During phase II of the assembly polls held in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) after a decade-long pause, the Ministry of External Affairs India invited a 15-member foreign delegation to observe the poll process in the Union Territory.
It was a move that many think was like pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
Sensing an upward trend in voting, the government of India made an effort to convince the international community that peace prevailed in the Valley and that the people were exercising their right to vote fearlessly.
The move was aimed at projecting to the foreign visitors that the situation was normalising in the UT despite abrogation of Article 370, which became a global news sensation when, on August 5, 2019, the Centre decided that the provisions of the Article were no longer applicable to the state of J&K.
Fast forward to 2024. Elections for phase II were continuing on peacefully on September 25, 2024, when all of a sudden a delegation headed by US lawmakers arrived in Srinagar to observe the voting process.
During their visit, one of the visiting delegates told reporters that they were satisfied by witnessing the peaceful free, fair elections.
People in queues outside the polling station awaiting their turn to vote looked on, surprised, at the international delegates.
As news spread quickly, NC Vice President Omar Abdullah quickly responded to the development, saying that “there was no need to bring the foreign delegates to witness the election process in J&K as it was an internal matter to India.”
Not only political parties but experts and political scholars, including the intellectual community, were all surprised by this masterfully crafted tactical move that no one had foreseen.
Even as Pakistan, at the recent UNGA session, attempted its usual India-baiting for alleged aggressive, oppressive, and regressive acts in J&K, policymakers in that country were also reportedly stunned by the presence of a foreign delegation in Kashmir during election time.
Whatever the case, India has strengthened its narrative in the international community and also indirectly linked Pakistan to sponsoring terrorism in the UT as people happily participated in the Assembly polls.
The implications of this decision will help India justify abrogation of Article 370 and as of now at least bypass all narratives of the Pakistanis on international platforms about Kashmir remaining an unsolved issue.
Experts who understand J&K politics and how this strategically important piece of land has dictated bilateral relations between the countries suggest that for now, the Indian government has managed to bury the Kashmir issue for a long time.
Additionally, it will require years of serious effort for Pakistan to even build the case again, which seems quite impossible as of now given India’s geopolitical and geo-economic rise.
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