It is a geopolitical contest between national governments that are rooted in national interests, notions of security, and the regional dynamics of ethnic and religious nationalism and militancy. Logrolling offer with high variance may be tampered with by another factor. In a wide range of conflicts, equal division of resources is assumed as the ‘fair’ or expected solution. An integrative offer would typically involve high inter-issue variance: the initiating party offers concessions on low priority issues while making tough demands regarding issues of higher priority to herself. Kashmir is comprised of five provinces; which are home to Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. Muslims are in majority and Hindus are the second largest group. Logrolling may categorize a combination of some losses and some gains. In the Kashmir dispute, this technique is not applicable because of Kashmir’s unique strategic position that neither India nor Pakistan wants to give their part of Kashmir. The United States should view relations between India and Pakistan, as well as the situation in Kashmir, as a critical foreign policy issue. U.S. engagement has primarily been relegated to crisis management as opposed to a sophisticated, committed, and sustained resolution strategy.
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Despite many resolutions and
debates, the issue of Kashmir is still unsolved for the past 73 years. Between
1948 and 1971, the UN passed 23 resolutions on Kashmir Conflict which had to be
implemented by the concerned states but the change in the stance of the Indian
government lead to the deadlock and halted the implementation of these
resolutions.
Kashmiri people are peace-loving and secular-minded. “Pakistan’s
main objective was to put the forgotten issue of Kashmir on the international
agenda”. Pakistan’s nuclear capability now grants it some assurances that the
international community cannot remain idle and watch the escalation of the
conflict between two nuclear powers over Kashmir. When conflicts are caused by
a lack of resources, resolution can often occur by ‘expanding the pie’. The
reason behind this is that Kashmiris were promised by United Nations the right
of self-determination by which they can choose between India, Pakistan, or independence.
Independence is perhaps the most difficult solution for Kashmir.
Kashmir is located in between two developing countries. Even now vast segments of the population in
these two countries are illiterate and poverty-stricken and even thought of
giving independence to Kashmir threatens to make these countries unstable. So
expanding the pie is also not applicable in this account. Hindu extremism in
India and Muslim extremism in Pakistan is another serious challenge facing both
these countries. So it would be difficult for Indians and Pakistanis to believe
that Kashmir deserves the right to be an independent country.
Trade between India and Pakistan should be promoted to create and
support a mutual dependence, which would assist them in addressing the Kashmir
issue. Increasing trade would also mobilize the business communities as a
possible peace constituency with a direct stake in the resolution of the
dispute by generating new linkages between the communities and creating
mutually beneficial incentives for peace. Nonspecific compensation negotiation
techniques can be applied in the matter of trade. In nonspecific compensation,
one party gets what it wants by repaying the other party with something
unrelated to the source of conflict. The Indian and Pakistani Diasporas should
also be explored and mobilized as possible peace constituencies as they
regularly fund and support specific activities and leaders of their homelands.
Efforts to enhance the exchange of ideas through the media should be pursued to
transform perceptions among Indians, Pakistanis, and Kashmiris. These kinds of
activities are increasing, but there are sectors of Pakistani and Indian
societies that could better be reached by articulating and explaining views of
the opposing side in their respective languages. This would reduce
misperceptions and mistrust and enhance the exchange of information and
opinions, particularly in places that require exposure to peace-oriented news
and issues. Contacts between Indian, Pakistani, and Kashmiri parliaments should
be encouraged.
Continuous exchanges of this nature would assist politicians to
form new contacts with a view toward peace to discuss concrete incentives for
peace, such as increasing trade and security and exploiting services that would
create and support a mutual dependence between India and Pakistan as well
Kashmir. Peace dividends among the parties should be explored to reveal
incentives toward peace. The Kashmir issue is critical to security in Pakistan.
A solution without the participation, wishes, and aspirations of
the Kashmiri people would not last. A boundary that is the Line of Actual
Control, divides the region in two, with one part administered by India and one
by Pakistan. India would like to formalize this status quo and make it the
accepted international boundary. But Pakistan and Kashmiri activists reject
this plan because they both want greater control over the region. Because of
the state's majority Muslim population, it believes that it would vote to
become part of Pakistan. In cost-cutting, there are high joint benefits, not
because one party has changed its position, but because the other party suffers
less by conceding to the demand. So this technique is also not suitable to
solve the Kashmir dispute. The reason is that the option to give more autonomy
to Jammu Kashmir within India seems to be a feasible idea to India and to those
who wish to remain under the Indian administration. But that option will be
unacceptable to Pakistan, those who want to join Pakistan, and those who wish
for full independence. The last option is that of maintaining the present
situation, that is maintaining the status quo, which means Jammu Kashmir
remains under Indian control, contested by Pakistan and the rebels, the area
continues to face constant security problems. Prevention of Terrorism Act
(POTA) repeal would go a long way toward improving the human rights situation
in Jammu and Kashmir. The government should follow all safeguards in the
implementation of other special laws, such as the Public Safety Act (PSA), the
Armed Forces Special Powers Act, and the Disturbed Areas Act. Therefore, the
Kashmir conflict cannot be resolved by any integrative bargaining technique. It
will be solved by a hybrid approach.
This article is written by Hadiqa Tariq, one of the contributors at the School of Literature.
