| Abstrakt: |
The Kashmir dispute has been termed as the core issue between two nuclear arch-rivals of South Asia, India and Pakistan, for the last seven decades. This conflict has hampered political, economic and social development not only of Pakistan and India, but has also impaired the chances of political and economic integration of the South Asian region. Indian policies and laws in Kashmir, causing massive human rights violations and defiance of the UN resolutions, have exacerbated the security situation of Kashmir in particular and South Asia in general. Despite several proposals to settle the dispute including the UN resolutions, the issue remains still unresolved. The Kashmiri indigenous uprising erupted in 1987 and has been rejuvenated after the killing of Burhan Wani, a 22-year-old Kashmiri by Indian forces in July 2016. This paper attempts to examine multiple dimensions of the Kashmir issue to explore its implications for Indo-Pakistan relations. The article has been divided into three broad sections. The first section provides a theoretical framework by applying realist theory in India-Pakistan relations, Edward Azar's theory of protracted conflicts and John Rawls' theory of justice. The second section delineates policies adopted by both states on Kashmir. The article also discusses the recent developments in Indo-Pakistan relations including crisis management. The final section proposes a conflict resolution mechanism that will include ceasefire, managing cross border issues and other CBMs as the way forward towards resolving the dispute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
