It was due to the selfless unity among the Muslims under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah that Pakistan became a tangible reality on 14 August 1947. But, that unity started declining after passing through various crises, and the result was separation of East Pakistan in 1971, as India manipulated differences between East Pakistan and West Pakistan.
Although the 14th August is celebrated every year as Independence Day, but, this year, it has come at a time when Pakistan is facing multiple threats of grave nature externally and internally, which are worrying all the citizens. In fact, Pakistan is facing a hybrid war.
During the partition of the sub-continent, the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which had a Muslim majority, decided to join Pakistan. But, Dogra Raja, Sir Hari Singh, a Hindu, who was ruling over the J&K in collusion with the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Governor General Lord Mountbatten, joined India. The Radcliffe Boundary Award gave the Gurdaspur District— a majority Muslim area— to India to provide a land route to the Indian forces to move into the state.
Indian forces invaded Srinagar on 27 October, 27 1947 and forcibly occupied the state in utter violation of the partition plan. When Pakistan responded militarily, on 31 December 1947, India made an appeal to the UN Security Council to intervene and a ceasefire ultimately came into effect on 1 January 1949, following UN resolutions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir. On 5 February 1964, India backed out of its commitment of holding a plebiscite. Instead, the Indian Parliament declared Kashmir an integral part of the Indian Union.
Since 1989, various forms of state terrorism have been part of a deliberate campaign by the Indian Army and paramilitary forces against Muslim Kashmiris. It has been manifested in various ruthless tactics.
On August 5, 2019, Indian brutal actions against the Muslim Kashmiris reached a climax when the Indian government led by the fanatic Indian Premier Narendra Modi revoked Articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution, which gave a special status to the disputed territory. The Indian government bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories— Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, to be ruled by the federal government.
New Delhi also issued an infamous map on 31 October 2019, which displayed this split and identifies the Pakistani side of Azad Kashmir as well as certain areas of Gilgit-Baltistan as Indian territory.
Besides Pakistan, China also rejected the Indian malicious acts as “unlawful and void”, saying that India’s decision to “include” some of China’s territory into its administrative jurisdiction “challenged” Beijing’s sovereignty. The border dispute between India and China, which remains unsettled, has increased tension between the two countries.
Due to Modi’s pressure, the verdict of the Indian Supreme Court on 11 December 2023 upheld the decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status in 2019.
While the deployment of more than 900,000 military troops in Indian-Occupied Kashmir, who have martyred tens of thousands of the Kashmiris, the Modi-led government has intensified measures, bringing ethno-demographic changes in the Indian-Occupied Kashmir to convert Muslim Kashmiris into a minority.
Western media, human rights groups and leaders of various countries, and UNO have repeatedly condemned Indian illegal measures and human rights abuses which keep on going in Indian-Occupied Kashmir. Despite this, Indian PM Modi was sworn in as India’s prime minister on June 9, this year for a rare third term. The BJP, together with its National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has won a majority.
Since Modi became Indian PM, he started implementing the ideology of Hindutva (Hindu Nationalism). Again, during the election campaign of 2024, the Hindu majority had been mobilized especially on ‘hate Muslim’ slogans.
Tension escalated rapidly between New Delhi and Islamabad in the aftermath of the false flag Pulwama terror attack in Indian-Occupied Kashmir, when on 27 February 2019, in response to the Indian so-called pre-emptive air strike near the town of Balakot, close to the border with Pakistan’s sector of Kashmir, which resulted in no casualties. Pakistan Air Force shot down two Indian Air Force fighter jets and launched aerial strikes at six targets in Indian-Occupied Kashmir.
At this critical hour, the government, the opposition leaders, including all other segments of society must show selfless national unity which is very necessary to pull the country out of the ongoing serious crises.
Once again, Modi can arrange another false flag like Pulwama attack inside Pakistan’s sector of Kashmir to keep his coalition (NDA) united, and to divert attention from his weak government.
Pakistan’s civil and military leaders have repeatedly stated that Pakistan’s armed forces “are ready to respond any Indian aggression with full might”.
