A false promise?

In Blog, Human Security, National Security
November 17, 2021
Mahnoor Islam
36 Views
0 comments

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the government of Dubai to enhance estate development, build infrastructure, industrial parks, IT towers in Indian occupied Kashmir. This development comes at a time when the region is seeing a resurgence in state violence and restrictions. This event is an

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the government of Dubai to enhance estate development, build infrastructure, industrial parks, IT towers in Indian occupied Kashmir. This development comes at a time when the region is seeing a resurgence in state violence and restrictions. This event is an indicator that a big change is fast emerging on the global economic horizon therefore Pakistan must reconstruct its foreign policy and narrative.

The two oil rich Arab economies, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have already pledged to make massive investments in India. UAE’s planned investment may be seen as contrary to OIC’s stance in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) may weaken Pakistan’s stance at international forums. The UAE and Pakistan have always enjoyed cordial and magnanimous relations. Pakistan was the first country to recognize UAE’s sovereignty and also gave regional and economic support therefore it is surprising to see the UAE investing in Kashmir which is a longstanding dispute between India and Pakistan.

Under the now abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution of India, persons not being residents of IIOJK were not able to purchase real estate in that region. Now that Article 370 is scrapped, IIOJK has also become an ‘economically occupied’ territory. This further allows non-residents of the region to invest in Kashmir. By doing so, perhaps India is pushing a counter narrative of giving Kashmiris their rights by allowing various developments in the area. This is something that Pakistan must be careful about and must build an effective narrative that highlights India’s strategies to alienate the Kashmiris from their struggle for freedom.

The region of Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory and such ploys by India to mislead the international community should not succeed. Pakistan must construct a counter-narrative in order to show that the main reason for investment is an attempt to divert attention from its oppression and human rights violations in the region. The timing of the MoU is also interesting as the news comes as the state violence in IIOJK increased. India has continued to oppress innocent Kashmirs in particular the minorities.

In the past. Pakistan urged the OIC to do more for a lasting solution with regards to the Kashmir dispute. The OIC member states have hardly taken concrete steps with regards to Kashmir or in support of Pakistan’s stance regarding Kashmir. The UAE has a powerful presence in the OIC therefore a potential alliance with India and the news of investment is not good news for Kashmiris.

Furthermore, days after the news of the flight operations resumed between Srinagar and Sharjah, India did not seek permission from Pakistan to use its airspace for flights between the occupied territory and the UAE. This is once again not a good sign for Pakistan and can be a reason for deterioration of relations between the two states.

While New Delhi is crafting compelling narratives of progress and narrative in IIOJK, it must not be forgotten that it was the Indian government’s aggressive policies towards the region that damaged Kashmir’s development path and economy as Kashmir’s history shows that the region enjoyed a relatively stable economy as compared to other Indian states for a long time since the annexation.

After the revocation of Articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian Constitution, Indian media and officials have insisted that Kashmir was going back to normalcy. However, a year after abrogation, Kashmiris still don’t have access to many basic facilities. Besides a communications blackout, many activists and journalists have accused the authorities from preventing them from performing their professional duties. Besides this, Kashmir has also seen a surge in violence.

While the Indian government is claiming that they are developing Kashmir by signing MoUs and investing in the region, this seems to be another clever maneuver by India in order to cover up its acts in the occupied region. It is very important for Pakistan to understand this and continue on with its efforts to highlight the various violations of international law and human rights law by India.