warhead in 1974, just three years after its full scale war with Pakistan. Pakistans then Prime Minister, the late Zufiqar Ali Bhutto publicly announced that the Pakistani nation would eat grass, if it had to, to make an atomic bomb for its survival against India. In May 1998 India test fired its second nuclear weapon and carried out five successful blasts. This time Pakistan also showed its cards and tested its first nuclear weapon later on May 28, 1998. Nuclearization of South Asia has been one of the most dangerous developments in its history since wars have been fought over Kashmir between India- Pakistan and India- China. With the Kashmir issue at its core it is not only in the interest of three nuclear powers who lay their claims on Kashmir to settle the dispute through peaceful means, it is also in the interest of the overall world security. India has been in direct confrontation with both Pakistan and China over Kashmir whereas both China and Pakistan respect each others stance over the issue. Earlier in 2010 Indias army chief said that its army should be ready to fight a simultaneous war with Pakistan and China under a limited nuclear umbrella. Such war rhetoric is
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counterproductive to world peace particularly in a nuclearized environment. The spread of militancy is yet another issue which merits direct attention of the world. A large percentage of Muslims in India have been living in dire poverty sometimes worse than Indias untouchables. Arundhati Roy, one of Indias most prominent writers and winner of the prestigious Booker Prize concluded in her article The Monster in the Mirror which she published following the Mumbai attacks of November 26, 2008 We have a hostile nuclear weapons state that is slowly spinning out of control as a neighbor, we have a military occupation in Kashmir and a shamefully persecuted, impoverished minority of more than 150 million Muslims who are being targeted as a community and pushed to the wall, whose young see no justice on the horizon, and who, were they totally lose hope and radicalize, end up as a threat not just to India, but to the whole world. 41 According to the US State Department there are three main militant organizations which operate in India, Pakistan and Kashmir. 42 Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM) is an Islamist militant group that operates primarily in Kashmir. 43 Jaishe-Mohammed (JEM) was formed in early 2000 and the groups aim is to unite Kashmir with Pakistan. 44 India has made claims that Lashkar-eTayba (LT) has allegedly been involved in the Mumbai attacks of November 26, 2008. LT is a Sunni missionary organization formed in 1989 and is one of the largest and best trained groups fighting in Kashmir which has conducted a number of operations against Indian troops and civilian targets in Jammu and Kashmir since 1993. 45
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The following article The Mumbai attacks, a new hypothesis elaborates more on the issue. (text can be read in the appendix)
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The way forward

After more than six decades of conflict between India and Pakistan, Kashmir is ripe for a solution. A solution to Kashmir will significantly improve peace and security of the South Asian subcontinent. Human life is very important but the international community has generally turned a blind eye to the Kashmir conflict at the expense of innocent Kashmiris. Much more needs to be done but this cannot be done without pressure from the international community. If the East-Timor issue can be addressed and resolved, then Kashmir can and should receive similar attention from the West and move towards the final settlement. First and foremost the Kashmiris should be included in peace talks between India and Pakistan as the most aggrieved party.
A special commission of Indians, Pakistanis and Kashmiris should be established with a neutral country to act as mediator. All parties need to go to the negotiating table and install a clear mechanism on how to move forward with specific steps being taken with reference to definite timelines. Both India and Pakistan should reduce troops presence on the Line of Control to demonstrate their seriousness. Besides, India must withdraw its army from the occupied territory and stop human rights violations. They should also open the Line of Control with immediate effect for families on both sides to visit each other. This will build friendly relations between India and Pakistan and it will also build confidence among the Kashmiris. To move on, elections should be held in each district and representatives should come together and listen whether the regions are opting for greater autonomy, self rule, independence or a plebiscite under the United Nations. This should be
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followed by a Kashmiri Assembly to represent each district. Indians, Pakistanis and Kashmiris should be nominated to put together a committee to monitor the peace process and to decide on the borders. After the Kashmiris, Indians and Pakistanis have agreed on a final outcome, it should be implemented by the UN under its charter. Law and order should be kept in Kashmir with supervision of UN peacekeepers. At the same time Pakistan and India should pledge to the international community that they will not deliberately interrupt the peace process for which a special human rights commission should be established where perpetrators of human rights violations should be brought to book. All this is possible if the bigger world powers take serious interest in the issue and do not brush it aside for political reasons. The Kashmir conflict is a serious human dilemma and needs to be tackled with compassion to restore human dignity and bring back peace to the South Asian subcontinent.
As the world dynamics keep on changing, people should cope with new challenges. The secret of world peace lies in peaceful coexistence among different religions, ethnicities and cultures.
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Appendix
Reprinted with the courtesy of the Jakarta Post, Indonesias leading English daily newspaper
Jakarta Post articles
51
The Mumbai attacks: A new hypothesis

