By Atul Aneja
New Delhi, Aug 3: As India prepares to celebrate on August 5, the second anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, when Jammu and Kashmir was fully mainstreamed with the rest of the India, a desperate Pakistan has decided to do exactly the opposite.
Authoritative sources have told India Narrative that from diplomatic missions, NGOs to subversive groups under its command, Pakistan has decided to activate a full throttle anti-India international campaign timed with August 5.
Pakistan’s decision to launch a high-octane but doomed Youm-e-Istehsaal commemoration to drum up international support on Kashmir is not hard to fathom. An enraged Pakistan is in a state of denial and delusion. It is unable to digest that it has finally lost the “Kashmir card,” the centerpiece of its foreign policy, which has been snatched by India after abrogating Article 370 and Article 35A.
These are two pieces of legislation that had blocked Jammu and Kashmir’s mainstreaming into the Indian Union. The floodgates have now been opened for a physical, emotional and people-to-people merger of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India.
Pakistan’s pain, born out of a flawed understanding of India’s resolve and boldness, is understandable. Since its independence, Pakistan launched a frenzied effort to establish its physical control over Kashmir. But four wars as well as a proxy-war, which included a massive terror campaign to physically annex Kashmir has failed. Also, a parallel diplomatic campaign has bombed. During its seven decades of independence, Pakistan has expended massive diplomatic energy both within the United Nations, and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC)—a platform of Muslim countries, whose formation it had initiated — as part of a 360-degree mobilization for the Kashmiri separatist cause.
But the UN no longer entertains Pakistan’s delusion on Kashmir. More traumatically for Pakistan, the OIC has turned its back on the Kashmir issue. Key OIC leaders such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have, on the contrary, bonded with India, and are establishing a unique and special relationship with New Delhi.
Unsurprisingly, Pakistan, led by its mercurial Prime Minister Imran Khan, in chronic denial, is now seething. The Pakistani establishment’s nefarious calculations have truly boomeranged. Contrary to Islamabad’s assumption that India’s August 2019 decision would trigger an internal revolt in Jammu and Kashmir, nothing of that sort has materialized. Besides a desperate attempt to surge terrorist violence after August 2019 remained stillborn.
Pakistan’s Kashmir propaganda offensive is driven by an ultimate nightmare, that J&K’s all-round development will have a massive demonstrational impact–encouraging an uprising in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan, where poverty and underdevelopment is rife. Already, the recent elections in PoK have triggered a spate of protests. Videos from the region, show crowds shouting pro-India slogans amid the controversial elections.
Having suffered the humiliation of Bangladesh, which emerged out of the erstwhile East Pakistan, Pakistani establishment’s horror would be to see a similar movement building up in the PoK seeking merger with India.
On the ground the situation is going India’s way. Launching a terror counteroffensive, Indian security forces killed 148 terrorists between January 2020 and July 30 inside the valley. This included heads of trophy militants including Riyaz Naikoo, the commander of Hizb-ul- Mujahideen, commander Haider of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad commander Kari Yasir and Burhan Koka of Ghazwat-ul-Hind .
Pakistan is also aware that far from annexing Kashmir, J and K, riding on massive and game-changing infrastructure projects, is set for a complete physical integration with the rest of the Union.
The brand-new Jammu-Baramulla railway line, now in an advanced stage of completion, is the symbol of this resurgent connectivity. The railway once completed will finally connect the picturesque Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, passing through difficult mountain terrain before reaching the foothills in Jammu—the junction that hooks up with the sprawling national network of the Indian railways.
During its route the train will cross over 750 bridges and pass through over 100 km of tunnels. The mighty Chenab River will be crossed at a height of 4314 feet above the river bed, 115 feet higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
–indianarrative
