LAWFARE: PAKISTAN'S BEST WEAPON AGAINST KASHMIRIS AND INDIANS.

LAWFARE & 5th GENERATION WARE-FARE:PAKISTAN’S BEST 

WEAPON AGAINST KASHMIRIS AND INDIANS.  

Indian subcontinent for the past 1000 years has seen too much activity. From invaders to traders, all have tried to meddle with our politics and many had succeeded in doing so and such thing has been allowed from, within the people of the subcontinent. The power-play among the regional kings had 

led to theery for common people for generations. 

From inviting Babur to help end the rule of the Lodi Dynasty to giving space to the British in the subcontinent, the elite of the subcontinent has always been at  war with each other. Thus it is natural that when two major states were carved out haphazardly in the subcontinent with so much mental trauma and hostilities, along with the resources that they inherited, the people also inherited the enmity that was prevalent for centuries, and that got amplified during the British Rule. 

The Britishers while dividing the subcontinent into two countries in 1947 had made sure that there should always be hostilities among these two giants. The ever-going enmity among these two giants 

has made sure that both countries bring innovative ideas to push their version of narrative to the entire world. Pakistan after the terrorism fiasco has faced severe backlash in the international arena, and 

now wants to change the focus of the terrorism sponsored by Pakistan to the so-called “fight for self-determination of Kashmir.” 

This helps to create a narrative that, the terrorism happening in Kashmir is due to the oppression of the Indian State. And this narrative has been spearheaded by none other than, Hassan Aslam Shad. He is an “International Law Expert”, working in CMS law firm, headquartered in Paris, France. He is a Harvard Law School Graduate, one of the very few who advises P.M. Imran Khan and most preferably and probably the all-powerful “establishment” on Kashmir. He has also assisted Pakistan in multiple legal cases, which includes the famous Reko Diq  mine case. In a conversation with Muzamil Hasan, in his podcast dated September 20, 2021, he talks about the many issues including the Kashmir Issue. 

According to Hasan in his own words, he is an expert in International Law-fare. And Law-fare is nothing but an art of warfare that uses the law as a tool to wage a war. We can simply put that into the newly emerging field of war-fare which is not fought in the battleground but is fought in courts, media, and subsequently in the “grey zone” of the battlefield. It is very much a part of the 5th generation ware-fare. 

In that candid conversation, according to Hasan, Pakistan has been successful in creating ripples in the international media on the Kashmir Issue after the abrogation of Article 370 which was an off-topic 

for the majority of the world media and governments. But at the very same time, he clearly states that he wants to change the trajectory of the Issue of Kashmir from the previous Pakistan viewpoint, directing the sole blame of the terrorism propagated by Pakistan that is happening in Kashmir in the garb of “Self Determination of Subjugated People”. 

Though he does not specifically say anything foul about the case that has been handled by the “establishment”, till today, he was seen visibly miffed by the subsequent course that has been taken by the elites of the Pakistan Army on the Kashmir Issue. He clearly understands that an issue like Kashmir cannot be handled solely by the hard-hitting tactics of the military. From his conversation with Hasan, it is clear that he understands that Human Rights issues play a very crucial role in the entire world more than anything else. Furthermore, according to him until and unless Pakistan can portray India in such a manner that India violates Human Rights and specifically minority human rights, India won’t be diplomatically and theatrically pressurized to an extent that will force India to sit with Pakistan at the negotiation table from a position of weakness to “solve the Kashmir issue”. 

Furthermore, it is evident from the conversation that, while he is acutely aware of the terrorism taking place in Kashmir that is actively supported by his home state, to keep Kashmir hot and not let religious harmony return to Kashmir after the forced exodus of Kashmiri Pundits from their land, 

he seems to be justifying the acts by equating the Kashmiri Pundit's exodus as insignificant to the issue of Kashmir and

 it is because of the “Kashmir Issue” that “India is pro-longing” that the Kashmiri Pundits are suffering. He wants to brush out the atrocities against the Kashmiris, under the carpet. Furthermore, he claims that Pakistan can lobby the U.N to garner a minimum of 51 votes of the member states required to raise the Kashmir issue and refer the case to the International Court 

of Justice. From his statements, it is clear that now the military establishment, who used to think of only having a military solution a few years back, is today viewing the idea of selective media outrage, particularly from the Gulf media Channels by misleading claims of human right 

violations of minorities channel that public outrage to pressurize the governments of their respective countries who have a clear understanding of the situation (read OIC) to talk a negative stand in the UN General Assembly against India, which we are gradually seeing happening in the 

International forum. 

