Official Background Guide JCC: India vs. Pakistan 2001 Model United Nations at Chapel Hill XVIII February 22 – 25, 2018 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Table of Contents Letter from the Crisis Director …………………………………………………………………… 3 Letter from the Chair …………………………………………………………………………… 5 Key Terms ……………………………………………………………………………………… 6 Indo-Pakistani Wars and the Kashmir Issue ……………………………………………………… 7 Importance of and Case for Kashmir …………………………………………………………… 12 Nuclear Weapons and Terrorism ……………………………………………………………… 15 Present Situation ……………………………………………………………………………… 19 Questions to be Addressed ……………………………………………………………………… 22 Further Reading ………………………………………………………………………………… 22 Position List …………………………………………………………………………………… 23 JCC: India vs. Pakistan Page 2 Letter from the Crisis Director Dear Delegates, My name is Val Ong and I will be your crisis director for this Joint Crisis Committee of the Kargil War, a committee encompassing a few critical years of Indo-Pakistani relations. This committee is extremely relevant to numerous areas of international relations, as it touches on terrorism, nuclear proliferation, sectarian violence, and international crisis management. However, what makes this committee stand out is how, in spite of its importance to modern South Asian history and international relations more broadly, it has been relegated to obscurity. One of the principle aims of this committee will be to serve as an educational platform on a key conflict, whose ripple effects are still felt, yet rarely mentioned, today. I hope to see a lot of high-quality debates around some incredibly grave issues, as well as a fair amount of political intriguing behind the scenes. Delegates should note the committee will begin in late October/early November 1998. About myself: I am a junior studying U.S. History and Peace, War and Defense, and am currently typing this letter in India, where I am studying abroad for the Fall 2017 semester. My Hindi/Urdu is fairly good, so if any delegates wish to go the extra mile and learn the language, it would be much appreciated. I have participated in Model UN for the past three years, during which time I have partook in MUNCH, UNCMUNC, our college conference, and the Travel Team. Outside of Model UN, I participate in Musical Empowerment, a college-based non-profit dedicated to providing music lessons to underserved members of the community, where I teach guitar. I am also a member of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Society, the oldest student organization at UNC, and work with The Internationalist, an up-and-coming undergraduate research journal on international affairs. In addition, I am currently undergoing the trials and tribulations of applying to law school, which takes up a surprising amount of my time. In my free time, I enjoy playing with my dogs, a nice cup of coffee, and the occasional Netflix binge session. JCC: India vs. Pakistan Page 3 If you have any questions about the committee, Model UN, or UNC in general, feel free to reach out to me ahead of the conference at the email address below. I look forward to meeting you all in person and a great conference. Sincerely, Richard Denton “Val” Ong [email protected] JCC: India vs. Pakistan Page 4 Letter from the Chair Esteemed Delegates, I and the rest of the India-Pakistan JCC staff have the distinct pleasure of welcoming you to the 18th installment of Model United Nations at Chapel Hill! My name is Christina Quigley and I am a senior here at the University of North Carolina studying Economics. Having served as a staffer, Chargé de Affairs, and Director-General for the conference in the past, I’m delighted to complete my MUNCH experience as a Chair for the conference. Set in the bustling metropolis of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, this year’s conference promises a diverse spread of topics about which to debate, from 16th century Japanese politics, to the inner workings of the Malaysian Parliament, to the diverse and complex issues faced by the different UN sectors. Aside from providing a unique set of topics, MUNCH prides itself on offering an extremely fast-paced crisis experience complete with an engaged set of staffers to bring delegates’ ideas to life throughout the weekend. The India-Pakistan Committee will be no exception. We have worked tirelessly to provide a realistic and intensive crisis simulation and are so excited to bring it to life throughout the weekend. With this in mind, we hope to exceed the expectations of returning MUNCH delegates and create an appetite for the conference among those attending for the first time. This year, we are optimistic in doing so—the numbers reflect the immense amount of effort put into the conference, including over 500 delegates and around 70 Chairs, Crisis Directors, and staffers. We are absolutely thrilled to finally have you here in Chapel Hill and hope you will see for yourself the unique crisis experience the India-Pakistan committee has to offer! Sincerely, Christina Quigley Chair for the Pakistan Committee