Page 14 - The Indian EYE 091021

OPINION SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 | The Indian Eye 14

The PTI won majority of spite to tighten hold over what
26 seats, followed by the PPP is deceitfully seized without
with 11 seats and the PML-N much notice being taken.
restricted to 6, and one each Imran Khan’s speech on
won by state-based All Jammu the Kashmir Solidarity Day, 5
and Kashmir Muslim Confer- February 2021, reiterated Pa-
ence (AJKMC) and Jammu kistan’s revisionism and its un-
Kashmir Peoples Party (JKPP). abashed penchant to occupy
PM Imran Khan thanked the the entire Kashmir wherein he
people of the so-called AJK for noted that both the so-called
voting in favour of PTI for the AJK and J&K must first ac-
very first time. cede to Pakistan and then Pa-
In the discourse on the so- kistan will give them the right
called AJK, a proverbial ques- Imran Khan addresses an election rally in the occupied area to either remain with it or be-
tion that has come up—though come independent—a some-
with limited traction—is how what preposterous proposition.
“Azad” is the so-called Azad In reality, the so-called AJK
Kashmir? This is a pertinent merely embodies the façade of
question and lies at the core Pakistan’s Kashmir strategy—
of not only the so-called AJK’s one that pursues the illusionary
electoral politics but also of the truth effect—make believe by
broader Kashmir question. It is repeatedly calling Indian J&K
a well-established truth that the as “Maqbooza” Kashmir and
so-called AJK is neither Azad never really letting the focus
(independent) nor sovereign train on real “Maqbooza”, i.e.,
and is merely given a fallacious the so-called AJK.
wrap of an independent nation. The so-called AJK has been
A very basic and fundamen- rightly described as the “rump”
tal flaw in the construct on the area devoid of attention.26
so-called “Azad Kashmir” is The area under occupation of Pakistan has been a breeding ground for Given its proximity to J&K, it
the reality of the prevalence of terrorist groups has an extensive network of
mainstream political parties of terrorist launch pads across
Pakistan in the region includ- es and influence to muster ister, no action could be taken the LoC. The region has been
ing in Gilgit-Baltistan. Even a votes in the region.20 However, against him, since he is not a fulcrum of Pakistan-unleashed
cursory glance at the history of it is also important to note that member of the so-called AJK terrorism against India. It is
the electoral politics in the so- respective terms do not usual- legislature and, hence, beyond unfortunate that a dispropor-
called AJK makes it apparent ly correspond to the tenure of the purview of the so-called tionate focus on J&K and an
that the mainstream Pakistani the establishment in Islamabad. AJK EC. acute deficit in the case of the
parties have remained at the As a result, there is acute fric- The so-called Azad Kashmir so-called AJK’s representation
helm. tion during the interregnums/ is a delusionary visage or coun- in the international discourse
If the region is a sovereign phases. tenance that Pakistan has tried on Kashmir has benefitted Pa-
entity pending final resolution Similarly, the electoral to use as a bulwark in its time- kistan’s revisionist agenda at
of a bilateral dispute, what ex- framework with as many as 12 old Kashmir strategy. Raising the expense of India’s strategic
plains the pre-dominance of refugee seats representing ref- a so-called Azad Kashmir gov- discomfiture.
the political parties of Paki- ugees from the Kashmir Valley ernment back in 1947 partial-
stan (in contrast to the polit- and Jammu gives added room ly served Pakistan’s strategic Priyanka Singmh is Associate
ical landscape in J&K where for Islamabad to influence the designs in the earlier years. By Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar
regional parties remained at balance of votes or seats in its doing so, Pakistan was able to Institute for Defence Studies
the helm with national parties favour as these seats are spread dodge international attention and Analyses, New Delhi
confined to a supporting role). in parts of Pakistan and are, in a crucial span of time, when Views expressed are of
The second most important therefore, easier to manipulate. the issue was hotly debated at
contention is that usually, the The 2021 electoral cam- the UN. Secondly, and more the author and do not neces-
Azad Kashmir election follows paign threw up another fla- importantly, Pakistan was able sarily reflect the views of the
a simple pattern. The people grant anomaly in the context to camouflage its seizure of the Manohar Parrikar IDSA or of
the Government of India.
vote in overwhelming numbers of the so-called AJK’s elector- Gilgit Baltistan region, being
for the party incumbent in Is- al politics. The so-called AJK able to showcase the so-called This is the abridged version of
lamabad mainly for what has Election Commission could not AJK as the role model juxta- the article which appeared first
been called “survival instincts”, take decisive action against Ali posed to the centrepiece of the in the Comment section of the
to get maximum support from Amin Gandapur’s violation of Kashmir debate, i.e., the J&K website (www.idsa.in) of Mano-
Islamabad for developmental code of conduct. It is believed under India’s control. It was har Parrikar Institute for De-
projects or simply because the that even if a case was regis- perhaps this false pretence of fense Studies and Analyses, New
party in power uses its resourc- tered against the Federal Min- “Azadi” that gave Pakistan re- Delhi on September 6, 2021

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