- The situation is growing grimmer by the day
The situation is getting seriously dangerous and gravely complicated in the South Asian region after India’s stubborn action of changing the status of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh. Recently Pakistan’s Foreign Minister went to China on a diplomatic mission where he was warmly welcomed by the Chinese authorities. News reports say that he ‘visited China in a bid to seek allies for a UN resolution against New Delhi for revoking Kashmir’s autonomy’. During the meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed grave concern about the situation in Kashmir, the cause of two wars between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. He assured his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, that Beijing would continue to support Pakistan to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. In short this was a very fruitful visit but certainly not a ‘good omen’ for India, so to counter the situation Indian Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, flew to Beijing himself just after the visit of Pakistan’s Foreign Minister.
Legal experts in India are of the opinion that there are chances that the Supreme Court may direct the government to undo these so-called constitutional changes as they are illegal. On the other hand Pakistan is planning to take the matter to the UN Security Council, and it is also being hoped that some judicious action may be taken there against this injudicious decision if the courts in India are not under Modi-pressure
During the talks with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, Mr Jaishankar said that “the two nations should ensure that it was important that differences between us, if any, should not become disputes”. China did not welcome this statement and its Foreign Ministry had to release a statement just to clarify China’s position. The statement said, “China has taken a ‘principled’ stand on ‘unilateral’ actions by India, and has urged New Delhi to play a constructive role in regional peace and stability”. Obviously the Chinese response did not prove pleasing to the Indian high-ups and they issued a warning to China to stay out of the dispute over Kashmir’s status. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that ‘decisions on Kashmir were an internal matter concerning the territory of India as their country does not comment on the internal affairs of other countries and similarly expects other countries to do likewise.’
Looking at the scenario from Indian point of view, one would find nothing unexpected and nothing strange after President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate on Kashmir issue. All actions taken by the Modi government simply show the climax of mental panic Mr Modi and his loved ones are passing through at the moment. According to the Indian media, the government of India has decided to change the administrative status of Jammu and Kashmir and that of Ladakh. Jammu and Kashmir would be turned into a Union Territory with a legislature whereas the Ladakh division would be made a separate Union Territory without a legislature. The Indian plan of changing the administrative status of Ladakh has annoyed China a lot. It has raised serious objections on the formation of Ladakh as Union Territory by India, saying it undermined its territorial sovereignty. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying has recently said that China has always opposed India’s inclusion of the Chinese territory in the western sector of the China-India boundary in its administrative jurisdiction. Hua said in a statement that India has continued to undermine China’s territorial sovereignty by unilaterally changing its domestic law.” She further said that such practice was “unacceptable and will not come into force.” She also said, “We urge India to exercise prudence in words and deeds concerning the boundary question, strictly abide by relevant agreements concluded between the two sides and avoid taking any move that may further complicate the boundary question.”
As far as the expectation of prudence is concerned, the word prudence has different shades of meaning including wisdom, judgment, judiciousness, sagacity and so many others. Looking at the present situation of the Indian Occupied Kashmir, one can easily feel that ‘prudence’ could never be expected from the Modi government, particularly in the matters relevant to Kashmir. At present the state Kashmir is literally burning. The Guardian has recently published an analysis on the worsening situation in Kashmir which says, “By subverting the constitution, ignoring India’s Simla obligation to ensure that the ‘principles and purposes’ of the UN charter govern relations with Pakistan, and removing Kashmiris’ right to self-governance, Modi has placed himself squarely in the wrong. To argue, as he does, that Kashmir is solely an internal matter is to ignore the realities of 70-plus years of strife.”
According to media reports the matter has been taken to the Supreme Court of India. Legal experts in India are of the opinion that there are chances that the Supreme Court may direct the government to undo these so-called constitutional changes as they are illegal. On the other hand Pakistan is planning to take the matter to the UN Security Council, and it is also being hoped that some judicious action may be taken there against this injudicious decision if the courts in India are not under Modi-pressure.