It is notable that US Congress passed a resolution on June 26, which called for a full and independent investigation into alleged irregularities in Pakistan’s general election 2024, which former Prime Minister Imran Khan of PTI party alleged was manipulated to deny it victory.
Pakistan has said that the USA attempted to “interfere” in its internal affairs.
As part of the double game, US Republican Senator Marco Rubio introduced a bill on July 26, to bolster strategic, diplomatic, economic, and military ties with India—against China and Pakistan.
Analysts agree that in the post-election scenario, Pakistan’s multiple crises and challenges have increased and the stakes for the new coalition government would be enormously high. The most immediate task for the government would be to negotiate a new bailout agreement with the IMF, to seek a new loan to repay debt due this year to avoid a default and stabilize the economy.
In the budget for the fiscal year 2024-25, the government was compelled to accept IMF’s key demands such as an increase in the tax revenue target, withdrawal of subsidies, taxes on the agriculture sector, increase in levy and taxes on power, gas and oil sectors, privatization of sick government organizations etc.
Earlier, with the support of other parties, especially the PPP, Mian Shehbaz Sharif of PML-leader, secured a comfortable win over Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and PTI leader Omar Ayub became opposition leader.
In his maiden speech in the National Assembly, Premier Sharif listed the frail economy and precarious security situation as challenges, and invited all the political entities to pull the country out of the crisis.
The PML(N), PPP and some other political parties also asked the PTI for cooperation so as to achieve political stability. But, the PTI leaders refused any such collaboration, alleging rigging in the elections.
JUI(F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman who had confirmed the contacts with the PTI, announced on March 3, this year that the party will sit on opposition benches and organize a nationwide movement against the alleged vote rigging.
PML(N) and some other parties opine that if elections were rigged or the establishment interfered against the PTI, PTI-backed independents would not have swept the polls in KP, winning 91 out of 113 seats.
And military’s media wing ISPR said that on various occasions, the Army clarified that it had provided a security environment for the conduct of the general election, and had nothing to do with the electoral process.
It is mentionable that on July 19, more than 10,000 people waving white flags gathered for the rally in Bannu against a planned operation by the Pakistan military to root out militants along the Afghan border, with at least one protester killed when gunfire broke out. The protest turned violent when crowds reached the walls of an army facility.
Government’s top officials said that the shooting was carried out by those including PTI supporters who wanted to destroy peace—the community is no longer willing to tolerate this.
Incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan and a six-party opposition alliance called for a judicial inquiry into the outbreak of violence at a peace rally in Bannu, even as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government announced the formation of a commission for a “transparent” investigation.
In this respect, in a press conference on July 22, DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif clarified about the terrorist attack on Bannu Cantonment, which killed eight military personnel. He explained that locals had requested a peace march, which was agreed upon with the condition of no anti-state slogans. However, “negative elements” joined the march, chanting against the Army and state, pelting stones, leading to armed individuals opening fire and causing injuries.
Renowned foreign human rights groups manipulated the Banu incident against Pak Army to distort Pakistan’s image.
Nevertheless, Imran Khan is still taking a U-turn and is he sending messages to the establishment for negotiation,
Meanwhile, the sit-ins in various regions of Pakistan’s various regions, protest rallies by the Jamaat-e-Islami, PTI and some other opposition parties against taxes, soaring prices of commodities, load shedding, and allegations of rigging in the elections 2024 have started.
As regards the Independence Day, the 23rd of March 1940 was a watershed in the history of the Subcontinent, when All India Muslim League passed the Resolution in Lahore for the creation of an independent state. Earlier, in his address to the Muslim League at Allahabad in 1930, the idea of a homeland for Muslims in their majority areas had been envisioned by the poet Allama Sir Muhammad Iqbal, and had become the aspiration of Indian Muslims.
Prior to the Lahore session of Muslim League, the Quaid-i-Azam had specified to this historical congregation of the Muslims, the watch-words of ‘Faith, Unity and Discipline’ which were not only necessary for waging the battle for an independent homeland, but also for present Pakistan. The essence of these watch-words is unity.
At this critical hour, the government, the opposition leaders, including all other segments of society must show selfless national unity which is very necessary to pull the country out of the ongoing serious crises.
