Kashmir
dispute and right to travel
Dr Shabir Choudhry 19 January 2013
It was sad to note that
respectable citizens of State of Jammu and Kashmir, Vijay Abrol and Darvinder Singh Behal were arrested and harassed by Pakistan’s
secret agency, ISI that is known as ‘state within state’ and that has no
respect for human rights. It is unfortunate that citizens of Jammu and Kashmir
are forcibly divided by India and Pakistan and we have to obtain a visa for
either India or Pakistan if we wish to visit the other part of the State. Both Vijay Abrol and Darvinder Singh Behal reside in Jammu, and entered
Pakistan on a valid visit visa; and yet they were arrested because the
Pakistani establishment and their puppets have little respect for human rights
and legal documents.
Right to
assemble and right to movement (travel) are fundamental human rights. By
illegally arresting these guests of people of Azad Kashmir, authorities have
violated: Universal Declaration of Human
Rights; the UNCIP Resolutions, Pakistani Law, International Law and Islamic
Law. It won’t be possible to give details of all laws mentioned above; however,
I will quote relevant sections of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, article 13 of which states:
1) ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the
borders of each state.’
2)
The
authorities are also in breach of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 2, which
states:
‘Everyone
is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other
status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the
political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory
to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing
or under any other limitation of sovereignty.’
Those who arrested these guests
and respectable citizens of Jammu and Kashmir demonstrated that their action
was also discriminatory and communal in nature. In the past, especially after
July 1988, Muslim Kashmiris came in thousands by crossing the LOC without any
documents, and authorities and the secret agencies of Pakistan welcomed them
with open arms just because they wanted to get arms, training and funds that
they can go back to fight Indian army in Kashmir.
Darvinder Singh Behal and Vijay Abrol, on the other hand were non Muslims and came here with a
message of peace. They represented Jammu and Kashmir Peace Forum and
wanted to promote peace, good will and better understanding among the forcibly
divided people. The local people welcomed them and held various functions in
their honour. Their message was very encouraging
and advanced the cause of peace and unity. Darvinder Singh Behal said:
‘We people of Jammu and Kashmir are one nation; and we want to be united
and live as a nation. We are one and must remain one.’
He further said: ‘Attempts are being made to divide people of
Jammu and Kashmir in name of religion. The Kashmir dispute is not religious in
nature. It is a political issue and must be resolved peacefully. The use of
force will not help us to resolve this issue.’
On issue of All Parties Hurriyet Conference which is promoted by Pakistan as a representative of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Darvinder Singh Behal said:
‘Hurriyet Conference does not represent people of Jammu and Kashmir.
They don’t represent people of Jammu, people of Ladakh, people of Gilgit
Baltistan and people of Azad Kashmir. One can say, at best, they represent
people of the Valley of Kashmir’.
Those who arrested Darvinder Singh Behal and Vijay Abrol did not appreciate the agenda they were
promoting. However, their message was very well received by all peace loving
people here. Azad Kashmiri civil society, political parties and newspapers
arranged various functions to promote this message of peace and co existence;
and those who advanced communalism and hatred were alarmed by this. They did
not like their presence and their message, as they thought this message of
peace, love and coexistence was a serious threat to their agenda.
Furthermore, they thought the kind
of welcome these people had in Azad Kashmir would encourage other people from
there to visit this region, and that could strengthen the bond among the divided
people. Interaction between the divided people would surely result in better
understanding and boost the Kashmiri nationalism. The prospect of an
independent Jammu and Kashmir, peace and harmony is against their interests; so
despite the valid documents they arrested them. They also arrested Arif Shahid,
President of Jammu Kashmir National Liberation Council, who was taking them
from Mirpur.
The secret agencies thought this
harassment and intimidation would send a clear signal that they don’t want
anyone coming from there with a message of peace and coexistence; and they
don’t want anyone from Azad Kashmir to accommodate them and promote this kind
of message. Furthermore, they don’t want anyone to criticise their sponsored
Hurriyet Conference and expose them.
This strategy proved to be counter
productive, as civil society of Azad Kashmir, political parties and ordinary
members of the society strongly opposed this; and demanded their immediate
release. Demonstrations were held in various towns of Azad Kashmir condemning
the arrests and demanding their immediate release. This show of strength and
strong resentment forced the authorities to release the visitors. However, Arif
Shahid was released a day after, may be just to make him realise that his crime
of providing a lift to these guests was very serious.
The arrests were made on flimsy charges that their
visas were only for Pakistan. If this claim has any merit then one may ask, why
Muslims who crossed over the LOC to obtain weapons and training were not
arrested; and why they were welcomed, accommodated and dignified. Furthermore,
Hurriyet Conference or other Muslim leaders when they visit Pakistan, why they
are allowed to visit Azad Kashmir and provided with full protocol?
In a case reported as
Ayub Azeez Khan V Jammu and Kashmir Council (PLD 1995 Azad J&K1), citizens
of Jammu and Kashmir from the Indian control Kashmir entered Pakistan on Indian
passports and then shifted to Azad Kashmir. They sought directions from the
High Court that they should not be pushed ‘back to Indian held Kashmir’, and
should be allowed to reside in Azad Kashmir permanently. The High Court
observed that they had ‘valid right to reside in any part of the Azad Kashmir,
and thus, they could not be forcibly deported to Indian held Kashmir’. It was
further observed that ‘the mode of travelling on passports could not place
embargo on the vested rights of the State Subjects to reside permanently in
Azad Kashmir’.
So one can see from the above that the secret
agencies of Pakistan had ulterior motives in arresting these people; and that it
was clearly human rights violation aimed at inflicting fear and intimidation. I
urge both India and Pakistan to ease visa restrictions and open all traditional
routes linking the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir that people of
the divided State could interact and trade with each other. This process will
help to promote peace and stability and find amicable solution of the Kashmir
dispute.
Also I urge people of Jammu and Kashmir to continue
their struggle for fundamental rights, including unfettered right to determine
their future that we can live as a nation and protect our history, culture and
identity. I further request them to visit the regions divided by the LOC and
build bridges of understanding to promote peace, stability and unification of
the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Writer
is a political analyst and author of many books and booklets. Also he is
Director Institute of Kashmir Affairs.Email:drshabirchoudhry@gmail.com
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