IT is not the government in Indian held Kashmir but the protestors who should be getting a pat on the back for forcing the former to revoke its decision of selling a large chunk of land to Sri Amarnathji Shrine Board for the purpose of building temporary structures for Hindu yatrees. The government had planned to transfer this land to the Board in violation of the laws, which do not allow outsiders to buy any piece of territory in the disputed state.
For the past week, series of violent protests had gripped the Valley. Some of these protests were as big as those staged around 1989. APHC leaders had rightly termed the move about the sale of land as a systematic plan of the Indian government to reduce the Muslims to a minority. One cannot help but notice the words of an angry protestor who compared the sale to the Israeli manner of creeping into the Palestinian territory by building illegal Jewish settlements.
Meanwhile, PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari in the backdrop of the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s visit to India has been airing his prescription for the Kashmir issue in general. His idea of giving autonomy to the state ‘pending a final settlement’ seems quite odd since it fails to mention what the final solution would be.
However, as things stand especially considering the failure of the CBMs to lead to the dispute’s resolution and peace in the troubled region, a more straightforward approach with India is called for. Any solution unacceptable to Kashmiri people is likely to give birth to more problems. One must also lend an ear to the demands of APHC leaders for inclusion in the composite dialogue between Islamabad and New Delhi. The present controversy in the occupied territory not only points to the strong-arm tactics of the Indian government but also mirrors the indefatigable will of the people to fight for their right of self-determination.
