Pakistani Options for Resolution of the Kashmir Dispute

The Kashmir problem is the oldest unresolved issue on the UN agenda. The present popular uprising in the Indian-held Kashmir has redeemed a forgotten cause; and the nuclear testing by both India and Pakistan sprung the issue back on the international scene, and without resolving this focal issue, a lasting peace in South Asia will remain elusive. This study deals with the issue from its origin to the present with an effort to analyze the problem impartially and dispassionately to provide an objective understanding of the dispute. However, the conclusions drawn and the options recommended are solely from a Pakistani perspective. The study explains the intricacies of this complex border dispute, which over the years has been elevated to an ideological tug of war between India and Pakistan. All of this in the melee of passion for the disputed land, legal claims, moral ascendancy, and a growing Kashmiri nationalism, not to mention the fast changing international backdrop. The paper promotes a fresh approach for Pakistan in order to engage India in a meaningful dialogue on the issue and to involve the international community to fulfill its obligation. The Kashmiri nationalism has emerged as a potent third party to the dispute and thus is addressed. A multipronged approach for Pakistan has been proposed on the covert unilateral and overt bilateral and multilateral planes in order to work on all possible facets of the problem.