The Jakarta Post Saturday 02/21/2009
Laura Schuurmans The fire ignited by the terrorist attacks on Mumbai on Nov. 26 last year has not been put out as yet. The FBI has been helping India conduct the investigation to prevent the conflict from turning into a regional inferno. Pakistan has been carrying out its investigation based on the dossier provided by India. It also responded to the United Nations resolution for prompt action against an Islamic charity organization allegedly involved in the Mumbai attacks. Just a few days ago, Pakistans Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik came up with findings on the Mumbai attacks that part of the terror plan was indeed hatched within its territory. At a recent press conference on Feb. 12, Rehman Malik announced that Pakistan was holding the ringleader and five other suspects involved in the appalling tragedy in custody. Two others, however, remain at large. The investigation is ongoing, and much more still needs to be done. To the surprise of many, however, Narendra Modi, Indias Gujarat chief minister, and L.K. Advani, former president of the BJP, one of Indias major political parties, recently hinted that the Mumbai attacks could not have been carried out without internal help. Modi reportedly
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said, If we single out that one incident [the Mumbai attacks] and ask any person in this countrywith basic information and knowledge, he will say that such a big terror attack on India cannot take place without help from the nation itself. In July 2008, within a time span of 70 minutes, a series of 21 bomb blasts hit Ahmedabad, the cultural and commercial heart of Gujarat State located in western India, killing 56 people and injuring more than 200. Earlier in 2002, sectarian violence erupted between Hindus and Muslims for the first time in Gujarat, killing hundreds and displacing more than 150,000 people, of which the majority were Muslims, who have since been living in refugee camps in dire humanitarian conditions. The Indian Mujahideen, an Islamic terrorist organization active within the country, claimed responsibility for the 2008 attacks, and the Indian government rapidly linked them to militant groups operating in Indianheld Kashmir, where a dozen rebel groups have been fighting for an independent Kashmir against Indian armed forces since the separatist insurgency erupted in 1989. Modi and Advanis statements, however, added an altogether new dimension to the Mumbai issue, which interestingly may lead to Kashmir and which may ultimately also lead to renewed talks between Pakistan and India on the disputed territory.
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The Kashmir dispute dates back to the partition of British India into two independent states in August 1947 and which has remained unsolved after more than six decades. US President Barack Obama pledged to intervene and seek to solve the Kashmir dispute. During the latest visit to India by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, he suggested that resolving the Kashmir dispute would make India less vulnerable to attacks, and that Richard Holbrooke, the US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, would also work for a resolution to the Kashmir issue. A solution to the Kashmir dispute will enhance the regional stability of the South Asian subcontinent, where both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers. It will also boost Indias economy and open many more doors for the worlds fastest growing democracy to become a global political and economic player. Nonetheless, the time has also come for Pakistan to seriously focus on the growing threat of militancy within its borders. It has a dual responsibility when it comes to eradicating terrorism. It not only has to wipe out the menace from within its territory, but to succeed, Pakistan will also have to stop supporting militant groups beyond its borders. The international community, however, needs to realize that one country alone cannot overpower the giant of militancy which it has been facing since the end of the Afghan war in 1989. It needs support from the region and the whole world to seriously address the issue.
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Fortunately, President Obama has blown some rejuvenating air into US foreign policy. Whether it is the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Israel-Palestine issue, or the Kashmir dispute, he definitely has the right intentions within his capacity to do something good for this world.
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Timor Leste a model for Kashmir

