NSC on Kashmir
THE Indian-authored narrative that the recent moves by Delhi in India-held Kashmir are an ‘internal matter’ is a blatant falsehood, and it was only a matter of time before Pakistan reacted to this ill-advised action with steps of its own.
While a joint session of parliament, addressed by the prime minister and opposition leaders, was held on Tuesday, a clearer, firmer policy emerged yesterday as Pakistan’s response to the new crisis manufactured by the Indian establishment.
In a meeting of the National Security Committee chaired by the prime minister and attended by the military top brass, it was decided that Pakistan would downgrade diplomatic relations with India, suspend bilateral trade and take the matter to the UN, among other steps.
These are necessary moves that send a strong message across the border that Pakistan does not take India’s shenanigans in the occupied territory lightly.
From here on, Pakistan should mount a strong diplomatic offensive and take its message to world capitals.
Kashmir is internationally recognised as a disputed territory, so India’s chicanery — by attempting to ‘localise’ the issue through amending its constitution — should fool no one.
However, where strong diplomatic efforts are essential, Pakistan should not fall into the trap of exchanging bellicose rhetoric with India.
Prime Minister Imran Khan brought up the possibility of war during Tuesday’s parliament session; while there is justifiable anger in Pakistan over the Indian subterfuge in Kashmir, the leadership must carefully choose its words to respond to Delhi’s provocations, lest its statements be misconstrued.
The atmosphere in South Asia at the moment is highly tense and volatile.
Therefore, the Kashmir crisis needs to be handled with sagacity, firmness and far-sightedness.
Warmongers in India would love to trap Pakistan in a heated exchange of rhetoric that can spiral into actual hostilities.
Pakistan’s leadership must resist this ruse and handle the situation with utmost care.
The battle for the rights of Kashmir must be fought primarily on the diplomatic front.
While the prime minister has constituted a team to look at legal, political and diplomatic ways of handling the situation, the effort would be best left to the Foreign Office that has the challenge of steering the issue before it.
There are experienced hands at the FO with deep knowledge of the region and decades of diplomatic experience; their combined wisdom should be used to counter Indian propaganda and express Pakistan’s narrative on Kashmir on the world stage.
The OIC must be convinced to move beyond insipid statements of support for Kashmir towards more concrete action, while some of our Arab brothers, who have supported India’s move, must be asked to consider Pakistan’s stand on the crisis.
The bottom line is that the international community cannot sit and watch silently as India attempts to devour occupied Kashmir and crush its inhabitants.
Anti-polio propaganda
THE effects of the harmful rumours that spread like wildfire during the anti-polio vaccination campaign a few months ago are really being felt now. With five new cases reported in KP, the total number of polio patients in the country has climbed to 53 — already higher than the figure that was expected to be announced at the end of this year. While polio has been eliminated in other parts of the world, Pakistan has the misfortune of being one of only three countries that still contains the virus; the other two being Nigeria and Afghanistan. But Nigeria is now on its way to being declared polio-free, while Pakistan is still struggling. When in 2017, the country counted its lowest number of polio cases, there was great optimism that Pakistan too was on the verge of being declared free from the virus once and for all. Now, it is becoming increasingly apparent that this battle will continue for a much longer period. And in order to be successful, it has to be waged alongside the struggle against anti-vaccine misinformation, disinformation and outright lies that are exacerbated with greater access to modern technology. The vast majority of all polio cases exist in KP, which has recorded a total of 41 cases this year. Meanwhile, Punjab has five cases, including three from Lahore; Balochistan has four; and Sindh has three. In 2018, eight cases of polio were recorded in KP. In contrast, Balochistan had three cases; Sindh had one; and Punjab had none. The sudden increase is largely being blamed on vaccine refusal by parents after widespread anti-vaccine propaganda was disseminated through social media, even by some mainstream media outlets, which strengthened the falsehood that polio was damaging for childrens’ health, or part of a Western conspiracy against Muslims.
After students in Badhber complained about feeling sick on being administered polio drops (the episode proved to be a hoax) during a province-wide vaccination campaign in April, there was an 85pc rise in vaccine refusals across KP. So, along with vaccination efforts on ground, there must be an aggressive countrywide campaign to counter these harmful myths. While the authorities have made some efforts in this regard, much more needs to be done, and action must be taken against those who propagate such nonsense as it has cost this country heavily.