JCC: India vs. Pakistan Page 5 Key Terms LOC – Line of Control J&K – Jammu and Kashmir LeT – Lashkar-e-Taibba JKLF – Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front ISI – Inter-Services Intelligence, the Pakistani CIA Kt – Kiloton of TNT JCC: India vs. Pakistan Page 6 Indo-Pakistani Wars and the Kashmir Issue The roots of the Indo-Pakistani rivalry date back to the founding of the two nations in 1947, when India became independent from the British Empire and was partitioned into two states, Pakistan and India. The extremely controversial partition took effect August 15, 1947, producing two nations along religious lines and causing the displacement of over 14 million people and deaths ranging in estimates from several hundred thousand to two million. The issue of the contested territories of Jammu and Kashmir arose from partition and although it was originally a legal issue, it has since become a far greater struggle over religion, culture, and power in Southern Asia. When the British Raj was partitioned with the Indian Independence Act of 1947, it was specified that the rulers of the Indian princely states -political entities controlled by monarchs who had been subject to British rule- would choose which nation to join. The Hindu Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, Hari Singh, decided joining India would infuriate his predominantly Muslim population, and so elected to remain independent. However, in the Muslim western areas of J&K, specifically in Poonch, Muslim militias led by Muhammad Ibrahim Khan began a rebellion against the high taxes of the Maharaja, which was swiftly put down in August, 1947. However, this prompted Pakistan to cut off all movement and trade with J&K in order to protect their Muslim brethren. After high tensions for a few weeks amidst the chaos of the partition, Pakistan troops and Pashtun tribesmen from northwestern Pakistan invaded J&K in October under the pretext of supporting the Muslims therein. As soon as Pakistan invaded, Maharaja Singh reached out to India for assistance and signed an accession agreement that ceded Jammu and Kashmir to India, so as to protect his people from the Pakistani invasion. India was able to successfully airlift troops to Srinagar, the provincial capital, where Indian forces defeated the initial invasion. The war continued until January 1, 1949, where a ceasefire was declared under Security Council Resolution 47 and the UN Commission for India and Pakistan, but disagreements over both who rightfully ruled J&K and JCC: India vs. Pakistan Page 7 regional disarmament led to the failure of the commission to produce a lasting peace. Although the commission initially intended to hold a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir to decide the region’s fate, the Indian government under Prime Minister Nehru backed out for fear of the Muslim population joining Pakistan. During the 1950s, the two nations took very different paths. Pakistan aligned itself with the United States in the Cold War, gaining sizeable military aid and support from Washington as a result. However, in 1958, Gen. Ayub Khan led a military coup de’tat to seize control of the government and appoint himself president. India, meanwhile, remained steadfastly non-aligned in the Cold War under the long Prime Ministership of Jawaharlal Nehru from independence in 1947 until 1964, during which time India established a stable democratic constitutional order. However, peace between India and Pakistan was not to last. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the second in the three wars so far, lasted from August, 1965 until September of the same year. After the Indian loss to China in the Sino-Indian War of 1962, Pakistani President Ayub Khan believed both India’s military too weak to withstand a focused Pakistani campaign to seize Kashmir, and the Muslim populace in the region to be sympathetic to Pakistan. Furthermore, the development of an alliance with the United States as part of SEATO, and subsequent American military assistance, led to Pakistan having a qualitative edge over the Indian forces. Pakistan launched Operation Gibraltar, in which approximately 30,000 irregular forces infiltrated Indian-occupied Kashmir disguised as member of the populace, with the intent to foment armed insurrection against the Indian government. However, the plan failed due to poor coordination, Indian intelligence on the operation, and the loyalty of the populace towards India. The failure of Operation Gibraltar led to the outbreak of full scale war between the two nations which until September 23. The war led India and Pakistan developing strategic ties with the Soviet Union and People’s Republic of China respectively, so as to gain diplomatic, economic and military support to outcompete their rival. The war proved JCC: India vs. Pakistan Page 8 indecisive, although is widely seen as a Pakistani strategic defeat, with the Tashkent Declaration forcing both sides to withdraw to the 1949 ceasefire line and agree not to meddle in each other’s internal affairs.