The valley of heaven has turned reddish with the blood of innocent Kashmiris, an unrecognized cluster of freedom fighters who have been subjected to the ferocious Indian atrocities for decades. The plight took off the worst scenario after the Indian government officially abrogated the Article 370_ temporary provisions with respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir through a presidential proclamation of 1954. August 5, 2019 was the worst of the times for the Kashmiris in the pages of world history.
In accordance to the Indian constitution, the Article 370 which was drafted in the Part XXI had unfolded an autonomous special status to the northern state in its internal administration. The Kashmiris in the context of citizenship, property ownership and fundamental rights can live according to their state laws which cannot be substituted by the Indian laws. However, the mentioned statement is elaborated in an exhaustive manner by A.G Noorani in his book titled Article 370: A Constitutional History of Jammu and Kashmir. It has highlighted six various points of special status granted to the disputed state under this article:
n The state is discharged from a firm adherence to the Indian constitution.
n The state has its own constitution which defines the home laws accordingly.
n The state is allowed to draw its own laws excluding three essential chapters i.e. defense, foreign affairs and communication.
n The implementation of other constitutional powers under union list cannot be finalized without taking the state legislature on board.
n The ratification of any bill related to such powers by the state constituent assembly is mandatory.
n Article 370 will be amended and abrogated with the consent of State Legislature.
In contrast, the current picture of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) is barely fulfilling this crucial segment which is a clear depiction of the Indian jingoistic attitude. Adding more, the state being long prevailed reason of dispute between Pakistan and India holds an international importance. The counter efforts made by Pakistan under the commands of incumbent leadership have further galvanized the regional support against Indian aggression in the subcontinent. It can be witnessed through a comprehensive confabulation chalked out in the recent session of UNSC which has rejected the Indian stance of “country’s internal matter”. Undoubtedly, Islamabad has emerged as a central hub of proactive diplomacy by claiming the revoke as an ethnic cleansing of Muslims worldwide. It has counter reacted over India’s approach of so called peace by naming it a strategic blunder which will fire demographic alterations. Nonetheless, Pakistan has to portray her economic stability in order to be heard at the global fronts.
With no uncertainty, it is an international ritual that domestic growth defines one’s convincing capability at foreign platforms upon which Pakistan is badly lagging. Therefore, it is a need of the hour to uplift economic progress which will amplify her say in the global affairs. Furthermore, such financial booster will enable Pakistan to stress her counterpart in reviewing its hegemonic designs which may escalate the tensions towards a regional unrest leading to nuclear war. The long cripple and crawl behavior to survive in an economic malaise has subjected the Pakistan’s national fabric to various socio-political dents. Despite of prime minister’s successful tour to the USA, support of an Indian stance by the capitalist superpower has raised a series of knotty questions need to be answered. It demands a chapter of devoting efforts to be made by the civil-military leadership in the economic domain to pressurize India over Kashmir Issue. CPEC can be a game changer in this context if its possible potentials can be culminated in the interest of public welfare. By sticking to this, economic empowerment as a result will be inevitable.
Moreover, it will be of great assistance for Pakistan in halting the Hindu-Israel ideological effigy of regional supremacy on international formats. The vociferous public protests, synchronized voice of Muslim Ummah backed with regional actors and debates of virtual communities will be a plus in this regard. Media aka the fourth estate of the realm can play its crucial role in magnifying the severity of this issue by projecting a positive peace seeking image of Pakistan across the globe. The state officialdom’s serious heed in stepping out from the grey list of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) by banning the terrorist outfits can be a watermark in gaining a right of self-determination for Kashmiri people. With an unaltered and uncompromised approach over sovereignty, Pakistan has to dive in a transitioning phase from geo-strategic to geo-economic. Pakistan has the ability to contain the Indian military invasion on conventional fronts but to vanquish her hegemonic patterns, let a stable economic profile do the talking.
On humanity grounds, being a proud Pakistani I rest my case by juxtaposing my arguments in a single framework with an objective of no matter what and how intense the repercussions will be, Pakistan has to stand tall in the comity of nations. It is high time to revive the Quaid’s vision. Let us all pledge to the freedom of Kashmiris as their good times are coming. To conclude, it is worthy of inking here a stanza of patriotic musical composition powered by lyrics.
Blessed be the sacred land,
Happy be the bounteous realm.
Thou symbol of high resolve,
O Land of Pakistan!
Blessed be thou citadel of faith.
Long Live Pakistan