The Jakarta Post Tuesday 08/25/2009
Laura Schuurmans On Aug. 30 it will be 10 years since a UN-sponsored referendum was held in the former Indonesian province of East Timor, which granted freedom to its people. After Portugals decolonization in 1975, East Timor initially became an independent nation. Shortly after independence, it was invaded and occupied by the Indonesian military. After more than two decades of occupation, Indonesia agreed to hold the referendum to determine whether East Timor would be given special autonomy or become a fully independent state. After voting for independence, Timor Leste received long-term financial support and the international community has remained strongly committed to aiding the new state. The successes of Timor Leste in becoming an independent country could be applied in Kashmir. A conflict of different dimensions but which shares similar aspirations of honoring the peoples will to create a separate homeland, is the ongoing territorial dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.
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During the partition in 1947, Kashmir was given the right to accede to India, Pakistan or to become independent. Based on the ideology of the two nations, theoretically, it was widely expected that Kashmir would accede to Pakistan. While Kashmir is a predominantly Muslim state, the Hindu ruler of Kashmir, however, signed a rather controversial Treaty of Accession in favor of India. More than 60 years later, the unresolved Kashmir dispute has turned into a grave threat to security of the South Asian subcontinent. Both India and Pakistan, however, can learn from Indonesia. During the years it occupied East Timor, Indonesia invested significantly more money for development than Portugal had done during their colonial rule. Despite Indonesias obstacles and fears of losing East Timor, it ultimately did accede to international demands to hold a referendum. Following the referendum in 1999, relations initially remained tense after elements of the Indonesian military left most of East Timor in ruins. Violence broke out on several occasions in the years that followed, and a number of Indonesian military officers and militia have enjoyed impunity. On the road toward democracy, however, Indonesia has accepted the fact that it lost East Timor. It has also been dealing with the issue wisely as it has continued with its efforts to give support and build strong ties with the former province. The international community and the UN were deeply involved in pressing Indonesia for a referendum.
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Unfortunately, those who helped free the people of East Timor have been turning a blind eye to the people of Kashmir, who have been living under the shadow of the gun for the past six decades. The Kashmir dispute dates back far earlier than the East Timor issue and it is also a far more serious threat as India and Pakistan are two nuclear giants. A solution to Kashmir will undoubtedly enhance and improve regional security. In the War on Terror the international community has been focusing mainly on the western border with Afghanistan. Pakistans three largest militant groups with alleged ties to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, however, do not operate in the porous mountains along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, but have been active for more than two decades in Indian-held Kashmir. Consequently, in the worlds largest democracy, 700,000 soldiers are now keeping a population of seven million Kashmiris under tight control and have been widely violating human rights. Lashkar-e-Tayba, the largest of these militant groups has been accused of involving in the Mumbai attacks of Nov. 26, 2008. Unlike East Timor, it seems nobody is really moving to find a solution to Kashmir. Maintaining todays status quo may actually favor India, since any renewed talks on Kashmir may jeopardize Indias integrity. While Pakistan has been sinking deeper into trouble, its political leadership has been more concerned with ousting potential political opponents than on the root cause of its problems.
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US President Obama has expressed his desire to seek a world free of nuclear weapons. His statement, however, may have been premature, for as long as there is no solution to the Kashmir dispute both India and Pakistan will likely continue expanding their nuclear arsenal. A solution to the Kashmir dispute is essential for regional peace and security. The longer one maintains the status quo, the more likely this will have global repercussions in the mid and long term. In this regard, Indonesia can play an active role as a neutral mediator to renew talks between India and Pakistan and to move one step forward.
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Understanding India: Myth or reality

