August 6, 2019
China opposes unilateral Indian move to modify Kashmir status
as India also claims Pakistan administered Kashmir
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
China on Tuesday (August 6) expressed serious concerns over the current situation arising out of Indian decision to strip Kashmir of its special status.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement: “China is seriously concerned about the current situation in Jammu Kashmir. China’s position on the Kashmir issue is clear and consistent. It is also an international consensus that the Kashmir issue is an issue left from the past between India and Pakistan. The relevant sides need to exercise restraint and act prudently.”
“In particular, they should refrain from taking actions that will unilaterally change the status quo and escalate tensions.”
China called on both India and Pakistan to peacefully resolve the relevant disputes through dialogue and consultation and safeguard peace and stability in the region.
China condemns Indian decision to bifurcate Kashmir
The Chinese government also criticized India’s decision to bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir to separate Laddakh terriroty.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was opposed to the move because Beijing’s claims to part of the disputed territory were included in the Indian-administered region.
“China is always opposed to India’s inclusion of the Chinese territory in the western sector of the China-India boundary into its administrative jurisdiction,” spokesperson Hua Chunying said.
“Recently India has continued to undermine China’s territorial sovereignty by unilaterally changing its domestic law,” she added. “Such practice is unacceptable and will not come into force.”
“We urge India to exercise prudence in words and deeds concerning the boundary question, strictly abide by relevant agreements concluded between the two sides and avoid taking any move that may further complicate the boundary question.”
China administers Aksai Chin, a northwestern Kashmiri region, as part of Xinjiang Autonomous Region’s Hotan County. India also claims the territory.
India and China have an ongoing border dialogue between special representatives. The dialogue covers the entirety of the nearly 3,500-kilometer-long LoAC, which also extends to the east, where the two countries have a dispute over Arunachal Pradesh, which India administers as a state, but China claims in nearly its entirety as part of Tibet.
Tensions between China and India have periodically flared along their 4,000km (2,485-mile) border, resulting in a brief war in 1962. Beijing and New Delhi have made efforts to repair their relations since a tense stand-off two years ago at the Doklam plateau, which is claimed by India’s ally Bhutan.
When I talk about J&K, PoK, Aksai Chin are included in it: Indian Home Minister
A day after the Modi government scrapped special status to Jammu and Kashmir by modifying Article 370, Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday asserted that Pakistan ‘occupied’ Kashmir (PoK) and Aksai Chin are part of Jammu and Kashmir and that Kashmir Valley is an integral part of the country.
"Kashmir is an integral part of India, there is no doubt over it. When I talk about Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin are included in it," he said.
Shah asked Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury: "How can you not consider Pakistan occupied Kashmir as a part of India. We will give our lives for this region. When I say Jammu and Kashmir, I also include PoK. As clearly mentioned in the Constitution, the boundaries of Jammu and Kashmir include PoK and Aksai Chin."
Pakistan Army firmly stands by Kashmiris
Reacting to Indian move on Kashmir, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday affirmed that Pakistan Army stands by Kashmiris in their struggle and is prepared and shall go to any extent to fulfill its obligations against India’s decision to legalize its occupation of Indian Occupied Kashmir through article 370 or 35-A.
General Bajwa presided over the corps commanders conference held at the General Headquarters (GHQ) on the single point agenda of the situation in the Indian-administered Kashmir.
“The forum fully supported the government’s rejection of Indian actions regarding Kashmir. Pakistan never recognized the sham Indian efforts to legalise its occupation of Jammu & Kashmir through Article 370 or 35-A decades ago; efforts which have now been revoked by India itself,” an army statement said.
“Pakistan never recognized the sham Indian efforts to legalise its occupation of Jammu and Kashmir through article 370 or 35-A decades ago efforts which have now been revoked by India itself.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan
Addressing a joint session of parliament, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday emphatically said Pakistan would never let India annex the state of Kashmir and would go to any lengths to counter the illegal constitutional steps taken there.
He said the revocation of articles 370 and 35A by the Indian government would intensify the freedom struggle.
