ADDRESSING an election rally in the Indian state of Gujarat on Monday, Narendra Modi had the gall to say that he had “resolved the problem of Kashmir”, apparently referring to the illegal move made by his government to annul the disputed region’s autonomous status in 2019. The fact is that the Indian prime minister’s assertion is far from reality. Kashmir remains a disputed region as per international consensus, and no amount of constitutional subterfuge and spin is going to change that stark fact. Moreover, India’s Home Minister Amit Shah was in the held valley last week where he told a rally in Baramulla that “why should we talk to Pakistan? We will not talk”, effectively shutting the door on all dialogue on this key issue for the foreseeable future.

Yet the international community continues to view Kashmir as a disputed region. As the German foreign minister told a press conference she was addressing with her counterpart Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari recently, her country supported the “engagement of the United Nations to find a peaceful solution” to the Kashmir dispute. Moreover, the US ambassador to Pakistan also paid a recent visit to Azad Kashmir. While those familiar with international diplomacy say both the German minister and the US ambassador’s actions should not be viewed as a great diplomatic breakthrough, and were probably designed to express the West’s displeasure with New Delhi over its position on the Ukraine war, the foreign officials’ remarks and activities have certainly ruffled Indian feathers. After all, India is hypersensitive to all foreign commentary on Kashmir, and all actions that do not align with its tunnel vision regarding the disputed territory are summarily rejected. Whether the Indian establishment admits it or not, its mix of ‘carrots’ and ‘sticks’ in held Kashmir will not resolve this critical issue. What can make a difference, however, is if India adopts a more flexible attitude, and realises that the Kashmir question cannot be adequately addressed unless dialogue is carried forward involving Pakistan as well as the legitimate Kashmiri leadership.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2022