You would be forgiven if you have never heard of Kashmir. Located in the foothills of the Himalayas, this is an area well off the beaten track. However, this once unheard of region is now dominating news cycles, and some people are struggling to understand why.
To understand the current geopolitical climate surrounding Kashmir, we have to go back to independence from the British Empire and the 1947 Partition of India.
Pakistani-backed troops had invaded a Kashmir region vying for its own independence, and the only way Kashmir saw a potential for future independence was to secede to India.
Once hostilities between India and Pakistan had cooled off however, Kashmir had been virtually carved in half. India had all but ruled out the question of independence for Kashmir, and Pakistan had kept hold of the areas they had successfully invaded.
The Kashmir question had been suppressed by the aftermath of the partition, and the resulting casualty count that reached into the millions. Neither side wanted to yield any land that they now possessed.
Over the years, Kashmir has still been vocal about independence, but their cries have largely fallen on deaf ears outside of the region. Increased military presence on both sides of the UN-designated ‘Line of Control’ has done little to quell this desire.
Fast forward to the modern day, and the region is now at a tripoint of disputed borders, with all involved parties being nuclear armed states.
Chinese involvement in the region must be frustrating on both sides, but it is suffered by Pakistan in order to leverage India in any future negotiation concerning the Kashmir question.
China’s involvement simply cannot be downplayed.
India and China have always held a frosty relationship. Both countries are nuclear states, are home to the world’s largest population centres, and have a vested interest in extending their borders as far as possible to protect the valuable ‘heartlands’ of their interiors.
This relationship has turned into something of a rivalry during the 21st Century, and Pakistani cooperation with Beijing has never sat well with India.
Chinese projects within Pakistan as part of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative are evidential signs of China’s plans to control trade between the Middle-East and East Asia, diluting Indian bargaining power when it comes to accessing the global markets.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor not only serves to strengthen Pakistan’s economy and side-line India from the proposed network, but it also undermines Indian sovereignty claims within Kashmir. Where India continues to neglect the area of Kashmir it controls, Pakistan and China are pumping in resources to improve infrastructure within the planned corridor route.
Once again tensions are bubbling over the edge, after a suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir, and the Indian bombing of a suspected terrorist camp within Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
Aware of the historical differences between the countries, it was reckless for India to carry out unauthorised military action outside of their internationally recognised sovereignty, regardless of whether or not their intelligence is found to be sound.
The revelation that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has supposedly given a ‘free hand’ to his military for future courses of action should now come as no surprise to us.
Pakistan’s response has been slightly confusing. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s televised statement urging for talks between the two nations is a dignified response, but militarised retaliation on the same day, coupled with the capture of an Indian pilot, leaves us puzzled as to how Pakistan intends to play this one out.
With tensions still sky-high, and the international community urging restraint, time is ticking for a solution to the Kashmir question.
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