India starts easing Kashmir curbs

Pakistan to set up special desks at all embassies

Authorities in Indianadministered Kashmir began restoring landline phone services yesterday after a nearly two-week security crackdown and news blackout following a decision by India’s government to downgrade the region’s autonomy.

Shahid Choudhary, a government administrator in Srinagar, the region’s main city, said restrictions were being lifted in most areas and government offices were open. He also said on Twitter that

food and other supplies were available “in abundance.”

Police said restrictions on the movement of people were relaxed in several parts of the region. “Situation remains peaceful,” they said on Twitter.

In Islamabad, the government has decided to set up a special cell on Kashmir at foreign office and a desk at all embassies. This was revealed by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi who chaired a high-level meeting to discuss the Kasmir situation and devise a plan of action following the UN Security Council meeting. The special cell would be responsible for devising future course of action, subject to his approval.

In the past fortnight since India withdrew a special status for the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has led a vocal charge to reverse the move. Across the country on Thursday, Pakistan’s flag remained at half mast in recognition of a day of solidarity with Kashmir — coinciding with India’s annual independence day.

On Friday, Pakistan’s request to the UN Security Council to discuss the matter which has evoked the latest round of tensions between the South Asian neighbours, came under discussion in New York.

Meanwhile, the intensity of crossfire between the Indian and Pakistani militaries in Kashmir has escalated in recent days, causing loss of lives and properties on both sides.

Given the latest build-up, it is clear that the ongoing round of frictions between India and Pakistan is just not likely to end any time soon. For Pakistan, the reaction to recent events in Kashmir has been driven by the centrality of the disputed region to Islamabad’s foreign policy. And Pakistan’s leaders have joined local politicians in the part of Kashmir under India’s administration to

claim that Prime Minister Modi’s removal of the region’s special status will inevitably allow people from across India to buy out properties in the picturesque region. Exactly how and when the tragic saga of Kashmir will lead to a period of calm and peace, remains unclear.

But as Pakistan becomes embroiled in the latest round with India, its ability to exert its influence worldwide will depend on the way the country handles itself internally. On the foreign front, events in Afghanistan from where US President Donald Trump is seeking to withdraw the bulk of American troops will be one important element for Pakistan’s profile.

In the recent past, since American negotiators began round after round of peace talks with Taliban representatives, Pakistan’s crucial role in resolving this matter has popped up time and again. Pakistan’s centrality to resolving the Afghan dispute is accepted globally. On Kashmir, Pakistani leaders have repeatedly stated their intent to reach out to key players while helping members of the Kashmiri communities worldwide to protest against the recent change. As long as Pakistan is confined to the use of peaceful means for promoting its view, Islamabad’s opposition to recent events in Kashmir will help its long-term objectives.

The country’s internal direction and outlook will be the key to its eventual success on multiple fronts. The Imran government has launched a plan to reform the economy under an IMF-driven loan programme. On the anti-corruption front, the drive appears to be largely focused on Imran’s political opponents, notwithstanding the few from his own political party who have also been taken to task. However, the anti-graft push still needs to address two inter-related gaps.

First, the push needs to be structured in a way that a new anti-corruption mechanism becomes embedded in daily lives. For ordinary Pakistanis going about their every day chores, confronting corruption has become a routine affair. This is one area where rebuilding the public’s confidence in the Pakistanis state must become central to the success of a new reform programme.

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Second, the anti-corruption drive must be ‘depoliticised’ as part of an essential national effort to clean up Pakistan. The end to the partisan complexion of this initiative will not only restore the public’s confidence in a long overdue reform.

On the economic front, Imran’s government has much to catch up on key gaps that will seal the fate of Pakistan’s future. In addition to reforming the tax collection system, other areas with gaps include creation of frameworks for promotion of investments and revitalisation of institutions to become facilitators for the economy.

Going forward as Pakistan publicises its case on Kashmir globally, both India and Pakistan need to work out their differences. Eventually, they must move beyond their disputes notably over Kashmir after a peaceful resolution. On the contrary, keeping this discord on the table will continue to keep in place the danger of a wider conflict, if not following a conscious policy choice then at least due to the remote possibility of an accidental event leading to a military escalation.

■ Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.