He also said as India tried to suppress the Kashmiris, there would be reaction against them and New Delhi would be quick to blame Pakistan.
Imran Khan said the two nuclear states could not afford war but if India attempted any misadventure, it would get a befitting response. “We will fight till last drop of our blood like Tipu Sultan,” he said, adding that in case of a war there would be no victors.
The prime minister said this was no nuclear blackmail but he was appealing to common sense. "Is the world prepared for this? We appeal to the world that a country is violating laws and there will be serious consequences if the world does not intervene," he said.
He said what the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government did now had not happened suddenly rather it was planned and was the election manifesto of the ruling elite and ingrained in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology.
Imran Khan said the ideology of RSS was that they wanted ethnic cleansing of Muslims and a separate state for Hindus only adding that what was being meted out to Muslims and other minorities for the last six years was the BJP government’s ideology.
RSS advocates a Hindu nationalistic agenda under the banner of hindutva, or “Hindu-ness.” The ruling BJP espouses RSS agenda to declare India a Hindu State by replacing the word 'Secular' in the Indian Constitution by the word 'Spiritual.'
Imran said the BJP government had acted against their Constitution, the Simla Agreement and the verdicts of their Supreme Court and High Court. “They want to change demography in Kashmir, which is against the Geneva Convention, but it is their ideology,” he said.
He expressed fear that India might resort to ethnic cleansing of Kashmiris in order to change the demography of Indian administered Kashmir.
India’s Sudden Kashmir Move Could Backfire Badly
Tellingly, Michael Kugelman of the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center, has warned that Indian Prime Minister Narenra Modi’s sudden move in Kashmir could backfire badly.
Writing in the Foreign Affairs, Kugelam argued that the Kashmir problem has not been solved by removing the Article 370 but “on the contrary, it’s just gotten a lot more complicated—and potentially a lot more destabilizing".
“The repeal of Article 370 is fraught with risk. India is unilaterally altering the territorial status of a highly disputed territory that is, per square mile, the most militarized place in the world. Something has to give, and New Delhi understands this—which is why it implemented a draconian lockdown before the announcement,” Kugelam said adding:
“For many Kashmiris, Article 370 had more symbolic than practical meaning, given that the longstanding and repressive presence of Indian security forces had undercut the notion of autonomy. Many Kashmiris face daily restrictions on their freedom of expression and movement, along with the constant risk of rough treatment from security personnel. Still, for many Kashmiri Muslims, the dominant group in Jammu and Kashmir and the victims of what they regard as an Indian occupation, the revocation of Article 370 is a nightmare scenario, because it brings them closer to an Indian state that they despise. Most of them want to be free of Indian rule.”
In Kugelam’s view it’s easy to understand New Delhi’s decision to remove Kashmir’s autonomous status.
“Two recent developments probably pushed the government to act now. The first was U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate the Kashmir dispute. The second is a rapidly progressing Afghanistan peace process, facilitated to an extent by Islamabad, which could lead to an eventual political settlement that gives the Taliban a prominent role in government. Each of these developments strengthens Pakistan’s hand. Making a dramatic move on Kashmir enables New Delhi to push back against Islamabad. It also sends a strong message to Washington about New Delhi’s utter lack of interest in external mediation.
Kugelman also cited domestic reasons for Modi’s move: “Domestic politics are also at play. A big-bang, early term move from the newly reelected BJP is sure to attract strong support from its rank and file, and such backing can blunt potential disillusionment and unhappiness down the road if the government struggles to ease India’s growing jobs crisis. Indeed, it may not be a coincidence that the party, during its previous term, stepped up its Hindu nationalist policies—another surefire way to attract support from its base—after it struggled to carry out an oft-promised economic reform agenda.”
For now, a major question is how key players will respond, Kugelman says by adding: So long as New Delhi maintains its security lockdown in Kashmir, unrest is unlikely. But if that grip is loosened, violence could ensue—suggesting that the lockdown could remain in place for an extended period. Then there is Pakistan. Islamabad’s immediate priority will be to step up its longstanding campaign to get the Kashmir issue on the global agenda and to get the world to condemn India’s policies.
The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
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