EDITORIAL: International spotlight is gradually turning on the besieged illegally Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Last year, the UNSC discussed the situation in three closed-door meetings. In a latest development on January 13, the UK Labour Party’s Sarah Owens organized a cross-party debate entitled “Political Situation in Kashmir” at Westminster Hall in the House of Commons. Several MPs expressed concern over “genocide”, “rampant violence” and “torture” in the IIOJK, calling on their government to seek access to the region for direct reports to be presented in Parliament. For her part, Owens highlighted the plight of people living in the disputed region, comparing it with the Covid-related lockdown in Britain. Unlike it the Kashmir lockdown imposed in August of 2019, she said, “is not about safety, it is about control.” Muslims have reported being turned away from hospitals, “this is shocking at the best of times, but especially so during a pandemic.” There are numerous reports, she went on, “of Kashmiri women and girls being raped, senior officials in the BJP put on record their intentions to make Kashmiri women a part of this conflict. And I have heard [there are] women in Kashmir that are terrified of being assaulted by the thousands of soldiers on their doorsteps. Women fear for the lives and do not feel safe.”
Unfortunately, the British government continues to turn a blind eye to the Kashmiri people’s suffering, described as deeply concerning by the UN Secretary General, UN Human Rights Council as well as respected international human rights organizations, like the Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Impelled to respond to the MPs assertions, Minister of State for Asia Nigel Adams acknowledged that there are serious human rights concerns “as confirmed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in his reports.” Nevertheless, he contended that it is not for his country to play any mediatory role, adding: “this is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution to the situation that takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people as laid out in the Simla Agreement.” He preferred to ignore – conveniently, of course— UNSC resolutions that propose resolution of the issue by determining the wishes of the Kashmiri people through a plebiscite. The bilateral Simla Agreement does not supersede the UN resolutions.
There are at least two good reasons why Britain should help resolve the Kashmir dispute. One is that it is part of the unfinished agenda of the Partition it presided over. Since it is a legacy of its colonial rule, Britain has s special responsibility to settle this festering dispute. The other and no less important is the stance it takes elsewhere on human rights. London has been condemning what it calls “barbaric treatment” by China of Uighur Muslims in its Xingjian province. And according to First Secretary of State for Foreign Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Dominic Raab, Britain is preparing to review export controls applying to that province to prevent the sale of goods which might contribute to alleged human rights abuses. While it raises serious concern about what it claims rights violations in Xinjiang and is also an active supporter of the purported pro-democracy dissidents in Hong Kong, it must also show some compassion for the oppressed Kashmiri people, and respect for their UN recognized right to decide their future.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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