The Jakarta Post Monday 10/26/2009
Laura Schuurmans India is a success story. India has achieved considerable economic development that has lifted millions of people out of poverty. It is now the world's second-fastest growing major economy and is poised to become a new world power. Indians should rightfully be proud that they live in the world's largest democracy. Since India's creation in 1947 its leadership has been striving hard to improve the living standards of the population. Freedom of opinion and the press, human rights and equality are all important aspects that have contributed to India's success. But behind each success, there is also a story. Since independence from the British, India has been left with many challenges of which one is the territorial dispute between Pakistan and India over Kashmir. During the partition of British India in 1947 the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was free to choose to accede to either India or Pakistan. Based on the two-nation theory it was widely expected that Kashmir would accede to Pakistan. On Oct. 26, 1947, the Hindu Maharaja of Kashmir decided to accede to India and the Indian army positioned its troops in Kashmir the following day.
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In the eyes of pro-independence Kashmiris, the decision of the Maharaja to join India has been rather controversial, and the arrival of the Indian army on Oct. 27, 1947 is considered a black day in Kashmir's history. Each year on Oct. 27 Kashmiris commemorate this black day to bring the Kashmir dispute to the attention of the international community, to appeal for an end to human rights violations and to bring about a solution of the Kashmir dispute in line with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people and the United Nations resolutions on Kashmir. After Pakistan and India first went to war in 1947, three more wars were fought in 1965, 1971 and 1999. Both nuclear giants, however, have failed to resolve the dispute. Consequently, millions of Kashmiris have been living under severe oppression and tens of thousands of people have since been killed. Moreover, the conflict has seriously jeopardized regional peace and security. If Indian claims are correct that the state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, this beautiful country may then not be as *'incredible'' as its tourism campaign "Incredible India" has portrayed. Today, Indian-administered Kashmir is the heaviest militarized region in the world where 700,000 Indian troops have been keeping a population of 7 million Kashmiris under tight control. India has argued, however, that its military presence is vital to fight Islamic militants that have been crossing the border from Pakistan. Besides the Kashmir dispute, India has been dealing with other internal challenges. Only 50 percent of the population has access to
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electricity, one in four Indians goes to bed hungry, and illiteracy rates particularly in rural areas where the majority of Indians live remains high. Separatist and Maoist movements in India have been active for decades and Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly reported on communal violence between Hindus, Christians and Muslims. In comparison to India, Indonesia, the world's fourth-largest democracy, may have achieved more success in some cases. Although Indonesia suffered for more than three decades under military dictatorship, it has made considerable progress over the past decade. Indonesia has been successful in keeping the country unified, it has settled disputes in East-Timor and Aceh, and it has significantly improved its human rights record. Although sectarian violence and separatist violence has occasionally erupted, overall different ethnic and religious groups have been living peacefully side-by-side. Indonesia's diverse and rich culture represents many ethnic, linguistic and religious groups and although India is far larger in population, Indonesia does have a national language that is spoken by almost everyone across the archipelago. Hindi, the most widely spoken official language in India, is only spoken by an estimated 30 percent. Going back to the Kashmir dispute, if Indonesia together with mediation from the international community can resolve the East Timor problem and Aceh's separatist movement, it may be time that India returns to the negotiating table as per the wishes of the Kashmiris. To bring about a solution to the more than 60-year-old
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Kashmir dispute is essential for regional peace and security and will allow India to be a true and incredible democracy.
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China views Kashmir as a major dispute

The Jakarta Post Friday 02/05/2010
Laura Schuurmans While Pakistan has been calling for the international community to help resolve the 62-year-old Kashmir dispute as per the wishes of the Kashmiri people, according to the United Nations resolutions, India has continued with its claims that Kashmir is an integral part of its nation. The world generally sees Kashmir as a land dispute between India and Pakistan. However, based on historical facts China is also a part of this complex issue to which a solution is essential for lasting peace in the region. China has been taking a different stance than India and views Kashmir as a separate entity and not an integral part of India. The Indian media has reported in the past that China has been publishing tourist maps depicting Kashmir as a separate entity. Moreover, the Chinese consular department has been issuing visas to Kashmiris living in Indian-held Kashmir on a separate sheet of paper and not stamped in their passport claiming since Kashmir is a disputed region the Kashmiris are not considered Indian citizens and therefore should not be granted a visa on their Indian passport.
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In November last year the Chinese authorities reiterated that they would continue issuing visas on a separate sheet as they believed that a solution to the Kashmir dispute was essential and should be solved through dialogue instead of continuing to idle. Twenty percent of the disputed Kashmir region is under Chinese administration but claimed by India. In 1962 this border dispute triggered the Sino-Indian war after China had constructed a highway through Aksai Chin, which the Indians only discovered after it was depicted on Chinese maps. Historically Aksai Chin was part of the Himalayan Kingdom of Ladakh until it was annexed to the Princely State of Kashmir in the nineteenth century. The Chinese never accepted the boundary between China and Kashmir that was negotiated by the British following the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 and have continued to lay their claims on Aksai Chin. Despite Indias claims to move to a solution of the Kashmir dispute it appears to prefer a status quo.India also fears that a solution to Kashmir may jeopardize Indias integrity where dozens of separatist movements have been active throughout the country for decades. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has declared that the Maoist movement is presently the gravest threat to Indias internal security. Indonesia had similar fears when East-Timorese voted for independence in August 1999 that this could trigger a domino effect for other separatist movements that have been active since they gained independence from the Dutch in 1945 but in fact Indonesia was able
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to solve most of its problems, with peace and stability returning to Aceh. Regretfully the international community generally ignores the Kashmir dispute. Instead they tend to bow to the demands of India, which is a growing world economic power where many western companies have their interests. And the international community is not really interested listening to Pakistans or Chinese demands to seek a solution to the Kashmir dispute. Kashmir is a problem with global dimensions. Kashmir is home to some of the hardcore militant groups.On top of the danger of these militant groups, three nuclear giants that have some of the worlds largest armies have come together in Kashmir where each country lays its claim and has its stakes. Despite Indias and Pakistans statements to move toward a solution to the Kashmir dispute, no major steps have been taken and nothing concrete has actually been happening. China on the other hand has increasingly been gaining more influence throughout the world. It also has a long history of some of the worlds longest lasting empires with vast experiences of diplomacy. Perhaps China may be of help to move one important step ahead.
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Indias commercial interests vs the Kashmir dispute

