Pakistan, separatists cornered in Kashmir

Arun Joshi

Srinagar, July 22

Separatist leadership in Kashmir has been cornered for Pakistan is facing a challenge from the new generation that believes that their “movement has been polluted” by it.

A lengthy statement by staunch Pakistan admirer Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Thursday defined Pakistan as a “divine gift” to the Muslim community because it is based on “Islam and kalima”.

Significantly, his statement had nothing to do with what he would have loved to call Indian designs to demonise Pakistan. Instead, it was against the preachers of the ISIS ideology and against those Kashmiris who have veered towards the extremist ideologies unfolding in Yemen, Syria, et al. He seemed to be more worried that this pro-Islam narrative was rebuffing and ridiculing Pakistan and its sponsored separatist leadership in the Valley.

Geelani was referring to the humiliation of the Pakistan flag by youth in Srinagar. The family of a militant had not only refused to wrap the body in the green-crescent flag but also threw it on the ground with visible contempt. The body was wrapped in the Islamist black flag instead.

This was not only a rebuff to Pakistan’s ideology but also a deliberate demonstration of loyalty shifting away from Pakistan and its version of Islam to the newer ways of Islam.

Geelani came down heavily on them. His statement described them as “sick minds”. He blamed “anti-Pakistan elements for creating chaos and observed that “the negligent depiction of jihad is aimed at misguiding innocent youth and making them aggressive against Pakistan.” This is a candid acknowledgement of the sense of challenge that the separatist leadership and Pakistan are facing.

A disturbing internal situation in Pakistan where the judiciary and executive are at loggerheads and the army is calling the shots, and its growing description as a haven for terrorists and naming of Pakistan-based Kashmiri militant leader Salahuddin as a “global terrorist” by the United States is very much part of the Kashmir’s narrative.

There are so many narratives criss-crossing at the moment. Loud anti-violence voices are being heard. Some are declaring “I want peace”. Peace is considered as a blasphemy by the Pakistani elements who want to keep the pot boiling. Alongside, militants are seen on the path of righteousness.

Kashmiris are worried about the melting away of their identity in the violence-promoting narrative of Pakistan and the elements inspired by global Islamism. Equally agitating is the perception that Delhi is denying them their unique identity that the country had promised to them seven decades ago.

Separatists have always denied the presence of global Islamist groups in the Valley, but the frequent display of black flags — the standard of global Islamist ideology — and slogans in their favour and also the militant’s body being wrapped in the black flag has exposed the weaknesses of their leadership and also threatened Pakistan’s grip over militancy in Kashmir.

The black flag is no longer a mere a metre-and-half piece of cloth. It is threatening to smother Pakistani hopes in Kashmir and India should take note of the growing number of those rallying behind this black flag ideology.