American President Donald Trump opened a debate in the South Asian region on the long-frozen issue of Jammu Kashmir – a disputed territory divided between Pakistan, India and China – and confirmed his availability for Islamabad and New Delhi to discuss things in the right direction.
“I will work with you both to see if, after a thousand years, a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir,” he said in his social media post. Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to United Nations Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told reporters last week that lasting peace in South Asia requires that the Security Council implements its own resolutions, including holding of a UN-supervised plebiscite to let Kashmiris determine their own future.
“I am very proud of the strong and unwaveringly powerful leadership of Pakistan and India for having strength, wisdom, and fortitude to fully know and understand that it was time to stop the current aggression that could have (led) to the death and destruction of so many, and so much,” the American president wrote on his social media post. “Millions of good and innocent people could have died! Your legacy is greatly enhanced by your brave actions,” he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lauded the American president for his most valuable offer to play a greater role in bringing lasting peace to South Asia. “I am extremely grateful to President Donald Trump for his pathbreaking leadership and commitment to global peace,” he said. For decades, he said Pakistan and the US had been partners who worked together closely to protect and promote mutual interests as well as for peace and security in critical parts of the world. He said that the American president would play his role to reinvigorate the Pak-US strategic partnership.
In Islamabad, Foreign Office welcomed the latest statement of President Donald Trump regarding Pak-India relations and appreciated his willingness to support efforts to resolve longstanding Jammu Kashmir issue. Pakistan reaffirms that the lasting settlement of the Kashmir issue must be in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and must ensure realization of the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people, including their right to self-determination.
“Full marks to President Donald Trump for showing bold leadership for peace, as he’s a leader with a difference, unlike his predecessors who had proclivity to tilt towards India and were too scared to even mention the ‘K’ word,” said Mushahid Hussain Sayed, a policy analyst, author, and a former lawmaker. He said that the American president’s efforts to seek Kashmir settlement are welcome ad much appreciated as Kashmir is central to abiding peace, security and stability for the one fifth of humanity, residing in the South Asian region.
“We can see that Pakistan is now more relevant in current global order,” Zunaira Azhar, journalist and analyst from Lahore, said while commenting on Pakistan’s clear victory against India. “Kashmir is now once again on the global stage and Pakistan can bring this core issue in front of the world community with full force,” she said, and pointed out that the American president was now showing his ‘interest’ to resolve conflicts in different parts of the world, including Jammu Kashmir issue. She called the latest situation satisfactory and in favor of Pakistan.
With powerful military and professionalism, she said that Pakistan and China jointly challenged hegemon openly and clearly after India tried to become a ‘big boss’ in the South Asian region. “We can see that no one in the past tries to challenge ‘hegemony’ of the United States, Israel, and the West who were once considered as the ‘most powerful’ after the World War II,” the analyst said. “China has proven his friendship with Pakistan in tough time,” she said, and hoped that now there would be more space for Pakistan as China would have share on the world stage.
Journalist and TV show host Hamid Mir appreciated the latest statement of the American president over Kashmir. “Thank you, President Donald Trump, for reminding the world about Kashmir. Solution to this dispute will definitely bring peace in South Asia,” he wrote. “This is the first time when the US is dealing Pakistan as equal to India,” journalist Bashir Chaudhry pointed out. “I doubt the US administration’s interest in Kashmir will last once it dusts off the old files to see why previous rounds of peace talks failed,” said Myra MacDonald, book author, and specialist in South Asia.
“When two parties manage their affairs bilaterally, third-party mediation can often restore the status quo, but rarely results in substantial development or behavioral change. Pakistan and India do have a framework for dialogue, which includes Kashmir but achieving meaningful progress requires courage and long-term commitment,” Muhammad Amir Rana, an Islamabad-based security analyst, wrote in his article. “When conflict escalates and brings nations to the brink of war, third-party mediation is often considered a blessing, as it at least halts the momentum of conflict and allows emotions to settle,” he wrote.
“Even if the ceasefire has silenced the guns for now, there is little doubt that they will speak again,” Jason Burke, book author and security correspondent of The Guardian newspaper, wrote in his latest piece. “Coming weeks will see a new battle of narratives if this ceasefire holds,” he wrote. “Kashmir means much more to India than a stunning backdrop for movies. India’s first post-independence leaders, secular and often left-leaning, made a point of fighting for Kashmir,” he said, and explained the last weeks have shown that India’s current leaders, rightwing religious nationalists, would do so too.
In the aftermath of 1998 nuclear tests, Pakistan has linked Kashmir to a nuclear flash point to attract world attention to stress the need for the indulgence of the international community to resolve the core issue. Initially, the UN has played an ‘advisory role’ in maintaining order in Jammu Kashmir since 1947, when a dispute erupted on the question of accession over the princely state. Experts commented that the UN Security Council regarded the Kashmir issue as a ‘purely’ political dispute without investigating its legal underpinnings.
