By: Khwaja Kabir Ahmed
Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir has once again entered a phase of political unrest. The call for a June 9 protest by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Public Action Committee is not just a protest announcement but an expression of a systematic, phased and intellectual strategy. The announcement has been made, but the final nature of the protest will be clarified after Eid. Some quarters are calling it an ambiguity, but the history of political struggle shows that it is not wise to put every card on the table, sometimes silence is the most effective strategy.
This movement does not aspire to enter the corridors of power. Its narrative is clear and unambiguous: the right of the people to rule over public resources, the right to property, the end of elite privileges, and a permanent solution to long-standing problems. This is neither a movement to form a government nor to overthrow it. This is not the politics of the chair, this is the politics of truth.
Various voices are being raised on social media. Some circles want the system to change immediately, the government will change in eight months, etc. But the ground realities are different. When the Joint Public Action Committee came into existence, one government had already gone, a new one had been formed. During the movement, another Prime Minister has come. The faces have been changing, but the problems remain the same. This fact strengthens the narrative of this movement that its fight is not against a single party or individual, but against an unbalanced system.
Giving the impression that the movement is against or in favor of a specific political party is contrary to the facts. Whether the government is white or black, whoever comes or goes, the demand for public rights will remain in place. This movement is a movement for the people’s right to ownership of resources, a movement for justice, a movement for the survival of the common man.
The truth is that the current constitutional arrangement, i.e. the Act of 1974, which is called the Constitution, defines the boundaries of the distribution of powers and legislation. The question is whether real and sustainable reform is possible within this structure or has its revision become inevitable? One opinion says that change without constitutional reform is an illusion. According to another opinion, transparent financial order, institutional accountability and administrative reforms can also bring significant improvements. While a third constituency considers complete structural change to be the solution. But all these opinions have one common requirement, and that is a serious, documented and phased strategy.
History is a witness that hasty steps divide movements. Sustainable revolutions are born of patience, discipline and collective consultation. If this struggle is a struggle for the survival of generations, its pace should also be serious and its style should also be mature. The call of June 9 is a symbol of this prudence. Clarifying the nature of the protest in the last stage is proof that the leadership is keeping internal order, legal aspects and ground preparation in mind.
Movements succeed not with slogans, but with ideology. If the protest comes forward in an organized, peaceful and with clear goals, it will not only shake up the current political scenario but also determine the direction of the future.
The people are awake. The level of consciousness has risen. Now the real test is for the leadership to save this awareness from turning into a temporary emotional ferment and mold it into a stable, lasting and fruitful struggle.
If patience, prudence and collective consultation are made the basis, this movement will not remain a temporary reaction but it can prove to be a milestone in the political history of the region. And if the leadership maintains wisdom, then June 9 will not be just a date, but can be the beginning of a new era.
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