Pakistan & Saudi joint Initiative on Kashmir issue resolution

Context

Recently, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman met together and made a statement which is a remarkable step of Pakistan and Saudi joint initiative on Kashmir issue resolution.

Key Highlights of the Kashmir issue

• Historical Dispute: Kashmir is a protracted interstate dispute of states India, Pakistan and China.
• UN Intervention: The UN’s resolutions, designed to carry out the plebiscite that would indicate how the region’s fate would be, are delayed to implementation which in turn does not bring about any conviction.
• Line of Control: The area includes the Line of Control (LoC) on the boundary line separating India from Pakistan -controlled territory.
• Article 370: India’s revocation of the Article 370 in the month of August 2019 led to the cancellation of JAMMU KASHMIR’S special status, which in return led towards the tensions.
• Human Rights Concerns: Allegations of human rights infractions and military law enforcing are the main ingredients of the crisis.
• International Relations: Kashmir issue being Pak-India relation’s explosive issue be it in terms of national or regional security.
• Insurgency: There have also been movements for insurgency either seeking secession or integration in Pakistan.

Analysis on the recent Initiative by Pakistan and Saudi

• The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Salman, had an official meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, at Al-Safa palace in the city of Mecca.
• The leaders considered the need for dialogue between Pakistan and India as the salient factor to be resolved in the first place. The issue of Kashmir conflict can be resolved this way which is the only way to bring peace and stability in the region.
• Through the statement, both sides agreed that peace can only be restored through talks and India continued to persevere with its position that Kashmir was a bilateral issue over which no third party should interfere.
• Saudi Arabia supports Indian claims that Kashmir is an internal issue which is a justification for its carefully considered stance on the Kashmir problem.
• India has always insisted that the Kashmir problem must be settled by the two countries through bilateral negotiations, excluding any role of the third party.
• When India removed Article 370 in August 2019, Saudi Arabia also shared the concerns and it didn’t go for any critical remarks on the same in view of being an internal issue for India.
• The congenial Saudi Arabia–Pakistan meeting, in which both countries are currently employing diplomacy in order to resolve regional and global disputes, could be seen in it. Both of them indicated to some extent that they would advocate for the progress of peace and stability in the area.

Conclusion:

• The joint initiative between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on the Kashmir issue is an important diplomatic move towards peace and stability in the region. 
• To show that dialogue between Pakistan and India is the key to peace and foster the peaceful resolution of the border dispute, both sides underlined the need for bilateral discussions. 
• Regardless of varying viewpoints about the problem, the endorsement of dialogue and diplomacy indicates a productive style which approaches the longtime controversies. 
• This undertaking brings to the fore the role that diplomacy plays as a sure path to peace when dealing with intricate geopolitical issues in the area

Source:The Hindu

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q.“Discuss the recent joint initiative between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on the Kashmir issue resolution. Analyse the implications of this diplomatic effort on regional peace and stability.”[150 Words]

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