Ria Seth
The shortlisted essay for the UWCSEA-APP Peace Essay Competition

A region prone to volatile wars, Kashmir has been brutally disputed over between bordering nations India and Pakistan preliminary to the independence of these two nations in 1947. With both nations recognised as nuclear powers, the eruption of war and lack of cooperation between India and Pakistan constitutes a threat to international security. The consensus of ceasefire decided upon by India and Pakistan in 2003 was an unrealistic foreshadowing of future peace in the Kashmiri region, with future affairs dulling any anticipation we had for long-term peace in Kashmir.

Flowing through Kashmir, the significant Indus River holds engaging properties for both India and Pakistan; proving as a critical component in Pakistan’s agriculture industry, the river is simultaneously essential for India’s irrigation. The Indus and its tributaries inhabit an abundance of natural resources and have the potential to generate an immense amount of hydroelectricity. However, with these desirable characteristics and the geopolitically favourable location of Kashmir, the political unrest between nations India and Pakistan calls for implementable and pragmatic conflict-amelioration techniques.

One solution is revisiting the Kashmir 2004-07 instrument, which was forgone eventually when political issues arose between India and Pakistan. From this instrument, three of four main components are no longer salvageable. Hence, it is plausible to adapt the fourth main component, the demilitarisation of Kashmir, to the present day. To adjust it to the current circumstances, if both India and Pakistan extricate their troops from the civilian districts of Jammu and Kashmir, it gives way to opportunities for increased dialogue between the political parties of the two nations. At present, it is also logical to suggest a decrease of 8% in military spending by each nation annually, a significant enough amount to work towards demilitarisation of Kashmir, yet not creating detrimental fluctuations in the economy of either nation. The increased available government spending capacity as a result of this decrease can be diverted to the social and economic sectors of each nation, enhancing the development in the respective nations. The border between India and Pakistan itself needs to be demilitarised, which could only be enacted once a diplomatic agreement by both sides is reached.

In order to reach this diplomatic agreement, it is imperative to address another key solution; the fabrication of an entirely new treaty which would entail a legally binding agreement for India and Pakistan. Such a treaty would need to be formed during a meeting between the Defence Secretaries of India and Pakistan, which would take place in a neutral country, perhaps Singapore or Dubai. This treaty would need to include a myriad of essential information which is applicable to the present, yet adaptable for the future. The focal purpose of the treaty will be to resolve the issues which occur on the border of Kashmir through verbal communication. The treaty would thoroughly stress that this communication must occur before any military forces are sent to by either nation. In addition, the treaty must establish the final, official border of Kashmir, and hence prevent either side’s troops from crossing this border. In order to achieve this, the treaty should outline that 500 metres on either side of the border should be declared as a neutral non-military zone and emphasise the compulsory absence of armed forces in this region. Additionally, both India and Pakistan have been accused beforehand by each other for inducing terrorism in the other nation to destabilize the country. The treaty must handle this by prohibiting any unlawful terrorist activity created by either nation. Heavy penalties will be integrated into the stringent measures of the treaty, with the two countries deciding upon heavy sanctions which they will face if any aspect of the treaty is breached.

Both India and Pakistan have been found to accuse each other of violating their already fragile cease-fire agreement and respond by shooting, which is an issue of paramount importance. This often occurs when one nation claims they have seen action being taken by the other nation on the border, and are quick to respond by firing. To tackle this concern, a solution I propose would be the installation of centralised motion sensors and video cameras on the Kashmir border. These sensors and cameras would essentially feed the same footage into both sides, giving both India and Pakistan the same particulars. This would essentially serve as common surveillance of the border, where both nations receive the exact same information about the happenings taking place on the border’s whereabouts. This solution could be efficacious if implemented, as it proceeds to take away the most prevalent distrust factor between the two nations, where neither nation is known to take sufficient time to listen to the other side's statement before planning and executing military measures. This solution eliminates any false accusations that either country would otherwise have the capability to inculpate the other nation with, which has - in reality - been the basis for severe military action taken in the past.

The exigent propensity towards conflict between India and Pakistan, succinctly, requires active dialogue. Through harmonic collaboration between the two nations, a demilitarised border and civilian region of Kashmir is achievable. If the two countries are prepared to comprehend the dangers posed with the conflict persevering within its already volatile state, a treaty drawn up to create legal boundaries targets any loopholes that exist at the current time. Lastly, a relatively modern solution, the distribution of shared surveillance devices along the border opens up space for diplomatic discussion between India and Pakistan and eradicates distorted or even corrupt arguments that either nation may be making. In a final analysis, by encouraging the conciliatory approach of diplomatic communication between the conflicting nations of India and Pakistan, perhaps we can look towards the emergence of peace in the region of Kashmir, and advancement in the international relations and security we experience today.

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore.