It’s a classic case of being caught in the cross-hairs. Amid the ceaseless abuse ensuing from avaricious leaders from fanatic Indian fringes and periodic cannon-fires emanating from Pakistan’s political and bureaucratic mainstream, the case for an amicable resolution of the Kashmir issue only suffers ever more jeopardy. After a barrage of uncharitable comments targeting Muslims and Kashmiris, comes the not unexpected remark from Pakistan’s chief of army staff (COAS) Raheel Sharif, saying the region was Islamabad’s ‘jugular vein.’ This strain of thought is hardly new as far as Pakistani government and its state affiliates are concerned, given that only in August last year, then newly-elected Pak prime minister Nawaz Sharif aired similar sentiments, in what Islamabad put across as a move symptomatic of Islamabad’s desire to build bridges and press the reset button of Indo-Pak diplomatic relations. However, the COAS’ declaration came on 30 April, the day of seventh phase of the nine-phase Indian general elections, when huge swathes of Kashmir went to poll. Given elections in the disputed northern state has always been a thorny issue, and especially when the principal political opposition here has publicly declared it would strike down Article 370, which, albeit much diluted now, gives unique quasi-autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir, the comments from Pak COAS were ill-formed. Escalated military presence resulting from a string of killings just before the state went to polls has already turned the mood of the grieving Valley much too somber, far grimmer than the rest of the country which is celebrating the theatre of parliamentary democracy. Kashmir, on the contrary, is battling ghosts of militancy, with extremists asking civilians to boycott the polls or face consequences. Evidently, irresponsible and callous comments on the part of leaders of either nation have only resulted in stoking the fire of mistrust turning the Valley into a graveyard of botched South Asian foreign policy and competitive bloodlust.
Inasmuch as Pakistan owes India far too many explanations over the spate of killings of Indian soldiers stationed across the line of control, COAS Sharif has behaved as recklessly as the rash top brass of the saffron brigade, which wants to dismantle Article 370 without addressing the basic problems of the disputed state. As Kashmir reels under mass arrests and Indian army turns the heat on hapless civilians trapped in the middle, the National Conference-ruled state bears the brunt of Pakistan’s fresh bout of aggression. As a natural fallout, Kashmir registered one of the lowest voter turnouts on 30 April, with curfews and protests, policing and arrests severely damaging the process. However, it must be noted that General Sharif had played a vital part in upgrading Islamabad’s battle against militancy, turning the state gaze towards homegrown Taliban instead of spending precious public money on non-existent Indian conspiracies. Hence, even if Pak COAS had intended a friendly fire, his comment calling Kashmir Pakistan’s jugular vein has misfired and the stray bullet has hurt innocent Kashmiris the most. It is advisable that leaders shelve their game of political one-upmanship until elections in India get over.