NOVANEWS
By Sajjad Shaukat
Muslims inside India and the Indian-held Kashmir including Pakistan are well-aware of the
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agenda to reduce the Muslim community in India to
second class citizens. Muslims’ anxiety in the region is multiplying due to the fact that during the
election campaign, Hindu majority was mobilized on anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan slogans.
Now, the fundamentalist ruling party of India, BJP has started showing its real face. In this
regard, in his interview to an Indian TV channel, its leader Dr. Subramaniam Swamy, a staunch
promoter of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) said on July 12, this year that India needed only
two years to defeat Pakistan militarily, and it would not shy away from a nuclear war because
ultimately there would be no Pakistan left. He elaborated, “May be 100 million will die; no
Swamy added that the only solution of Kashmir was war, as “there is no peaceful, democratic
solution.” About the aftermath of the withdrawal of the US-led NATO forces from Afghanistan,
he remarked, “Americans will hand over Afghanistan to Taliban and go…India should send at
least 200,000 troops to Afghanistan…their [Taliban] appetite is Jihad and Kashmir is the obvious
place…so we should be ready to go to war.” He further pointed out that Modi won the elections
2014 on the basis of Hindutva, and “those Muslims inside India who do not accept Hindu
ancestry should be disenfranchised.”
In these terms, we cannot see the remarks of Dr. Subramaniam Swamy in isolation, as the BJP
rulers have especially been implementing their nefarious designs in relation to the occupied
Kashmir, even without caring for a nuclear war with Pakistan. They also neglect the fact that
Pakistan lacks conventional forces and weapons vis-à-vis India, so, in case of a prolonged
conflict on the issue of Kashmir, Pakistan will have to use nuclear weapons and missiles which
could destroy whole of India.
However, soon after assuming power, Modi government, hurriedly decided to forcibly annex and
integrate disputed territory of the State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), uncovering its intentions
to wrap up the article 370 of the Indian constitution which ensures a special status to J&K.
The aim behind is to fortify measures to strengthen and continue its illegal occupation in the
J&K. Hence, as part of its extremist policy, United Nations Military Observer Group India and
Pakistan (UNMOGIP) in New Delhi was asked to vacate official accommodation, claiming that
its role had become irrelevant, thereby insulting the world body and indicating its intention to
violate UN Security Council’s resolutions on Kashmir dispute, and to further commit human
rights violations in the India-controlled Kashmir.
It is notable that since partition of India in 1947, United Nations has played significant role in
maintaining peace and order in Jammu and Kashmir. Indian intransigence, expansionist designs
and open violation of the partition formula for princely states created tension between India and
Pakistan, and a territorial dispute erupted on the question of accession of the State of Jammu and
Kashmir to Pakistan. India, having occupied major part of Kashmir, quickly took the dispute to
the United Nations. Consequently, United Nation Security Council (UNSC) passed resolution
39 in 1948 and a UN Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) was established to investigate
and mediate the issues between both the countries.
Afterwards, UNSC, on the complaint of the then Indian government, concerning the dispute
over state of J&K, passed resolution 47 in 1948, thus paving the way for withdrawal of forces by
India and Pakistan—creating conditions for a free and impartial plebiscite to decide the future of
the State. The UNSC resolution 47 also upgraded membership of UNCIP and its role to observe
ceasefire. In March 1951, Karachi agreement was signed by India and Pakistan, establishing a
ceasefire line to be supervised by UN military observers. Nevertheless, UNCIP was terminated
and UNSC passed resolution 91 in 1951 and established United Nations Military Observer
Group India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to observe and report violations of ceasefire between
Later on, after the Indo-Pakistan War-1971, Simla Agreement was signed in 1972 by the two
neigbouring countries, and a Line of Control (LOC) was defined in Kashmir. Since then, New
Delhi wickedly started opposing UNMOGIP, arguing that its role has elapsed, as ceasefire was
now being observed through Simla Agreement.
On the other side, in order to prevent war between the two countries, the UN Secretary General,
however, maintained that UNMOGIP will continue to function, as no UNSC resolution has been
passed to terminate it. Therefore, it remains valid. Particularly, by honoring UNSC resolutions,
Pakistani military has continued lodging complaints with UNMOGIP on ceasefire violations by
India which disregards UN mandate in this respect. And UNMOGIP also continues to monitor
and investigate complaints of ceasefire violations, and submit findings to India and Pakistan
including the United Nations.
Nonetheless, it is the right hour that Pakistan’s high officials and media must support UN which
is displaying firmness on UNMOGIP’s relevance and UN resolutions in relation to Jammu and
For the purpose, our internal entities must keep on pointing out that Kashmir is a disputed
territory and cannot be annexed to India, under coercive strategy and wicked tactics, adopted by
the BJP-led Indian government, as UNSC resolutions on Kashmir are still relevant and so is the
case with UNMOGIP which is playing a very important role in maintaining peace and order in
Pakistan’s entities must also reject Indian illogical argument that role of UNMOGIP has also
become irrelevant after signing of Simla Agreement between both the countries. Indian such
stand is totally ridiculous and has already been criticized by the UN Secretary General including
other peace loving people of the world.
In this connection, New Delhi has actually insulted UNO by telling the military observers
to vacate their official accommodation from Indian capital, because their role has become
unrelated. Pakistan’s media and high officials must focus on the UN Secretary General who is
justified in snubbing India on the issue of UNMOGIP, asking the military observers to vacate the
official accommodation, given to them in New Delhi.
It is quite irrational that now, the Indian government is opposing the role of UNMOGIP to
maintain peace in the region, while UNMOGIP was established through UNSC resolution 51,
on the complaint of the Indian government. Hence, Indian duplicity and double face must be
uncovered and its sinister designs to fortify its measures to continue its illegitimate occupation of
Kashmir be denounced, especially through our media.
Particularly, the civilized western nations must take note of the Indian intransigence and high
headedness in violating UN resolutions and causing rudeness to UN on the issue of maintaining
UNMOGIP which must continue to monitor and investigate complaints on violations of ceasefire
across the LoC. In this context, India deliberate attempt to invalidate the UN role in Kashmir
must be strictly opposed, as role of UNMOGIP is significantly valid and vital to maintain peace
in Kashmir as well as between India and Pakistan in wake of war-mongering diplomacy of the
Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants,
Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations