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Pakistan & Kashmir

India and Pakistan both hold Kashmir in parts and claim it in full. China also controls part of the contested region, but it is India and Pakistan who have fought two wars over Kashmir. Azad Jammu and Kashmir is a "self-governing" entity administered by, but constitutionally not part of, Pakistan. Its residents, however, are Pakistani citizens. Since 1989, Muslim insurgents have been fighting Indian forces in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir – a region of 12 million people, about 70% of whom are Muslim. India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.

Pakistan categorically stated that there is no change in its policy on Kashmir dispute. Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, at weekly news briefing in Islamabad on 27 August 2020, said solution of the lingering dispute lies in granting right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people through a fair and impartial plebiscite under the umbrella of United Nations. He warned the world community to be cognizant of the dangerous consequences of India's belligerent rhetoric and irresponsible actions for peace and security in the region. Chaudhry said there cannot be durable peace and security in South Asia without resolution of Kashmir dispute.

Kashmir remains the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy. Pakistan rejects the Indian contentions that Kashmir was an “internal matter”. Pakistan is firmly resolved to stand with the Kashmiris until the realization of their right to self-determination as promised by the international community. The solution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people was imperative and association of the Kashmiris in this process of advancing the resolution was indispensable. A just and lasting solution to the Kashmir dispute was also essential for durable peace and stability in South Asia.

Apart from China, Malaysia and Turkey, no other country supported Islamabad on Kashmir. Saudi Arabia sees India as an important trading partner. It would prefer to have ties to both India and Pakistan but is clearly no longer willing to support Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. Pakistan's bureaucracy and public long accepted the political dogma on Kashmir that the only acceptable resolution is one where India relinquishes its claim on Kashmir and the UN conducts a "plebicite" election to decide Kashmir's future. Since mid-2005, President Musharraf led (or at times, forced) a new approach to Kashmir, both in diplomatic dialogue and on-the-ground realities. The GOP has curbed its support to

Kashmiri militants and thrown its support behind a new Kashmiri spokesperson, cutting off the hard-liners in the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) like Syed Ali Gilani and empowering the more moderate, consensus-seeking leaders.

The Government of Pakistan (GOP)'s softened strategy on Kashmir late 2005 entailed a painstaking 18-month campaign to reverse the stubborn mindset of Pakistan's foreign policy bureaucracy and building both political and public consensus. Musharraf's proposed solution as including four points: (1) no changes in the boundaries of Kashmir; (2) make borders and the line of control irrelevant; (3) staggered demilitarization; and (4) autonomy or self-governance with a joint supervision mechanism.

President Musharraf's December 2006 interview with Indian television channel NDTV, in which he reiterated his government's new stance on Kashmir--promoting self governance, demilitarization, softened borders, and theoretical acceptance of the Line of Control (LoC)--reinvigorated the debate among Pakistanis over the plan and its next steps. Even commentators and politicians commonly critical of Musharraf's domestic and foreign policy are willing to give Musharraf leeway on the issue of Kashmir, evidently believing the time for progress had come.

Pakistani politicians and the general public are not convinced that India is offering concessions on par with those the GOP has put on the table. While supporting Musharraf's movement--particularly turning off the tap for the Kashmiri militancy and abandoning Pakistan's traditional demand for a UN plebicite--even progressive Pakistanis are palpably frustrated that India has not reciprocated on Kashmir or on the issues under discussion.

The people of Jammu and Kashmir were exercising their democratic right to protest against the continued suppression of their legitimate right to self-determination promised by the United Nations Security Council in multiple resolutions. After decades of repression, by 2019 Kashmiri youth haf taken upon itself to lead the freedom struggle and to demand their right to self-determination in a peaceful manner. Their protests met oppression involving new methods of torture and violence such as use of pellet guns on unarmed civilians including women and children that resulted in dozens of killings, more than 250 blinded and thousands sustaining serious injuries. Use of innocent youth (tied on army jeeps) as human shield, use of rape as a method of collective punishment, attacks on ambulances, harassing and arbitrary arrests of Kashmiri leadership, prohibition of Friday prayer congregations, Media and electricity blackouts to disrupt normal life and communication have become the daily routine of Kashmiri Muslims.

By 2020 Pakistan had a four-point strategy for the Kashmir issue, which entailed "confronting, exposing and pushing back against New Delhi's intentions; deterring it through military preparedness, conflict resolution and confidence-building; not being distracted by India's actions; and continuing with regional integration projects through participation in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Economic Cooperation Organization."

In late 2020, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended the special constitutional status of the Indian state Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The region's autonomy and its own constitution, as well as its special rights for permanent residents, the majority of whom are Muslims, were abolished. Furthermore, the parliament in New Delhi passed a bill to split Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories — J&K and Ladakh — which would be directly administered by New Delhi. Islamabad condemned New Delhi's move to abrogate Kashmir's special status and urged its allies in the Muslim world to act against India. Experts say it has so far failed to get much support for its Kashmir stance.

Lacking support from Arab countries for its stance on the Kashmir dispute, Pakistan began looking for new alliances under China's leadership. In August 2020 Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi blasted the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, accusing the OIC of failing to support Pakistan's stance on Kashmir. Qureshi's comments infuriated officials in Saudi Arabia, which plays a key role in the OIC's affairs and froze a $3.2 billion (€2.72 billion) oil credit facility and demanded that Pakistan repay part of a $3 billion loan.

"I am once again respectfully telling the OIC that a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers is our expectation. If you cannot convene it, then I'll be compelled to ask Prime Minister Imran Khan to call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir and support the oppressed Kashmiris," Qureshi told a broadcaster in Pakistan. "We have our own sensitivities. You have to realize this. Gulf countries should understand this," the foreign minister said.

The diplomatic row with Saudi Arabia prompted Khan's government to send Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa to Riyadh. "The army chief's visit is being viewed in the context of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's criticism of the Saudi Arabia-dominated Organization of Islamic Cooperation," according to the Dawn newspaper.