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| UK's 'forget-Kashmir' suggestion rattles separatists | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Mar 13: United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary Philip Hamond's suggestion to Pakistan that it should not make Kashmir a precondition for starting dialogue with India has had its impact on Kashmir. It has rattled Kashmiri separatists as well as the so-called civil society groups in the Valley.
"I urge both Pakistan and India not to allow non-state actors and other pressure groups to derail the peace process. Settling the Kashmir issue should not be a precondition for starting the dialogue process," British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on March 8 made this significant statement at a joint press conference with Sartaj Aziz in Islamabad. He had also advised Pakistan to speed up the investigation into January 2 assault on India's Pathankot airbase in northern Punjab state which India had blamed on Pakistan-based militant groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammad. Besides, the British Foreign Secretary had asked India and Pakistan "not to provide space to non-state actors and militants to derail the talks process".
"An India-Pakistan dialogue is essential for long-term economic development, peace and security in the region," he had said.
The line Philip Hammond took was not consistent with the line United States had taken repeatedly during the last few weeks. The United States had on occasion more than one asked India and Pakistan to carry forward the dialogue process to resolve all outstanding issues, including the issue of Kashmir, to ensure a lasting peace in the South Asian region. Pakistan and its Kashmir-based agents had all hailed the United States' insistence on talks between Islamabad and New Delhi with Kashmiri separatists also demanding inclusion of Kashmir in the dialogue process.
The line that Philip took naturally didn't go well with Kashmiri separatists. The rattled self-styled chairman of Hurriyat Conference (M), Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, reportedly said: "Britain endorsed the Scottish people's right of self-determination, and held the referendum in 2014, fulfilling its obligation towards them and to the United Nations Charter, of which it is a signatory, which enshrines the right of all people to self-determination" and asked "Why does it not ask India and Pakistan to do the same in Kashmir?"
The Chairman of Tehrik-e-Hurriyat Syed Ali Shah Geelani also didn't lag behind. Condemning the Philip Hammond, he dismissed his statement as "illogical". He told the British Foreign Secretary that Jammu and Kashmir was an unfinished "agenda of partition". He was absolutely wrong. Jammu and Kashmir was not part of partition plan, as it was a princely state like other 562-odd princely states, which enjoyed the right to either accede to the Indian Dominion or Pakistani Dominion taking into consideration the contiguity factor.
The statement of the British Foreign Secretary that India and Pakistan should move forward without Kashmir as a pre-condition is an indication that "big powers" are out to appease India as it's one of the fastest growing economies in the world and has one of the largest Army at its disposal. With each passing day it's becoming clear that Kashmir is being pushed to the backburner and New Delhi is calling the shots. The turmoil within Pakistan has put the country's political leadership in the tight spot and it also seems to have succumbed under pressure. The British Foreign Secretary has conveyed Britain's stand to Pakistan. After Hammond's advice the million dollar question is "Would India and Pakistan drop Kashmir and resume the parleys"?
Yasin Malik also followed suit. He said it's the Great Britain that left peace of South Asia in a jeopardy by keeping vexed Kashmir issue unresolved. "British secretary of foreign affairs Philip Hammond should go through history first before issuing statements on Jammu and Kashmir. It is the British empire which left south Asian peace and prosperity in jeopardy by keeping Kashmir issue unresolved for decades together," Malik said while reacting to the Philip Hammond's statement. "Kashmir is the core issue and it is the major threat to peace and stability of south Asia, therefore anyone thinking of peace and stability in this region will have to address this issue first and foremost…Keeping Kashmir on back burner is not acceptable as such naïveté will only lead to more disaster and chaos," he further said.
All this only serves to demonstrate that the statement of the British Foreign Secretary had upset the Kashmiri separatists. Interestingly, what Philip Hammond said at Islamabad is also the view of the Indian nation. It does want talks with Pakistan but on the issue of the Jammu and Kashmir territories which have been under the illegal occupation of Pakistan since 1947-1948. But the problem of the Indian nation is that it is ruled by a weak and meek political leadership. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has disappointed it by paying a sudden visit to Lahore on December 25. |
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