Core Issue is a BORE Issue!
18 June, 2005
By Ahmer Muzammil
Lets be honest. There is no solution for Kashmir, there never was one, nor would there be any in future. Status quo at best is what we can hope for. Thats just the fact on ground. Keep sending secretaries of various departments back & forth for entertainment like monkeys, have a ball at each others seminars, organize peace rallies & musical shows, start bus services, gadha gari(Donkey Carts) trips or whatever else your little heart desire, but one thing is for damn sure and that is INDIA WILL NEVER MOVE AN INCH, FROM THEIR STANCE ON KASHMIR.
Rest assured I am not blaming Indians, because every country has a right to safeguard their interests. If you look from their perspective, if they let Kashmir go, whats next? Nagaland?, Khalistan?, Hyderabad? And many more, it could very well be a domino effect. The entire concept of United States of India is at the core of this Kash mir problem, so I totally understand why the rigidity on their side.
However what I fail to understand is that why in the world Pakistanis are flip flopping on this issue? On which for once we have a moral ground to stand on. And that moral ground is The Resolutions of U.N. If our stance is anything but the U.N resolutions & plebiscite, my question is that then on what grounds are we interfering in the internal matters of another country? Would we like it if another country supported a separatist movement in Pakistan? I am not suggesting that as concerned citizens of the world we shouldnt be worried about Kashmiris or Chechens or Palestinians or Rwandans, or anyone else for that matter no matter what the race, creed or religion of the affected group might be. But we have to be honest, asking that from establishment and governments is a tall task but at least the masses have to be honest, as to why we support a certain cause? Is it on the basis o f religion or caste or is it on the basis of fairness? Are we a nation who is the supporter of all just & fair causes or do we show favoritism on the basis of religion & personal gains rather than fairness? If we are the latter and I am afraid that we provide copious proof of that time & again, than not only we loose our credibility but we are also acting against the teaching of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (May Peace and Blessings of Allah swt be with him), he said in a sahih hadith and I am paraphrasing that if in a matter, your tribe (next of kin, family, even religion-mates etc.) is the aggressor and you know that there opponents are on HAQ(Truth), than side with your opponents. Can we say categorically that this is our character as a nation or even individually?
This is nothing but a beauty pageant, any delegation from the occupied Kashmir that does not have Syed Ali Gilani, is nothing but a sham. My exasperation is with establishment of Pakistan that time & again they desert people & ideologies that are at the core of our existence as a nation, on whims of some so-called visionaries. And when asked why, the official line is Ground realities have changed. We are a nation of 150 million individuals, are we really this insignificant? Taking a 180 degree on afghan policy to Save Pakistan from becoming Tora-Bora" is one thing but to look complacent on all issues almost to the point of looking intimidated in front of Indians is a travesty. I have never been a supporter of this haphazard so-called Jihad in Kashmir, but why are we always at extremes? Either we(when I say we I mean establishm ent and the ruling class) are rallying un-educated, misguided poor youth to go fight a war because its convenient for the despots of that time, or we are projecting a culture that is contrary to our creation as a nation. If we the Pakistanis and Indians all of a sudden are so damn similar than why didnt this little nugget of information dawned on our higher echelons ages ago, so the lives of those hundreds of poor soles could be spared who were instigated by these thugs in power to go die in Kashmir. Again I am not favoring one policy over another, I am just trying to show the hypocrisy of our ruling class and how they always manipulate us and patronize us with different emotional slogans at different times. Wake up and smell the coffee people.
I am no foreign diplomat and I will be the first to accept that I know nothing about resolving these complex territorial issues, but Can someone please be honest with the people of Pakistan and tell them that even the movers and shakers of Pakistani foreign policy have a firm belief that in return for all their good gestures, all they are hoping for is Status Quo. How else do you explain the statements coming from the Prime Minister of India that the borders will not be redrawn, no matter what happens? Despite all our CBMS, Indians have shown zero flexibility on Kashmir, Kishan Ganga, Buglihar & Siachen. Thats a fact! Do you have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out? HELLO PEOPLE! Testing 1-2-3, Is this thing on? THEY ARE JUST BUYING TIME.
It truly makes me laugh when I see these people blowing fire from their mouths in support of armed struggle in Kashmir and other places and for the support of their arguments they never fail to mention Ghazwa-e-Badar(Battles of badar), and I am thinking to myself, how narcissistic of us! Do we really think that we have the level of Imaan(Faith) & commitment that those companions did? Do any of us have the taqwa(Piety) to match even the weakest of companions of that time? If not, than how & why in the world would we get the successes and glad tidings of those times? And should we not try to first build that character domestically, instead of fighting these suicidal battles? Why is Hikmah(Wisdom) a synonym for coward-ness these days in our supposed religious classes? Does anyone remember the Sulah-e-Hudaibya(pact of Hudaibiya) and the consequences of that pact?
What WE the Muslims of the world have failed to realize is that, all our issues are going to get ignored like they have been for ages, unless we GANG UP. The sooner we realize this the better it will be for our future generations. I know its a clich, but United we will flourish, divided we will be humiliated like we have been for decades. Its been said time & again by people much smarter and more influential than me, that the reason Jews are ruling the world despite of their minority is because they are united amongst themselves. Imagine if OIC threatens India that if they dont stop the atrocities of Muslims in Kashmir and other parts of India then all their citizens will be kicked out from the lucrative jobs that they hold in Middle Eastern countries. Can you imagine the outcry from masses and pressure it will put on Indian establishment. Even the west can be pressurized in this same manner if we are truly united. I know I am stating an obvious here, but my aggravation is that when will we take practical steps to realize this dream of unity? Who is responsible to formulate a strategy to make this happen? Please someone tell me, Can I do something to hasten the process? Or is it the responsibility of the leaders of the Muslim world, and if it is then when in the world will they make this a priority rather than just empty rhetoric?
P.S I request all my Indian readers to save us the oratory of how we should mind our own business and that we should clean our own house first blah blah blah. I already know that and agree, my whole point of writing this piece is that we have to rise above our prejudices and take the side of the suppressed. No one in their good conscience can support the daily slaughter & rape that goes on in the valley of Kashmir at the hands of Indian armed forces. If the world can rise & deliver freedom for east Timor than why not Kashmir, Chechneya and Palestine? Its these double standards that create the animosity in the Muslim world, why is it such a difficult phenomenon to comprehend?
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