Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Pakistan's role was not the decisive factor in starting the uprising, although it has
been a critical factor in sustaining it.
Since the uprising of 1989, the situation in Kashmir has become a bloody
stalemate. India continues to apply a mixture of pressure and inducement,
organizing its own counter-terrorist squads made up of exterrorists and sent by
them against the Pakistan-sponsored 'freedom fighters'. Numerous bomb blasts
in major Indian and Pakistani cities, several unexplained railway wrecks, the
occasional air hijacking, and miscellaneous acts of sabotage seem to be evidence
of organized attempts to exploit local grievances and extract revenge. While
Indian officials claim a decline in 'militancy', international human rights groups
and independent observers report little change, and within Kashmir the death toll
mounts. Most of the Kashmiri population remains alienated, whether they are the
Pandits (many of whom have fled their homes), or the Valley Muslims, bitterly
divided and increasingly terrorized by radical Islamic groups.
Resolution: A Record of Failure
The failure of diplomacy to address, let alone resolve the Kashmir dispute is
remarkable, given the amount of attention paid to it. After the 1948 and 1965 India-
Pakistan wars, and the India-China war of 1962, there were concerted efforts to
resolve Kashmir. In 1948, the United Nations became deeply involved; Kashmir
is the oldest conflict inscribed in the body of UN resolutions and is certainly one
of the most serious.
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After the 1962 India-China war there were intensive but
fruitless American and British efforts to bridge the gap between Delhi and
Islamabad. The end of the 1965 war saw the Soviet Union as a regional
peacemaker. The Soviets did manage to promote a general peace treaty at
Tashkent, but this could not prevent a civil and international war in 1970-71
over East Pakistan/Bangladesh.
The most consistent feature of great power influence on the Kashmir problem
has been its ineffectiveness. Beyond their regional Cold War patronage, both the
United States and the Soviet Union have played significant, often parallel and
cooperative roles in the subcontinent.
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Over the years the United States had
considerable influence with both India and Pakistan; at one point the Soviet
Union, generally regarded as pro-Indian, moved closer to Pakistan, even
providing military assistance to Islamabad and brokering the 1966 Tashkent
agreement. Yet neither superpower seemed to be able to make a difference. This
suggests that any outside power should step carefully if it seeks to end or even
moderate this conflict.
Kashmir was important only insofar as it concerned their respective regional
partners, yet both resisted being dragged into the Kashmir issue by those same
partners. While Indians and Pakistanis often based their regional calculation on
the assistance of outside support for their position on Kashmir, this support has
