issra papers vol i, 2009 - National Defence University

“CONTEMPORARY MODELS OF CONFLICT
RESOLUTION: RE-VISITING THE PROSPECTS OF
UNKNOTTING THE KASHMIR DISPUTE”
Introduction
Yusra Mushtaq
The Kashmir conflict has multiple dimensions and is defined
by a complex intersection of an international dispute with sources of
conflict, internal to the disputed territory and its Indian and
Pakistan – controlled parts. Any approach to resolving this multilayered
conflict must necessarily involve multiple, but connected
and mutually reinforcing, tracks or axes of engagement and
dialogue. 1
The Kashmir conflict is the outcome of a process of neglect,
discrimination, suppression of Kashmiri identity. It directly affects
peace and stability of the South Asian subcontinent. The region
contains a large segment of human race. The dispute reaped three
wars and the possibility of a fourth war- - probably a nuclear
holocaust is looming large. The major contenders of the dispute are
Pakistan, India and Kashmiris. For Pakistan, without the resolution
of the Kashmir conflict, there cannot be peace and stability in
Islamabad-New Delhi relations. Whereas for India, Kashmir may be
a major issue negatively affecting Indo-Pakistan relations, but is
certainly not the core issue as repeatedly stated by Pakistan. The
hard line positions taken by India and Pakistan on the Kashmir
conflict resulted into stalemate in their relations, heavy defence
expenditures and ineffectiveness of regional cooperation in South
Asia. On the contrary, Indo-Pak tension over Kashmir reached new
levels after the outbreak of an uprising in the Indian controlled
Valley of Kashmir in the late 1980s. 2 Conceiving a plausible
solution of the Kashmir conflict within the parameters of
maintaining the state structures, order, fairness and justice is an
uphill task.
The essay aims to explore and analyze the prospects of the
resolution of Kashmir dispute in the light of contemporary models
30
ISSRA Papers 2009