by Nilesh Kunwar

Officers from the defence forces of several friendly foreign countries attend various military courses in Indian defence training establishments and the author had an opportunity to attend one such course in the late 80s. Some nations that have cordial relations with both India and Pakistan send their officers to both countries and so it’s not uncommon to find an officer who has attended a military course in Pakistan attending another one in India.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars and relations between them remain strained. It’s therefore evident that before their arrival, foreign officers attending courses in India or Pakistan are instructed to respect the sensitivities of the host nation and not say anything that could adversely impact cordial relations, and needless to say, the officers implicitly follow this directive.

So, when a foreign officer in my ‘syndicate’ (class) asked me whether I had served in Kashmir, I expected him to ask me something about anti-terrorist operations there and in anticipation, mentally framed an answer that to my mind would neither sound like a curt rebuff nor provide him any ‘classified’ information. However, I was taken aback when he asked me whether it was true that “Kashmiris could never be trusted?”

My instinctive response was, “who told you so?”

The officer said that he had heard the “Kashmiris just can’t be trusted” refrain so often during private discussions between Pakistan army officers during an army course that he had earlier attended in Pakistan that he felt that there must be some truth in it. I had extensively interacted with locals during my Kashmir tenure and never found any reason to doubt their integrity and nor did I come across anyone holding such a negative view.

I told the foreign officer so, reminding him that casting aspersions on the loyalty of an entire community was just an emotional assessment and not a credible evaluation. He must have found my answer reasonable as he didn’t pursue this issue any further. While this officer must have forgotten all about it, existence of this perverse belief within the Pakistan army kept haunting me and after superannuation, decided to investigate.

Likely Origins

Since there was no documented mention of this issue, I contacted my old friends who were following Pakistan and its army and this paid off. A very close friend who settled down in the US years ago sent me an interesting input. Through his colleague he was able to meet a veteran who had joined the Pakistan army in the early 50s and was now living with his son in New York. His account provided a convincing insight into the general view of the rank and file of Pakistan army on Kashmiris and the reason thereof.

He recounted that post Pakistan army’s unsuccessful attempt to annex J&K in 1947 by using tribals commanded by army regulars, everyone rightly wanted to know what went wrong especially since the invading force had nearly reached the outskirts of J&K’s capital, Srinagar.  Within army circles two reasons were ascribed for this debacle-one, politicians and two, Kashmiris.  While the army felt that the government had meekly accepted UNSC intervention, it blamed the people of Kashmir for having double crossed the Pakistan army led invading forces.

The belief that Kashmiris can’t be trusted gained further strength within the Pakistan army as veterans of Operation Gulmarg (code name for the Kashmir invasion) continued boasting and concealed their own failings by narrating incidents of how they were betrayed by locals. While not everyone (including the veteran who then had just five years service) agreed that all Kashmiris were quislings, this perception became an article of faith within the armed forces of Pakistan after the 1965 Indo-Pak conflict.  

For better understanding, there’s a need to digress and briefly mention Pakistan army’s war-plan.

Codenamed Operation Gibraltar, Rawalpindi’s strategy entailed annexation of J&K by using regulars to covertly infiltrate regulars disguised as Razakars (civilian volunteers) across the Line of Control (LoC) and start an insurrection by inciting the Muslim majority.  The plan further envisaged cutting off Kashmir Valley from India by destroying surface and wireless communication facilities, attacking military headquarters, logistic installations and even airfields.

In order to facilitate indoctrination of locals and foment an uprising, soldiers from the Pakistan occupied J&K’s “Azad Kashmir Regular Force” were selected for this operation. So, Pakistan army’s war plan ultimately boiled down to Kashmiris from PoJK motivating their brethren in J&K to rebel against the Indian authorities and facilitate annexation of Kashmir.

However, the people of Kashmir refused to cooperate with the infiltrators and instead reported them to the Indian army due to which Operation Gibraltar ended in a monumental failure, resurrecting and cementing the Pakistan army’s perverse “you just can’t trust Kashmiris” belief.

Present Day Context

The disparaging attitude of the Pakistan army towards locals in PoJK endures, leaving no room for doubt that it continues to believe that Kashmiris can’t be trusted, and this explains the heightened civilian surveillance and privacy intrusion by the military in this region. PoJK residents who ask for their basic rights are promptly dubbed “Indian agents” and this has created a sense of alienation that is increasing exponentially.

An example is the way the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC) has been treated.
A grass root rights organisation demanding legitimate structural reforms, political rights, and critical economic relief for the people of PoJK, JKJAAC has been proscribed under the draconian anti-terrorism laws. There’s credible evidence indicating that this crude attempt to stifle genuine dissent is the brainchild of Field Marshal Asim Munir who perceives anyone not agreeing with the ‘establishment’ as an ‘Indian agent’.

It may be argued that blaming Pakistan’s self-appointed field marshal is being unfair since Rawalpindi has always relied on use of brute force to intimidate PoJK residents. But can Munir apologists deny the fact that under his charge the security forces have become yet more repressive and indiscriminate firing on peaceful protesters has become a routine affair.

Displaying commendable moral courage, JKJAAC leader Sardar Aman Khan exposed Rawalpindi’s duplicity by saying "It was the Pakistan Army itself that handed guns to Kashmiris. And today, they have the audacity to call us terrorists." He also cited the example of how people armed with swords and sophisticated weapons like AK 47s were seen freely moving around during an event organised by UNSC designated terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad last February in Rawalkot.

It’s no brainer that Pakistan has over-played the ‘victim’ card and Field Marshal Munir who’s heading Pakistan’s “hybrid regime” needs to seriously look inwards. He should realise that levelling unsubstantiated allegations of foreign (read ‘Indian’) involvement in the ongoing disturbances in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh and now PoJK is a bit too far-fetched and very hard to digest. And if this is indeed the case, then why is the slogan “yeh jo dehshatgardi hai,uske peeche wardi hai” (the army is behind the ongoing terrorism) heard so often during protests across the country?

PoJK is today witnessing a humongous military-created human tragedy and stoic silence on this issue by the international community is tantamount to abetment.  Pakistan’s brutality against the innocent people of KP, Balochistan and PoJK in the clumsy garb of anti-terrorist operations can no longer be ignored.

The author is an Indian Army veteran and a founder-member of Society for Transitive Research, Integration and Veteran empowerment (STRIVE) and can be contacted at nileshkunwar.56@gmail.com