Farooz Ahmad Lone
There is a debate rather uproar in India these days over an offer to “mediate in Kashmir” made by the president of the US, Donald Trump. Trump’s offer catalyzed “political storm”- as a writer in The Quint put it- in New Delhi. The president of America made the offer during a meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan who is on a three-day visit to the US.
Referring to a meeting with Modi on the sidelines of G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan weeks ago, Trump further claimed that the PM of India Narrendra Modi offered him to mediate in Kashmir which caused a brisk reaction from the politicians in India. They denied the claim while Modi kept Mum. India also repeated that the dispute is a bilateral issue.
This is PM Khan’s first ever official visit to the US since getting elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. And the visit is considered as triumphant as he got Trump to offer mediation in Kashmir. But this all matters least for Kashmir as things alike have already occurred a million times in the past. These things usually come up at the heat of the moment and pleasing a guest. However, if someone be it Modi, Imran Khan or Trump really put efforts with a commitment and determination to resolve Kashmir will be remembered as a Hero in rest of the history.
In this era where people all over the world celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first step on the moon by a human being, we in this part of the world still demand our rights, fighting for it what French did centuries back. Kashmir is unfortunate place to live in keeping the situation and pending unfulfilled demands in view.
Kashmir, haplessly, stands still what it did a three-fourths of a century back. Rotting life amidst bullying brothers- the brothers who, being victim of a Whiteman’s blood-spattered kinda thing called partition, night and day see themselves through the barrel of gun. Grisly blare gunshots- notwithstanding who pulls the trigger- piercing deep-sleep penultimates Mu’azzin’s dawn Azaan sets out a day and people mourning after funerals in the dusk wraps up the day and the routine keeps repeating. The same clangorous situation swinging between simmering and boiling but unluckily never calms or resolves. And finally, I would call it the same Kashmir Wedded to wrangling as ever.
As everyone else living on this planet, we Kashmir’s too tightly abhor being kicked to and fro like soccer athletes do to a soccer ball. In fact, we- when I use this personal pronoun it means people across LOC- condemn in tough terms whosoever play us as pawns in this filthy lose-lose situation. For civilized humans, this is doubtlessly inhuman what the folks of Kashmir across the Line of Control (LOC) have been undergoing since the sinister chapter- Partition- was written in the books. Let us know our sin what are we being punished for. Is it because we want our rights? Or because we want a permanent solution to the dispute? Or we are the grass suffering between the two fighting bulls?
Enough is enough; we want it to stop now. Stop using us scapegoats. Stop playing us pawns. Stop wickedly channelizing and misusing our sentiments for filthy geo-economic political gains. Stop the violence here. Stop the brutal HR violation across the line. Stop hampering our all-round development and growth. Stop all this bullshit. Yes, stop it.
Now, this excruciating status quo- the Kashmiri people strive to escape from by hook or crook- must go. This should have to be transformed into successful eternal resolution for the benefit of the trio: The people of Kashmir, India and Pakistan. Else its effects would devour the whole globe- Nucleus being the subcontinent-someday perceiving the eternal impending dormant threat the nukes of India and Pakistan pose. We are living with nothing but hope. The hope, this time, is pinned to the trio now- Imran Khan, Modi and Trump. May be some kind of miracle happens. May be there is blessing in disguise.(KNB)