With US president Barack Hussein Obama seeking China’s help in normalizing the relations between nuclear arch rivals, India and Pakistan, the Chinese government has started making inroads in Indian administered Kashmir (IaK), much to the delight of the separatist leadership in the region.
A Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) of China has invited one of the senior separatist Kashmiri leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to present his perspective about the Kashmir dispute in Beijing.
This is the first instance during the 20-year old turmoil in Kashmir that China has shown interest in hosting a Kashmiri separatist leader and willingness to listen his point of view about the issue, which is a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. The two countries have fought three wars and were close to nuclear war in 1998 to wrest the control the region, which has been declared as “nuclear flashpoint” by former US president Bill Clinton.
“I have been invited by a Chinese NGO to Beijing. I will go there after the holy festival of Eid-ul-Azha, which falls on November 28. I have to speak about the Kashmiri perspective of the Kashmir issue. I will tell them that Kashmir is a political issue and not a territorial or religious dispute,” said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a Kashmiri separatist leader, who intends to hold separate talks with Indian and Pakistan government on Kashmir issue.
Welcoming the recent joint statement of US and Chinese presidents in Beijing, the Kashmiri separatist leader said, “Although China is not a party to the Kashmir dispute but it definitely has a stake in the region’s peace as it is an emerging power and Pakistan has given some part of Kashmir to the country as well,” he said.
China occupied Aksa Chin from India after 1962 war and was gifted 5000 sq kms territory of Kashmir by Pakistan in 1963.
The political observers in Kashmir attach significance to China’s renewed interest in Kashmir. “Since the eruption of turmoil in Kashmir in 1989, China has been silent and never gave any space to the separatist voices. One of the senior separatist leaders in 1990s had sought appointment with Chinese envoy in Indian capital to discuss the Kashmir issue but was politely refused permission by the embassy officials,” said a political science teacher of University of Kashmir, highest seat of learning in Kashmir.
The China government is already providing special travel documents – stapled visa – to Kashmiri citizens intending to travel to the country. The visa, however, is not being entertained by India and as a result scores of Kashmiris were not allowed to visit China by Indian authorities.
The China’s Kashmir interest will further strain the relations between India and China. India has accused the Chinese army and Air force of incursions and air violations in Indian territory. Chinese government recently opposed the visit of Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama into India state of Arunachal Pradesh. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as its territory and accuses India of ‘illegally occupying it’.
China’s interest in Kashmir is not good news for India, which has already expressed its reservations over America’s moves to seek Chinese help in stabilizing South Asia. “India will now found itself cornered. Pakistan has always been talking about resolution of Kashmir dispute and has been linking Kashmir resolution with the success against ‘war on terror’. The US administration too is trying to encourage India and Pakistan to resume the dialogue process and resolve the vexed Kashmir issue and now with China’s entry things will get complicated for India,” said a Kashmir analyst.
He said with assistance from China, Pakistan can further increase the pressure on Indian government to resolve the 60-year old Kashmir dispute.
However, a senior pro-Indian Kashmiri leader and former deputy chief minister of the region, Muzaffar Hussain Beigh opposes Chinese involvement in Kashmir issue. “We have already got three stake holders on Kashmir issue and the entry of China will further complicate the issue and its resolution. We need to keep China away from it,” he said.
Beigh said that China is playing Kashmir card to pressure India to soften its stand on Dalai Lama and Arunachal Pradesh issue.
But the China’s interest in Kashmir has brought delight among the separatist leadership. Believing in maxim “enemy of enemy is a friend,” most of them feel that China’s involvement will pressurize India to seek a peaceful settlement of the issue.
The political observers feel that it will be difficult now to keep the dragon away. “Now it has to be seen what will be the effect of dragon’s entry into Kashmir,” they added.
Let us wait and watch!
(The author is a journalist based in Indian administered Kashmir and can be reached at fayazwani123@gmail.com)
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