Imran Khan's Kashmir 'policy' expected to be mostly about rhetoric

It's believed that if Imran Khan becomes the next prime minister of Pakistan, his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), could be more vocal on the Kashmir issue than the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz of Nawaz Sharif.

Sharif and his daughter, and heir apparent, Maryam Nawaz, have been convicted for owning properties in London that appeared in the Panama Papers, by the National Accountability Bureau Court of Pakistan for 10 and seven years imprisonment, respectively.

The father-daughter duo is presently lodged in Adiyala jail in Pakistan's Punjab. The PML-N has appealed against the decision in the Islamabad High Court. The NAB court has also declared two of Sharif's sons, Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, as proclaimed offenders.

The NAB court action against the Sharif family is on the grounds that they were not able to provide the money trail with which the Avenfield Apartments in London were brought.

The court after admitting the appeal said it will take up the matter after the elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) on Wednesday.

Before the NAB court's decision, Sharif was disqualified from the post of prime minister by the Supreme Court for ceasing to be Sadiq and Amin (truthful and honest) as he was allegedly working for his son's company while being the prime minister.

Many in Pakistan and outside believe Sharif's ouster was orchestrated by the Pakistan Army (commonly referred to as the Establishment) to pave the way for the PTI to win the elections.

Sharif's friendly approach towards India, including on Kashmir, was not to the liking of the Army and hardliners and Islamist groups like Jamat-ud-Dawa of Hafiz Saeed, which is involved in the Kashmir militancy.

The opposition, led by Khan's PTI, was highly critical of PML-N's stand on Kashmir.

The continued campaign against Sharif in the media for being soft on India on Kashmir also contributed to building a case against him and his party by his opponents.

Although the PML-N had constituted a Kashmir Committee under the leadership of Maulana Fazul-ur-Rehman of Jamiat-e-Ulami Islam, an ally of Sharif, the committee's work didn't impress the opposition and the hardliners.

Under pressure from the Army establishment and media, Sharif in 2016 mentioned slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani's name in his speech at the UN and called him a “martyr”, much to the chagrin of India.

Khan has said the PTI will have a proactive Kashmir policy if the party comes to power.

In the run-up to the 2016 assembly elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Khan told a rally, ''Our premier [Nawaz Sharif], instead of raising voice [for Kashmiris], is busy in making his business flourish there.”

Khan also accused Sharif of undermining ''Kashmir’s struggle for self-determination” by not meeting the Hurriyat Conference leadership during his trip to New Delhi to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi in 2014.

Khan said Sharif avoided the Hurriyat Conference leaders because he was busy meeting his Indian business counterparts to talk business.

In an interview, Khan accused the Kashmir Committee of “shameful failure on Kashmir”.

''My party’s members in the National Assembly (MNAs) have been trying to get information of the money spent on the Kashmir Committee’s foreign junkets and the results that were achieved,'' Khan said. ''But the speaker has disallowed all these queries.'' Khan claimed the “suspicion” towards Maulana Fazul-ur-Rehman in Europe was a disadvantage.

“How can such a man [Rehman] project the cause of the Kashmiri people?” he asked.

Khan said PTI will put forward ground-breaking conflict resolution proposals for resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN resolutions. “My party is already working on these. Our Kashmir policy will be substantive and not restricted to declaratory platitudes,” he said.

Many people in Kashmir believe that the PTI's Kashmir policy would be high on rhetoric but that is unlikely to change anything in practice.

There is a feeling in Kashmir that political parties in Pakistan raise the pitch on Kashmir when in opposition and whenever the situation in Kashmir attracts the attention of the international media.

It's believed that the need for peace with India will force the PTI to tone down its rhetoric on Kashmir.

Also, the media, religious parties, and the opposition will also call to account the PTI on the issue of Kashmir.

Khan's party will also have to deal with the issue of curbing the activities of militant organisations' like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Khan will also have to deal with diktats of the Army Establishment on the important foreign policy issues concerning India, Afghanistan and the US.