By Sheraz Khan London
A week before the December 5 strike in Azad Kashmir, I personally conveyed a message to Pakistan’s incompetent government leadership, in the presence of a dozen British Kashmiris, stating that whether it’s Pakistan’s Kashmir policy or the affairs of Azad Kashmir, Kashmir is slipping out of Pakistan’s control. The situation needs to be rectified.
I belong to the generation of Pakistanis and Kashmiris who may disagree with the state of Pakistan and its military, but do not hate it or act against its interests, as our forefathers contributed to the creation of this country. However, the new generation growing up in Pakistan and Kashmir today is entirely different. They are conscious, logical, and demand reasoning. This generation is not interested in history — they don’t care about Quaid-e-Azam’s Fourteen Points or the Lahore Resolution of March 23, 1940. Slogans like “Long live this or that” are meaningless to them. They want immediate solutions to their problems.
Currently, Azad Kashmir is under a shutter-down strike, and people are facing hardships. Turning a blind eye like a pigeon will not help, nor can this issue be resolved without immediately addressing the demands of the people. One thing is clear: the solidarity displayed by the people of Azad Kashmir this time has made it very difficult for Rawalpindi or Islamabad to control the region. The responsibility lies with Pakistan’s leadership at this time.
The dream of merging Azad Kashmir into Pakistan or turning it into a province will never materialize, and controlling Muzaffarabad from Murree is also no longer feasible. Additionally, accusations like labeling dissenters as agents of RAW, Mossad, or India will no longer work.
In conclusion, public opinion in Azad Kashmir should have been respected earlier. Even now, it is not too late. This is a highly sensitive issue. Pashtuns and Baloch have already been alienated. The way Pakistan is being mishandled, damages inflicted, and hatred spread is dividing the majority of the country’s population, leading to widespread distrust. Why are seeds of hatred being sown in the hearts of Kashmiris as well? Is this not foolishness, or is it merely an attempt to prolong control through undemocratic means — a control without public support? True power lies in public support, exercised under the law of the land.
People are the essence of any country; without them, a country is just a wilderness, not a nation.
