IN a major interview after his release from house arrest, former chief minister of India-held Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, has bitterly criticised the Indian government’s scrapping of the special status of the occupied territory and said that Kashmiris would rather accept Chinese rule than Indian.
The pro-India Kashmiri leader who is seen by most Kashmiris as a betrayer to their cause, acknowledged that Kashmiris felt like “slaves” and would rise up in protest once the draconian curfew was lifted. He was very clear that the abrogation of Kashmir’s special status as a semi-autonomous region was unacceptable to every Kashmiri and he would struggle to have the status restored.
Farooq Abdullah also said that the differences between his family and that of Mehbooba Mufti — another pro-India former chief minister of occupied Kashmir currently under house arrest — had been settled and that they would work together.
It is clear that India’s move last August to scrap Articles 370 and 35A of its constitution and deprive IHK of its special status has had disastrous results. The step by the BJP government has confirmed beyond a shadow of doubt what the people of Kashmir had feared all along, ie New Delhi wants to forcefully take control of their land by changing its demography and diluting its Muslim and Kashmiri identity. In the year since then, the BJP government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has legislated a new domicile law that enables Hindus to settle and buy property in IHK.
The intent is unambiguous: convert IHK into a Hindu-majority area and deprive Kashmiris of the political and administrative strength that comes with being a majority in their own land. In the process, however, India has alienated every Kashmiri including its puppets like Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti. By converting IHK into an open-air jail, India has forced Kashmiris — even those previously aligned with it — to resist this occupation by whatever means possible. The price of this occupation is getting higher for India with each passing day.
This situation cannot be sustained. A growing number of voices within India are also calling out the BJP government for depriving IHK of its special status. Internationally also India is finding it hard to justify its actions. The resistance from the people is certain to increase with time. Now that compromised politicians such as Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti also stand alienated and ready to offer political resistance, India will face a tough time in the coming days.
Countries that can influence India should persuade Mr Modi to return to the path of sanity. In this context, sanity and rationality demand that India restore the special status of occupied Kashmir. The UN resolutions recognise the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir as disputed territory and the dispute’s final resolution lies in the implementation of these resolutions.
Leaks after MPC
POST-MPC hysteria in Islamabad has unleashed a storm of leaks and clarifications, igniting a rare public debate about the propriety of meetings between opposition and military leaders. Two developments have come to light since last Sunday. The first is that, just ahead of the MPC, opposition leaders met the army and ISI chiefs to discuss the Gilgit-Baltistan elections. Second, some weeks earlier, the PML-N’s Mohammad Zubair privately met the army and ISI chiefs for what he claimed were ‘general discussions’. While the former Sindh governor stated that no relief was sought for Maryam and Nawaz Sharif, the DG ISPR said that both meetings featured discussions on PML-N’s embattled leadership. That Mr Zubair met the army chief twice in the span of two weeks — in the presence of the ISI chief — is quite revealing, and belies his implication that the visits constituted little more than informal chitchats. What is significant here is that, despite the opposition members’ meetings, Mr Sharif launched a blistering attack on the establishment’s alleged role in politics and that the MPC reinforced his position by adopting a tough resolution.
Meetings between opposition and military leaders, on the request of either side, have been a regular feature of our political history. Where issues of national security are concerned, the details are usually not revealed by participants. But the series of leaks and political statements of late about such engagements are a strong indicator of the thorny political games and unscrupulous backdoor schemes in progress. The developments raise several questions. Why were the ‘disclosures’ made after the MPC? Do they indicate panic? Or are politicians like Sheikh Rashid out to malign the opposition? Ironically, in his feverish revelations about opposition members’ meetings with the army leadership, Mr Rashid also gave the impression that the establishment takes a deep interest in political affairs — something that could tarnish the image of the security apparatus. The weeks ahead will show whether or not the formal opposition alliance remains a united front or splits up on account of these revelations. Clarity from all quarters is needed. Perhaps more immediately, the opposition should explain its position on contacting and meeting the top ranks of the security establishment, especially in view of the MPC. Whatever the motive behind these leaks, they have been a source of embarrassment for the opposition politicians. Meanwhile, where the military leadership is concerned, the public discourse around such questionable, unofficial meetings with politicians begs introspection.
Gas shortages
WITH the winter months approaching, can gas shortages be far behind? The shortfalls have been part of life in Pakistan for over a decade, save for a few years under the previous government when the deficit was partially covered through expensive RLNG imports. Decreasing gas pressure around this time normally signals worsening gas supply in the winter as demand surges owing to the heating needs of domestic consumers. This year, the supply situation seems to have aggravated, particularly in Karachi and the rest of Sindh, much earlier than usual. Most consumers, especially industries in Karachi, are already complaining about supply disruptions and low pressure as SSGC currently faces a deficit of 150mmcfd. The state-owned utility warns that the gap will rise to 350mmcfd in winter. Sadly, gas shortages for Karachi residents also mean constant electricity outages as SSGC cuts its supply to power producers and factories to serve domestic customers on a priority basis. It is quite agonising for the residents, who are still recovering from the impact of the unprecedented urban flooding some weeks ago, to have to also suffer long hours without electricity and gas.
In Punjab, SNGPL has already begun preparing its customers for the worst, warning industry of supply cuts during the peak winter months. With the country’s gas demand estimated to be around 6-7bcfd against the domestic availability of 3.5bcfd and current reserves depleting by 9pc annually, and with no new discoveries in sight, the government estimates that Sindh, KP and Balochistan will also be facing supply deficits in the next few years, even if they stop sharing part of their supplies with Punjab. The gap is hard to fill without RLNG imports. With development of planned RLNG import capacity delayed, the next few winters are going to be quite harsh for all gas consumers. Instead of further delaying action, Islamabad should sit with the provinces to find a durable solution and increase supplies, instead of picking a fight with them, especially Sindh, so that it can mitigate the public’s pain.