 According to him, if Pakistan is successful in pulling such a thing, the “Kashmir cause” from the Pakistani point of view will share space in International headlines, and among the Indian people and Indian. The government will come under extreme pressure to have a plebiscite in the “Indian administered Kashmir” without following the UN resolutions. Pakistan by international media outlets will try to coerce the population of Kashmir to vote overwhelmingly in favor of Pakistan. Incidentally, while having a conversation with other anchors in a different podcast, he does not shy away from stating that the terror-linked outfits affiliated with Pakistan can play a crucial role in this. Though it is tough to pull such a masterstroke for Pakistan, without retaliation from India to negate it, in their current situation, when they are begging across the World to bail them out financially and diplomatically, at the very same time, it is also true that Pakistan as a state gives more importance to the “Kashmir Cause” rather than to the welfare of their people. It won’t come as a surprise that they use most 

of the money that they get by any means is used in sponsoring terrorism and trying an international media ware-fare and law-fare in International Organizations. Also, he casually speaks about the atrocities committed by them in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. It is clear from the statements made by him in the podcast that they know and acknowledge that they commit human rights crimes, 

and is ok with that but play it down unlike the alleged atrocities in the “India 

administered Kashmir.” 

 While it is extremely difficult for Pakistan to pull such a stunt in the U.N and subsequently send the Kashmir case to the International Court of Justice at the very time, we should remain vigilant of the activities in Kashmir and beyond. It is a bitter truth that Pakistan for the last decade has worked 

especially in the non-kinetic ware-fare (read 5th Generation ware-fare) and they are far ahead of us. Plus the influence of the Chinese in our day-to-day life starting from commodities to the internet can 

create havoc if external influence is subjected to the delicate social fabric that India has. Already we have seen in the early 90s that Pakistan has succeeded in sub-conventional ware-fare, first in Afghanistan and then in Kashmir, and they have perfected that ever since, and many Pakistani intellectuals have started to recognize it. This has not only deprived, the good life of the average Kashmiri is enjoyed by any other Indian citizen in any other part of India but this also shows that Pakistan is a lot more capable than what we tend to perceive. Even after creating havoc in Kashmir, they still get some support from the valley and other parts of the world, particularly from China. 

While the governments of many countries might differ but an average citizen of those countries who views the Pakistani point of view in the electronic media tends to be sympathetic to the lies propagated 

by Pakistan. This helps Pakistan in 5th Generation Warfare and Law-fare. For instance, even if Pakistan loses in International Courts, which is certain, they can pin the blame on Indian influence over those institutions and discredit the judgment in large parts of the world. 

 Furthermore, if advisers to the P.M of Pakistan so openly and blatantly talks about going for not only sub-conventional ware-fare in the garb of “Fight of the subjugated people” but also goes for a Law-

fare and a full-fledged 5th Generation ware-fare without declaring an actual war on us, we should not only take his words seriously but also openly call out and expose their hypocrisy about the actual wrongdoings of Pakistan to influence people negatively, to destabilize India, in a manner that 

will create enough pressure that forces Pakistan to surrender any such ware-fare against India. 

 They do not care about any Kashmiri but about the resources that Kashmir possesses. While we still are in a strong position as of today because of our economic and diplomatic heft and stronger military but we still are, in a weak position compared to Pakistan in narrative building and in 5th Generation ware-fare which is tactfully played by the Pakistanis. We should highlight the plight of the Human rights abuses done by Pakistan in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and show the world the true picture of the secularism that has existed in our country for centuries and that is still existing to this 

day. Also, we must proactively try to desist Pakistan from committing human rights abuses in POK, as technically, legally, and morally POK is a part of India and the people residing there for centuries are also Indian citizens as we are. This will help the international community to know the actual truth and international outrage against the atrocities committed by Pakistan is very 

much a possibility, which will help dismantle the lies propagated by them against us. Lastly, we must keep an edge over Pakistan in all aspects of ware-fare, because being proactive with the enemy is better than being reactive in today’s next-generation warfare.

Article By Anubhabh Haldar.2nd year student at Maharashtra National Law, University, Aurangabad.