Kashmir Solidarity Day

2026-02-03 - 23:56

THE Kashmir dispute is widely recognized as one of the world’s longest-running, most violent and deeply entrenched issues, with roots extending back more than a half century. It is a complex, often violent and unresolved political, territorial and humanitarian issue that frequently features in international discourse and United Nations proceedings. In contemporary times, the Kashmir conflict has become a global issue due to the profound geopolitical and humanitarian ripple effects stemming from the escalation of hostilities, particularly after the May 2025 short war between two nuclear-armed neighbours, India and Pakistan. The conflict poses a severe threat to regional peace, as Kashmir, as indicated in international media and diplomatic circles, has significantly internationalized the issue, bringing it to the forefront of global attention. Strategically, Kashmir is one of the most volatile locations, as this region is positioned between Pakistan, India and China, three countries with nuclear weapons. It also shares borders with Afghanistan, a country that connects South Asia and Central Asia and serves as a bridge between Europe and the rest of Asia. The Kashmir region spans 222,200 square kilometres (85,800 sq miles), with about four (4) million people living on the Pakistan side of Kashmir and thirteen (13) million in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has the northern and western portions, namely Azad Kashmir, Gilgit and Baltistan, while India occupies the southern and southeastern parts, including the Kashmir Valley along with Jammu and Ladakh, including the China-administered Aksai Chin on the eastern side. Historically, the end of British rule in August 1947 led to the creation of Pakistan and India as independent and sovereign countries in South Asia. At that time, more than 500 princely states existed within British India and they had the choice to join either India or Pakistan and could not remain as independent entities. The Secretary of State for India, Lord Listowell, declared that there would be no other dominion except India and Pakistan and that princely states would have to seek accession to either of the two dominions in accordance with the broad principles of partition. Accordingly, Muslim-majority states located in territories contiguous to Pakistan would accede to Pakistan and the rest would go to India. In this regard, Kashmir was one of the leading Muslim-majority princely states and Hari Singh was the ruling Hindu maharaja, who demanded independent status but was refused by the New Delhi government. On the other hand, the Maharaja did not sign the Instrument of Accession but made a secret deal with Jawaharlal Nehru and announced the merger of the state with India against the wishes of the Muslim majority. He also appealed to India for military help, which New Delhi accepted and sent forces to Kashmir. In fact, there was a planned conspiracy by Nehru, Sardar Patel and Hari Singh to capture Jammu and Kashmir. This fact was disclosed by British historian Alastair Lamb in his works Incomplete Partition: The Genesis of the Kashmir Dispute 1947–1948 and Kashmir: A Disputed Legacy 1846–1990. Lamb argued that the Instrument of Accession, which forms the legal basis of India’s claim to Jammu and Kashmir, is fraudulent, manipulated and likely signed after Indian troops had already intervened. Lamb contends that Maharaja Hari Singh could not have signed the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947, as officially claimed, because he was travelling by road from Srinagar to Jammu on that day and there is no evidence of contact with Indian officials. In this situation, the Indian military intervention in Kashmir escalated the position towards an unending crisis. However, India took the matter to the United Nations in January 1948 and key resolutions were passed in 1948 and 1949, in which the UN Security Council urged a ceasefire and a plebiscite, accepted by India and Pakistan. In this regard, India was bound to hold a plebiscite but never conducted the UN-sponsored plebiscite. There have been a series of wars between India and Pakistan but New Delhi has always dishonoured the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions regarding Kashmir, which call for a free and fair plebiscite (referendum) to determine the region’s future. In response, the Narendra Modi government revoked in 2019 the special status of Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which Pakistan termed a violation of UN resolutions. As a result, despite the Indian government having to accept the legitimate right to self-determination for the Kashmiri people, it has imposed an undeclared curfew and has been involved in the killing of innocent and unarmed people. According to Amnesty International, Indian official records indicate that since 2019 the Indian army has continued to be involved in war crimes, acts of state terrorism and systematic human rights violations being committed against the Kashmiri people. Nonetheless, the Indian government must, by all means, stop its unlawful actions in Kashmir and unconditionally end its ongoing operations and its forces must avoid a full-scale armed assault and genocide against innocent people. —The writer is a defence and security analyst based in Islamabad. (a.z.hilali@uop.edu.pk