- A test of Imran Khan’s diplomacy
The humanitarian crisis unfolding in Indian Occupied Kashmir has caught the world’s attention. A second protest in London against the illegal and immoral annexation of Kashmir brought thousands of participants, carrying placards and shouting slogans, outside the Indian High Commission. It was considered bigger than the earlier one. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called for a probe into rights violations in IOK. A US State Department official told journalists that Washington “continues to be very concerned by reports of detentions and the continued restrictions on the residents of the region”. At Washington’s US Institute for Peace (USIP), a former US ambassador to Pakistan, Richard Olson, emphasised the need for the USA to play the role of a de facto crisis manager to de-escalate the tensions.
Prime Minister Imran Khan had telephoned the Saudi and Emirati Crown Princes informing them about the developments in Kashmir that have led to the rise in Pak-India tensions. Responding to the Prime Minister’s call, the Saudi and Emirati Foreign Ministers visited Pakistan on Wednesday and met the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and military authorities. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had said earlier that the Prime Minister had had “good interaction” with the crown princes.
The two Gulf kingdoms have decades old relations with Pakistan defined by commonality of faith and mutual help and assistance. Of late, Saudi Arabia and the UAE developed strong economic ties with India also. India has made investments in Saudi Arabia while India’s Reliance Industries is set to sell a 20 percent stake in its oil-to-chemicals business to the Saudi company Aramco. Indian investments in the UAE amount to $55 billion while Indians are the largest foreign investors in Dubai’s real estate market. DP World, Dubai’s global port operator, has plans now to develop a logistics hub in occupied Kashmir. The developments explain why Saudi Arabia has maintained a studious silence over the atrocities in Kashmir while UAE’s ambassador in New Delhi has supported India’s revocation of Article 370.
One hopes the Saudi and Emirati foreign ministers have been apprised of the public sentiments in Pakistan. Also that people expect both the countries to persuade India to resolve the Kashmir issue through talks with Pakistan and the Kashmiri people. A failure to do so on the part of India is bound to add to tensions in the region, turning South Asia into a powder keg. This would be dangerous not only for South Asia, but also for neighbouring regions that also include the Gulf.
To start with, the Gulf states can persuade India to lift the curfew in occupied Kashmir, now over a month old, on humanitarian grounds and release all political prisoners. This could pave the way for talks to resolve the Kashmir issue.