The Jakarta Post Saturday 08/12/2010
Laura Schuurmans For the first time since taking office, British Prime Minister David Cameron traveled to India in early July, where he was warmly welcomed by his Indian counterpart to cement their friendship, enhance cultural cooperation and boost trade. India is a growing world power and economists have predicted that by 2020 India will be among the worlds largest economies. It has also started playing a more significant role in world politics and is one of the countries seeking a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Camerons staunch support for one of the worlds fastest-growing economies was evident and he did not hesitate to openly accuse Indias arch-rival Pakistan for exporting terrorism to its neighboring countries. This outraged the Pakistani people and government, which consequently led to the Pakistan intelligence chief canceling a planned trip to London. Analyzing the root cause of antagonism between India and Pakistan and subsequently that of terrorism in the region, former British foreign secretary David Miliband may have been more objective than the
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prime minister. During his visit to India in January 2009, Miliband said that a resolution of the dispute over Kashmir would help deny extremists in the region one of their main calls to arm, and allow Pakistani authorities to focus more effectively on tackling the threat on their western borders. His comments angered the Indian authorities that are not interested in foreign intervention, including that of the UN, in the Kashmir dispute. The origins of the Kashmir dispute date back to the partition of the British Raj in 1947. Based on the partition plan and the Two Nation Theory, the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir with a predominately Muslim population was widely expected to accede to Pakistan. The Hindu Maharaja of Kashmir, however, signed a controversial treaty of accession with India which led to war in October 1947. The two countries fought three more wars over Kashmir in 1965, 1971 and the 1999 Kargil conflict. China also lays claims on a part of Kashmir and went to war with India over the disputed region in 1962. More than 60 years later, the conflict between the two nuclear giants over Kashmir has led to serious repercussions and complex security conditions in South Asia. Pakistan, on the other hand, has been a state directly affected since the war on terror first began in October 2001. The US and its NATO allies have not succeeded in winning over the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. The growing instability in Afghanistan has caused a spillover effect into Pakistan where the Pakistani Taliban has been waging a war against its own people. One
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hundred and fifty thousand Pakistani troops have now been stationed along the Afghan border. Over the past eight years, Pakistan has suffered severe economic losses, high inflation, a large number of civilian casualties and internally displaced people, and has lost more troops than the US and NATO forces combined in Afghanistan. Pakistan says, moreover, that their sacrifices have not been recognized by the world at large and that it continues to receive pressure from the international community to do more. Going back to the Kashmir dispute, David Cameron is not the only one who underestimates the magnitude of this dispute and who may believe that Indias commercial interests are of more significance than a resolution of Kashmir. The security conditions in Kashmir have recently begun to spiral out of control after a 17-year-old student was killed by Indian security forces earlier in June. Dozens more have been killed by Indian forces over the past two months. The media has given wide coverage to the ongoing human rights violations, but the Indian government has not done enough to safeguard the dignity of life and property of the Kashmiris. Angry protesters have continued to demonstrate and even women have taken to the streets. In protest they have chanted anti-Indian and pro-freedom slogans to express their anger and frustrations against Indian occupation and over the killings of young innocent Kashmiris.
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In a recent statement, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over the prevailing security situation in Indian Kashmir. In the worlds largest democracy resides the worlds heaviest militarized region, and 700,000 Indian security forces are keeping a population of seven million Kashmiris under tight control. On the pretext of fighting militancy in Kashmir, tens of thousands of innocent Kashmiris have been killed by the Indian army since 1989. Arbitrary arrests, torture and disappearances have deeply frustrated the Kashmiri people who are living under the shadow of guns. International media and organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have limited access to the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir. If the world truly wishes to see stability returning to the South Asian subcontinent, a solution to Kashmir is essential to complicate the security conditions even further and to deny religious extremist gaining further ground in South Asia and beyond. World powers such as the US will have to decide whether to protect human rights or whether they give priority to their commercial interests, the latter of which may not be able to ensure a safe and just world.
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References
Kashmir, a disputed legacy 184-1900, Alastair Lamb Interview with the President of Azad Kashmir. October 2009 3 Alastair Lamb. Incomplete Partition ISBN 019579767 1 4 In search of a future, the story of Kashmir. David Devadas 5 Danger in Kashmir. Josef Korbel ISBN 019579781 7 6 In search of a future, the story of Kashmir, David Devadas 7 Kashmir, a disputed legacy 1846-1900, Alastair Lamb 8 Danger is Kashmir. Josef Korbel ISBN 019579781 7 9 Ibid 10 Ibid 11 Ibid 12 Official website of the State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir 13 UNICEF website, Pakistan 14 Official website of the State of Jammu and Kashmir 15 Ibid 16 Interview in Muzaffarabad. Manak Payan refugee camp. October 2009 17 The New York Times February 6, 2007. Indian Army and Police Tied to Kashmir Killings. 18 Human Rights Watch August 12, 2008. India: Order Kashmir Forces to Use Restraint 19 The Guardian, August 13, 2008. Indian Security Forces shoot dead Kashmir demonstrators as thousands defy curfew 20 International Herald Tribune September 11, 2007. Violent protests in Indian Kashmir over army killing 21 Interview with Kashmiri businessman 22 Source: Indian/Pakistani Government Censuses 23 Ibid 24 International Herald Tribune. December 25, 2008. Voting ends in Kashmir amid heavy security. 25 Ibid 26 Victoria Schofield. Kashmir in Conflict. I.B. Taurus. ISBN 1860648983 27 Ibid 28 United Nations Security Council Resolution January 17, 1948
1 2
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http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/047/63/ IMG/NR004763.pdf?OpenElement 29 United Nations Security Council Resolution January 20, 1948 http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/047/64/ IMG/NR004764.pdf?OpenElement 30 United Nations Security Council Resolution April 21, 1948 http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/047/72/ IMG/NR004772.pdf?OpenElement 31 Ibid 32 Ibid 33 Ibid 34 Ibid 35 Ibid 36 Ibid 37 Ibid 38 United Nations Security Council Resolution of March 30, 1951 http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/072/10/ IMG/NR007210.pdf?OpenElement 39 United Nations Security Council Resolution of December 2, 1957 http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/131/33/ IMG/NR013133.pdf?OpenElement 40 Does America Need a Foreign Policy, Henry Kissinger ISBN 068485567-4 41 The Guardian UK. December 13, 2008. Arundhati Roy; The Monster in the Mirror 42 US State Department, Terrorist Groups. Foreign Terrorist Organizations 43 Ibid 44 US State Department, Terrorist Groups. Foreign Terrorist Organizations 45 Ibid
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After the partition of India under the British Empire in 1947, Pakistan and India became two independent nations. The treaty of partition was based on the Two Nation Theory which clearly stated that all parts of India with a Muslim majority would become part of Pakistan and those with a Hindu majority would become part of Hindustan, todays India. The majority Muslim population of the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir was ruled by Maharaja Hari Singh who instead of joining Pakistan signed a controversial treaty of accession with India. Consequently war between India and Pakistan broke out in October 1947. More than sixty years later the Kashmir dispute has further endangered regional peace and security. If no immediate action is taken to move towards a settlement of the Kashmir dispute, the conflict may ultimately have dire repercussions for international peace.

