| By Dr Muhammad Khan
AMIDST genocide of Kashmiris by Indian security forces, the Government of the United Arab Emirates has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hindu Governor of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) regarding development of real estate and industrial park including a super specialty hospital.
This is first ever direct foreign engagement in IIOJK which stands against the spirit of UN resolutions.
As per UN resolutions, the state of Jammu and Kashmir is disputed, hence no foreign engagement can be undertaken until its decision as per the wishes of Kashmiris.
The disputed nature of Jammu and Kashmir is recognized by India and Pakistan besides international community as pronounced in the UN resolutions.
The act of the UAE Government (signing a MoU) is thus more damaging one, amounting to backstabbing the Kashmiris.
The UAE authorities in collaboration some other key state (s) of GCC were overtly supporting India once New Delhi unilaterally annexed IIOJK with Indian Union on August 5, 2019.
Even OIC forum was pursued by these states not support Pakistani stance over Kashmir. This was very unfortunate act by the Muslim states of GCC, especially the key states of this region.
Besides IIOJK, India has been perpetrating reign of terror over the Muslim population of India for the last two decades but, neither these Muslim states nor the OIC forum was able to raise voice against Indian tyranny.
Now, once India is at the peak of killing the Kashmiri Muslims, the UAE and, behind the scene its GCC collaborators are deepening their relations with the proponents of Hindutva; the BJP Government. It is a matter of indignity for these so-called Muslim States.
The Muslim states of Arab world must know that, since its invasion of Jammu and Kashmir on 27 October 1947, India is pursuing an incorrect and illegal claim over IIOJK.
In 1947, India had only one plea that, Maharaja of Kashmir had signed an Instrument of Accession with India.
India referred this sole appeal to the United Nations, once it lodged its complaint on 01 January 1948.
In order to maintain its occupation of the state, it introduced Article 370 of its Constitution which was a temporary, transitional and provisional arrangement to create the linkage between India and the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
On 05 August 2019 after passage of seventy-two years, India annexed the India-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir with Indian while quoting the same plea.
The UAE, KSA and other states have been supporting the Pakistani stance over Kashmir ever since the 1950s.
What has gone wrong with the contemporary ruling elites of this Muslim region?
Indeed, India neither had the legal provisions to keep IIOJK under its occupation for over seven decades nor any reasons to annex IIOJK with India on 05 August 2019.
Article 370 was to remain valid until conduct of the plebiscite in the state as per UN resolutions.
It got a provisional acceptance from the Constituent Assembly of the India-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir forcefully.
After provisional approval of this Article, the Constituent Assembly of IOK was dissolved in 1956. Undoing the Article was to be done by the Constitutional Assembly or at least Legislative Assembly of IOJK without which it stands illegal and unconstitutional.
On 05 August 2019, Indian Government implemented its long-awaited agenda of illegal annexation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir as union territories under Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act-2019.
This illegal Act was implemented on 31 October 2019 without any consent of the people, the State Assembly and, above all, in violation of its own Constitution and the Constitution of IOK.
The UAE, GCC, Arab League and OIC should have threatened India to sever the diplomatic and economic relations once India annexed the state rather signing MoU. Indeed, India found a favourable atmosphere in GCC and OIC thus.
On 01 April 2020, it introduced yet another law for the grant of Kashmiri citizenship to Indian nationals, a plan to make massive demographic changes in the IIOJK. This was yet another illegal act, OIC and GCC did not oppose.
Article 49 of the Fourth (4th) Geneva Convention-1949 provides adequate protection to local civil population of any occupying territory with respect to the right over their land and security against making any demographic changes in the composition of the original population.
India is a signatory state of the Geneva Convention-1949, therefore bound to observe and follow the Convention in its essence.
Shifting its own population in occupied parts of the Jammu and Kashmir is total illegal which must be stopped by UNO, international community and the OIC.
In order to continue the genocide of the Kashmiri youth, Indian secret services stage managed a drama of killing Indian migrants and workers in IIOJK.
This drama was aimed to further target the youth of IIOJK who did not reconcile the Indian act of annexation of the state and demographic changes, it (India) is making in IIOJK.
The people of Jammu and Kashmir anticipated Muslim States of the Arab world and OIC to support them against Indian occupation in their right of self-determination as per UN resolutions.
They also looked for the practical support by OIC, GCC and larger international community to restrain India from the massive human rights violations; it is conducting ever since 1990.
Indeed, the signing of MoU by the UAE with illegal Government in IIOJK is an act of recognising IIOJK as part of Indian Territory which goes against UN resolutions, international law and 4th Geneva Convention.
The Government of Pakistan must reach over to the UAE Government and OIC for the stoppage of Indo-UAE collaboration in the IIOJK.
— The writer is Professor of Politics and IR at International Islamic University, Islamabad.