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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives to greet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan during a bilateral meeting Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, in New York . (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Aurora Sentinel reporter Quincy Snowdon is traveling on an exchange visit organized by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) as part of a program funded by the U.S. State Department. He’ll be reporting regularly during his adventure.
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN | The International Center for Journalists isn’t the only organization bolstering the Pakistani-American dialogue this week.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is in New York for the next few days speaking to the UN General Assembly, primarily regarding the contested region of Kashmir.
While that’s probably about as exciting as listening to Ben Stein read through The Periodic Table to most Aurorans, it’s kind of a massive deal. At least, according to the latest Southeast Asian media reports. And, as you know, media are always right — always.
Slated to address the body Wednesday, Sept. 21, Sharif is specifically expected to ask the international community to follow and enforce UN Security Council resolutions in Indian Occupied Kashmir, according to a press released issued from Sharif’s office Sept. 19.
“(Sharif) will especially invite the attention of world leaders to the recent surge in state-backed atrocities and systematic violations of fundamental human rights in Indian Occupied Kashmir since the extra judicial killing of Kashmiri youth leader Burhan Wani,” the statement said.
(For those playing at home, Kashmir is the sweeping, nebulous and long,-long-contested region squished in between Pakistan, India, China, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. On Google Maps, the whole area is delineated with hazy dashed lines, and sometimes no borders at all.)
A popular Kashmiri leader, Wani was killed earlier this summer in a shoot-out with military personnel. His death has lead to a barrage of protests that have resulted in several deaths, according to a slew of media reports.
Now tie that information to Monday’s news that 17 Indian soldiers were killed in an attack conducted by a splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban.
Things are, how do you say, agitated. A reporter I met with GeoTV last night confirmed as much when he simply started shaking his head after I asked about this week’s India-Pakistan relations.
“The situation is very tense,” he said. Not to add drama to the situation, but here’s where it’s good to remind everyone that Pakistan and India are both packing nukes, and have for some time.
Since Monday’s attack, which also left about 19 Indian soldiers wounded, the two countries have been wildly effective at wagging fingers and raising voices in the press and on social media. In the Pakistani press, with The Express Tribune used the Monday headline “‘Premature’ allegations hurled by New Dehli rejected.” Dawn mirrored that sentiment, writing “Islamabad rejects Indian charge as ‘unfounded.’”
RECENT AP PHOTOS FROM AND ABOUT PAKISTAN
Meanwhile, The Times of India, based in Mumbai, wrote “Pakistani media’s bizarre conclusions about Uri terror attack.”
Huh. Not a lot of jiving going on there with the framing there.
On top of all of that, Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter, “We strongly condemn cowardly terror attack in Uri (Indian-occupied Kashmir). I assure the nation that those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished.”
(Modi is not expected to attend the UN meeting on Wednesday. Instead, he’s going to send a Foreign Minister as a proxy, according to an Express Tribune report from Sunday.)
Sheesh. Sorry if this is politically and geographically anthropomorphizing, but imagine if there was a violent incident on an American border and President Obama Tweeted — not in a statement, but tweeted — that he was going to hunt down the possibly neighboring culprit. Pundits’ jugular veins would be swelling faster than you could say, “where’s the Pepto?”
Trying to explain the Pakistani-Indian relationship in a blog would be akin to trying to summarize “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Iliad” or any other great work in a tweet. Sure, you probably could and I’m sure plenty have tried, but it just doesn’t seem like a good idea. I’m a white dude who has been in Pakistan for three days, and “fake it ’til you make it” only goes so far.
Maybe this will just be another teacup-hosted tempest in a longstanding feud. Maybe not. Either way, reading headline after headline and story after story hinting at increased militancy is, well, mildly unnerving.
Basically, watch the UN on Wednesday.
HERE’S A LITTLE TASTE OF ISLAMABAD STREET MUSIC
AND SOME ASSORTED SHOTS OF LIFE IN ISLAMABAD FROM THE IPHONE OF A YOUNG AMERICAN JOURNALIST
Originally from Connecticut, Quincy Snowdon ditched the East Coast about six years ago for Colorado’s thinner air and higher mountains. He’s worked at the Aurora Sentinel in Aurora for two years and something like 68 days (but who’s counting?). He spends most of his days writing about spats on the local board of education and the city’s art scene. But he’s also been known to write about crime, food and the occasional business opening. His likes include climbing up Front Range rock piles, Barilla pasta and getting lost in YouTube worm holes — usually pertaining to bloopers from seasons 3-5 of the American sitcom The Office. His dislikes include deadlines, people who refuse to provide their last names and spotty WiFi connections.