Kashmir Paradise On Earth or Nuclear Flashpoint

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Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

KASHMIR SOLIDARITY FORUM JAKARTA - INDONESIA

Map of Kashmirs disputed territory

First printed in 2010

This publication is not for sale

To my father, himself a victim of injustice, war and oppression

The Jakarta Post Articles on the following pages: 15, 30, 47

The writer, Laura Schuurmans

Laura Schuurmans September 2010 Email: schuurmans.laura@gmail.com

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

The natural beauty of Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmirs religious divide

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

The Two Nation Theory

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Indias stance on Kashmir

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

The Jakarta Post 08/12/2010

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Pakistans stance on Kashmir

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

The State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Bus service from Muzaffarabad to Srinagar

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Refugees from Indian-held Kashmir

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Refugee camp in Muzaffarabad

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Present conditions in Indian-held Kashmir

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Human atrocities by Indian security forces unleashed on Kashmiris

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

What does the future hold for him?

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Aksai Chin & Chinese views on Kashmir

The Jakarta Post 02/05/2010

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

The opinion of Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control

A glimpse of the natural beauty

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint

Religious/demographic pattern in Indian-held Kashmir 22

Religious/demographic pattern in Pakistans administered Kashmir 23

Kashmir: Paradise on Earth or a Nuclear Flashpoint