Written by: Asif Khurshid Rana
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ended his three-day visit to Israel. The tour is considered historic because Modi is the first sitting Indian Prime Minister to visit the Jewish state. A number of significant agreements were signed between both countries that could be beneficial to both the countries in the long run. The Israeli leader said about this visit “This is a marriage made in heaven being implemented here on earth”. The visit got special coverage in Indian and Israeli media.
During this visit, significant agreements were signed between both countries, especially in the field of Drone and Missile technologies. Israel is the biggest defense supplier for India. In April 2017, India signed an air and missile defense contract of nearly $2 billion with Israel which was considered largest defense contract in the history of Israel’s Defense industries. In 2014, Israel exported worth of $662 million Israeli weapons and defense items to India in 2014.
India-Israel relations have been established since 1992 during Congress government. Since 2014, the cooperation between two countries dramatically has been increased. But the most alarming situation is that India is copying Israeli strategies to cease freedom struggle in Indian occupied Kashmir (IOK). Both countries are involved in worst human rights violation in IOK and Palestine. Indian forces have been involved in large-scale killings and blinding of hundreds of Kashmiris including children and women, arrests and custodial killings, false encounters, disappearances and rape of women. India is also using chemical weapons against like Israel. Israel used the chemical material in Gaza against the people of Palestine in 2009. In 2004, world media reported a shocking story of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) patrols trusting a 13-year Palestinian boy to the grill of a military jeep and traveling between the residential in order to humiliate and intimidate Palestinians residents. Same episode was replicated by Indian army in Kashmir. Indian officer who was involved in this inhuman act has been awarded the Army chief’s commendation card. To use any person as a human shield in war or other conflict is a war crime in international law. Despite the protest of different human rights activist organizations and especially raising the voice against this inhuman act and a war crime by India this army, But Indian army gave a message to freedom fighters through this shameful act that those who throw stones will meet the same fate. Both states are using these inhuman and barbaric acts as a tool to terrorize the people.
India is trying to build Israeli-style settlements for Hindu community in Kashmir to bring systematic changes in demography to convert a Muslim majority territory into a Muslim minority state in many ways to institute Hindu domination in IOK. According to Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz who wrote a letter to President of the Security Council, many steps are being taken in this regard. The children of Hindu families who do not belong to Jammu and Kashmir are being issued permanent resident certificates. There are 500 such certificates have been issued to students in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and total 5000 such certificates will be issued. To establish “Sainik” Colonies is another proposal has been adopted in which land of different sizes will be allotted to retired army personnel who have served in Kashmir for a minimum of three years and to the families of army persons who died during fighting in Kashmir. It is an attempt to settle non-Kashmiris under the shelter of welfare measures. The Indian government is allotting the land to non-Kashmiri Hindu industrialists in residential areas rather than Industrial zones. Separate towns are being established in Kashmir Valley for pundits who are presently settled in different Indian states. The government identified seven places for separate towns while three places have been shortlisted for these towns. Hurriyat leadership on the behalf of different sects of society has always welcomed the returns of Kashmiri pundits to their ancestral lands. They only opposed the idea of establishing separate towns. According to Hurriyat leadership, these steps are an attempt to divide the Kashmiri nation on basis of religion which is the most dangerous for the society. A group of Kashmiri Pundits has also opposed the idea of establishing separate settlements for their rehabilitation by saying that there should be a consensus with the Muslims of the Valley for their dignified return. Now Indian-Israel Nexus is working in Kashmir in full swing. This is an alarming situation not only for Kashmiris but also for the regional and international community because Kashmir is a disputed area and has become a nuclear flashpoint.