COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has sent a message to the world that Pakistan is a peaceful country. Further that Pakistan wants the resolution of the Kashmir issue to end the decades-old suffering in the Indian-controlled region in a dignified way. Also, that the dispute has to be settled in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He has simultaneously made it known that the country’s desire for peace in its neighbourhood must not be construed as a sign of weakness. With all the three armed forces having jointly fought and defeated the international terrorist groups, they have developed a lethal inter-service coordination. The country’s armed forces are thus fully capable and prepared to thwart any threat.
Pakistan and India have fought wars over Kashmir without the issue having either been resolved or forgotten. Peaceful protests by the Kashmiris have been brutally put down but there is still no end to the eruption of protests from time to time. The use of pellet guns against unarmed Kashmiri youth led international human rights organizations and sections of the influential Western media to condemn Indian atrocities. However in the post-9/11 world which is increasingly wary of terrorist organizations, there was no sympathy for militant Kashmiri groups, all the more so after Al-Qaeda and Daesh too entered the fray. India used militant groups to accuse Pakistan of sending its proxies to the Valley while it started funding and supporting terrorist groups who used Afghan soil as a launching pad against Pakistan to target both civilians and law enforcing personnel.
The Kashmiris’ struggle for independence has continued for seven decades. Such is the level of resentment against India, that protests in Occupied Kashmir will not end till Kashmiris are allowed to exercise the right of self-determination. Pakistan needs to continue to extend full diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiris struggle for self-determination. It must raise the issue at all world forums. Pakistan should meanwhile concentrate on fast-tracking its economy which is the quickest route to people’s welfare as well as to strengthening the country’s defense.
